Corson's Inlet State Park was established by the

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and th ...

in 1969 to protect and preserve one of the last undeveloped tracts of land along the state's oceanfront. The park borders

Corson Inlet Corson Inlet is a narrow strait on the southern coast of New Jersey in the United States. Corson Inlet leads from the Atlantic Ocean through barrier islands off the northeast coast of Cape May County, New Jersey. The Inlet separates Ocean City, Ne ...

. The area's natural habitats are teeming with wildlife established in the numerous primary and secondary

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

systems, shoreline overwash, marine estuaries, and upland areas. The park offers scenic beauty and opportunities for observing a multitude of migratory and residential wildlife species. The park itself is located in

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are fiv ...

, just south of Ocean City. The park is operated and maintained by the

New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry In the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is an administrative division of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In its most visible role, the Division is directly responsible for the management and ...

Location and description

The park is located in

, just south of Ocean City, adjacent to

Corson's Inlet Corson Inlet is a narrow strait on the southern coast of New Jersey in the United States. Corson Inlet leads from the Atlantic Ocean through barrier islands off the northeast coast of Cape May County, New Jersey. The Inlet separates Ocean City, N ...

. Included in the park is Strathmere Natural Area, located north of Strathmere. The park consists of of undeveloped and undisturbed sand dunes that serves as a protected nesting site for the endangered

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from ...

, the

least tern The least tern (''Sternula antillarum'') is a species of tern that breeds in North America and locally in northern South America. It is closely related to, and was formerly often considered conspecific with, the little tern of the Old World. Ot ...

and

black skimmer The black skimmer (''Rynchops niger'') is a tern-like seabird, one of three similar birds species in the skimmer genus ''Rynchops'' in the gull family Laridae. It breeds in North and South America. Northern populations winter in the warmer ...

s. Other shorebirds and waterfowl, such as the

American oystercatcher The American oystercatcher (''Haematopus palliatus''), occasionally called the American pied oystercatcher, is a member of family Haematopodidae. Originally called the "sea pie", it was renamed in 1731 when naturalist Mark Catesby observed the ...

, various species of

sandpiper Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychu ...

sanderling The sanderling (''Calidris alba'') is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English ''sand-yrðling'', "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-colour ...

s and

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a fo ...

s also stop during the year. There are two endangered species that inhabit the park – the

, a bird; and the seabeach amaranth, a plant.

History

In 1969, the

established Corson's Inlet State Park to protect and preserve one of the last undeveloped areas of land along the New Jersey coastline. Since then, the park has been managed by

Belleplain State Forest Belleplain State Forest is a New Jersey State Forest in northern Cape May County and eastern Cumberland County. It has many young pine, oak and Atlantic white cedar trees, having better soil than the northern Pine Barrens. It was established ...

. In 2012, the park received a $5,850 federal grant to construct a boardwalk trail that would form a loop in the park. The grant would be matched by $3,700 from the New Jersey State Park Service. Local environmentalists protested the project, citing the disruption to the environment.

Recreation

Beaches are open during the summer months. Boating is allowed (regulated by the New Jersey Boating Regulation and Marine Law). The boat ramp is open 24 hours day, seven days a week year round. The boat ramp has a launch fee from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Corson's Inlet provides excellent opportunities to catch

blue fish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

kingfish Kingfish may refer to: Fish * ''Argyrosomus japonicus'' or Japanese meagre (Australia) * Opah or ''Lampris guttatus'' (United Kingdom) * Kingcroaker or ''Menticirrhus'' spp. * King mackerel or ''Scomberomorus cavalla'' * Yellowtail amberjack or ...

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

and

weakfish The weakfish, ''Cynoscion regalis'', is a marine fish of the drum family Sciaenidae. A medium-large, slender, marine fish, it is found along the east coast of North America. The head and back of this fish are dark brown in color with a greenish ...

. Fishing is regulated by the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff ...

, as well. Fishermen are allowed to use four wheel drive vehicles (with permit) from September 16-May 14. Pets are not permitted in the area during the nesting season.

References

{{authority control Parks in Cape May County, New Jersey State parks of New Jersey

Location and description

History

Recreation

See also

References