The New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail is not really a trail, it is a route designed to be leisurely seen by auto for the benefit of the public to provide education, understanding, and enjoyment of natural, maritime, and cultural sites of the coastal area of New Jersey.
| New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail National Park Service PO Box 118 Mauricetown, NJ 856-447-0103 |
The concept is to join together the Jersey shore areas into five regions with three major themes; Coastal Habitat, Maritime Heritage, and Wildlife Migration.
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The trail hugs the coastline of New Jersey and runs nearly 300 miles, being divided into regions from Sandy Hook Region along New York Harbor, south to Barnegat Bay Region, the Absecon Cape May Region, and the Delsea Region along Delaware Bay. You will be able to meander along the area east of the Garden State Parkway from the Raritan Bay south to the area north and west of Cape May and south of Route 49 to the vicinity of Deepwater.
The trail includes many New Jersey state parks and facilities under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
From your vehicle, The Coastal trail will take you along a fascinating journey past lighthouses, beautiful sandy beaches and dunes, fishing villages, reclaimed marshes with wildlife, and cranberry bogs.

The trail sites are identified by the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail logo with new sites being added as soon as they are identified by the National Park Service. 
Along the route of the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail, the visitor will experience fresh water creeks and tidal marshes that can be ideal for canoeing, kayaking, and camping. Rentals are available from local outfitters. There are also many bike routes along the New Jersey Coastal Trail.
Coastal Habitat-See the large variety of coastal species and habitat, and learn about the habitat and the importance and value of species diversity and habitat maintenance. Maritime heritage-Here you can experience the history of trade, navigation, and coastal defenses. The ocean, bays, rivers, and tributaries were key to the fishing industry, boat building and other maritime activities. Lighthouses were erected as maritime navigational aids to warn mariners of hazards to their ships and prevent loss of crew and cargo. |
Trail Regions |
Here is what you can experience in each of the Five Coastal Heritage Trail regions.
Sandy Hook Region Take A short drive south to Ocean Grove where you can visit this charming village with Victorian homes and a 6,000-seat Great Auditorium and visit one of the first religious resorts on the Shore. |
Barnegat Bay Region |
| Absecon Region The regions highlights are: Tuckahoe WMMA. Corson's Inlet State Park , one of the few undisturbed stretches of Atlantic coastline left between Atlantic City and Cape May |
Cape May Region |
Delsea Region
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| Return from New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail to Outdoor Activities | Return to New Jersey Leisure Guide Home Page |
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