Love to camp? My family does! We bought a used pop up camper about 4 years ago and have been enjoying it ever since. One of our most favorite camping trips is to Avalon Campground in New Jersey.
Avalon Campground is family friendly, full of amenities, and very close to the beach. Avalon and the neighboring beach, Stone Harbor, are my two favorite beaches on the east coast. We have camped here for the past three years and I thought I give you a quick tour.
Once you pull in, you’ll stop by the office and store to check in.
I get a cup of coffee at the store every morning. It’s $1.50, but if you buy their reusable coffee mug for about $4, you get free refills. We usually stay long enough to be worth buying the mug. There is a game room located to the left of the store with arcade games, ping pong, and pool table.
The campground also has an 18 hole miniature golf course, 2 beautiful pools, and shuffleboard court,
Scooters or bikes are a must for kids to motor around the campground. Our kids are old enough to scooter down to the playground and basketball courts without our supervision, but everything is within a comfortable walking distance too. Located near the playground is a volleyball net, baseball field, and horseshoe pits.
The big red building in the pic below is a multi-purpose room where they hold dance parties, bingo, craft nights, and other activities. There is usually at least one activity planned for every day. And on Saturday nights, a Mr. Softee ice cream truck stops by the premises.
Our pop up is an older model, but we absolutely adore it. We set up on a 30 amp electric/water site and most of the campsites are shaded. We purposely pick a spot that is conveniently located by the bathhouses. They are typical campground bathhouses. Showers costs a quarter for about 7 minutes of water and I prefer to bathe in one of the private outside showers. They keep the bathhouses somewhat clean, but it is a campground, not a high end hotel.
Our only negative experience with this campground happened last year when some inconsiderate tent campers nearby decided to ignore the quiet hour rules and party into the wee hours of the morning. If you have a travel trailer, you might not hear too much, but we hear everything in the popup. Other than that one experience we have really enjoyed our stays at Avalon Campground.
The main reason why we camp at Avalon…
…is the beach!!!!
Avalon Campground is actually located on the mainland in Clermont, NJ, but it’s only a 4 mile drive to the public access beach (above pic) in Avalon NJ. However, your choice of beaches is not limited to Avalon. The campground is also very close to Stone Harbor, Sea Isle City, The Wildwoods, Cape May, and Ocean City. We tend to stick to Avalon and Stone Harbor beaches. It is also very close to the Cape May Zoo where the admittance is FREE.
This year, we discovered a gem of a beach.
We went to visit the Cape May lighthouse one evening and unfortunately, it was closed by the time we arrived. But while standing in the parking lot, we could hear the vibrant sound of waves. They sounded so close by, so we walked towards the beach to discover a magnificent sunset (above pic) and a quiet, beautiful beach that made us feel like we were at the bottom of the world.
Instead, we were at the southern most tip of the Jersey Shore, called Cape May Point.
Cape May Point: You can see the lighthouse in the pic below poking out between my daughters. The red roofed building on the left is a summer retreat for an order of nuns based in Philadelphia. This beach was so serene, I considered becoming a nun for a split second. Can you imagine summering here? I decided against joining the order–my kids and hubs would miss me too much. 😉
If you’re planning a trip to the Jersey shore, I must give you one piece of advice. For some reason, the seagulls that I have encountered at the Jersey shore are quite different from any other beach I’ve been to. They are quite aggressive and will snatch a sandwich or food right out of your hand. You can always tell a newbie to the Jersey shore, because they’re the ones that these creatures focus on–the uninformed! And it happened to me on my first trip to the Jersey shore.
One of my favorite pics from our most recent trip is the one below of my 2 daughters. They didn’t want the seagulls to take their shared sushi lunch, so they hid under a towel. You don’t need to hide under a towel to eat, but you must be careful, because those birds look for an opening and take it!
Do you camp near a beach? What’s your favorite campground? Let us know in the comments!
This is NOT a sponsored post and Avalon Campground has not idea who I am, but if you’re interested in more information, check out their website: Avalon Campground
