The weekend after Labor Day is The Best Time to go to the shore. (And by "the shore" I mean the South Jersey Shore, of course.) Why is the weekend after Labor Day the best time to go? The weather is still (usually) warm and sunny, all the stores and attractions are still open, the ocean is still warm and the beaches still call to vacationers, but are not so crowded- and it's officially "off-season"... SO ... prices are better pretty much everywhere. All the benefits of a vacation in full summer, with a little less crowds and a lot less money. Stores are having end-of-season sales, you don't need beach tags, and you can ride bicycles on the boardwalk after 12 noon and not get in trouble.
My husband is not a fan of the whole south Jersey beach thing. Summer vacation every year at Ocean City NJ with my family and grandparents was a much anticipated yearly event that my brothers and sister and I would sit up late at night discussing, weeks before the actual morning our parents woke us before dawn and loaded us into the car for the endless, impossibly long drive, (only 6 hours, but to a kid it's endless) complete with games, coloring books (and crayons that inevitably melted all over the car in the summer sun before we came home) and home made chocolate chip cookies to keep us quiet for the ride. But, the joy and magic of this part of the world is mostly lost on my husband. He will, however, in a remarkable example of sheer husbandly devotion, accompany me to the shore for the singular purpose of Making Me Happy.
This year, I decided that instead of staying in one of the many fine hotels available in Ocean City, we would *finally* make use of the small pop-up camper I purchased a couple years ago. (searched everywhere for one small enough for my car to pull- bought it and parked it... and haven't touched it since.) My brave, devoted husband cautiously went along with my plan, making only a few wistful comments about hotels and amenities.
I was familiar with Whippoorwill Campground; I did a drive-through a few years ago and was impressed. I called ahead and was told there would be room for us, no problem. Best of all- the very reasonable rates were significantly lower after Labor Day! The day of our departure, inevitable delays and problems cropped up, and instead of leaving bright and early we didn't get out of Dodge (or, Pittsburgh) until after 4pm. I called the campground and informed them we wouldn't be arriving until well after the office closed. The girl on the phone told me where to find all our check in materials, and said to just set up and come in the office in the morning to pay our fees. We rolled in at nearly midnight, wrestled with the camper (that is a whole 'nother story and adventure in itself) and finally got it set up. It helped a LOT that the campsites are very roomy, flat and level. The water and electric hookups were very easy to find, and each site has a picnic table. We were delighted to discover we were directly across from the restrooms and showers, which are very clean, modern and well-equipped.
The next morning we checked in properly. The campground is very nicely kept, with lots of well-loved, nicely decorated seasonal campsites. There are two shower/bath houses (maybe more, not sure) a laundro-mat and a beautiful Olympic size pool. The office is inside a small convenience store that stocks camping supplies, snacks and drinks, t-shirts and hats and various knick-nacks. There's a cafe where you can get coffee and a light breakfast, and free wi-fi if you're near the office/cafe. Other wi-fi can be purchased from your site for a very small fee. ($2-3 for a day or two- I don't remember how much but it's VERY inexpensive.) The desk staff is friendly and helpful and when we arrived late at night, we found our info tacked to the bulletin board, just where they said it would be. Campers are provided a key to drive into the campsites, keeping unwanted traffic out and providing security.
Marmora is only a few minutes drive from Ocean City, so while you're not ON the beach, you're not far away. We loaded the bikes on the car and made the 10 minute drive, and were on the beach and boardwalk in no time. Whippoorwill Campground is also not far from other south Jersey attractions, like Cape May, Sea Isle, and Atlantic City.
Over all, I *loved* staying at Whippoorwill, so much so that even if the problems we had with the pop-up are not fixable (again, another story- another time), I'd consider tent-camping there or staying in one of their rentable cabins next time. The hubby even remarked how much he liked staying there, and how nice the place was. He even made a few comments starting with "the next time we come here, we should..." This from the guy who really Did Not want to go, but went along with my adventure out of love and being a good sport.
We both LOVED this place, and would highly recommend it to anyone! read more