A Season Built Around a Free Beach and a Working Lighthouse

Free Public Beach Access: One of Only Five in New Jersey

Most Jersey Shore towns require a paid beach badge for seasonal beach access. North Wildwood does not. Per Wikipedia, North Wildwood is one of only five New Jersey municipalities that offers free public beach access complete with lifeguard monitoring, on Five Mile Beach immediately north of Wildwood. That is a genuine civic-identity fact, not a marketing line -- it shapes how a day at the beach here actually works compared with neighboring towns that sell daily or seasonal badges.

We did not independently confirm the current list of which four other New Jersey municipalities share this free-access policy, nor any 2026 changes to lifeguard staffing or hours. Confirm current lifeguard hours and any beach rules directly with the City of North Wildwood before a visit.

The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse: Built 1874, Still Operating Today

The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse is a real, dated structure, not a reproduction. Per Wikipedia, Congress funded it on June 10, 1872, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built it between November 1873 and March 1874. It was designed by Paul J. Pelz, who also designed five sister lighthouses on the Pacific coast, and it stands 50 feet tall as a fourth-order light historically visible up to 13 nautical miles out to sea.

Its keeper history is its own piece of documented local lore: first keeper John Marche drowned within three months of taking the post, and his successor, Civil War veteran Freeling "Captain" Hewitt, went on to serve 45 years -- the longest tenure of any keeper there. A severe storm in 1913 damaged the structure badly enough to force its closure, and the lighthouse was physically moved 150 feet west before reopening in 1914 -- a genuinely dramatic, dated relocation rather than a static historical footnote.

Decommissioned, Then Restored by Community Petition in 1982

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1964, and per Wikipedia, it was restored following a community petition in 1982. It has been listed on both the National and State Registers of Historic Places since 1977. Today it operates as a museum under the City of North Wildwood's oversight, while the U.S. Coast Guard separately maintains it as an active aid to navigation, having installed a modern VRB-25 beacon in 2018 -- meaning the light visitors see today is not a decorative relic but a functioning navigational aid still guiding vessels into Hereford Inlet.

We did not independently confirm current museum hours, admission pricing, or any garden or grounds details for the lighthouse this research pass -- Wikipedia's own entry did not confirm those specifics. Do not assume hours or admission cost from this page; confirm current museum hours and admission directly with the City of North Wildwood or the lighthouse's own operator before planning a visit.

From Anglesea to North Wildwood: A Distinct Founding Identity

North Wildwood was not always named North Wildwood. Per Wikipedia, it was originally incorporated as the Borough of Anglesea on June 13, 1885, from portions of Middle Township, then reincorporated as the Borough of North Wildwood in 1906, and again as a City in 1917. In 2016, residents voted against a proposal to revert to the historic "Anglesea" name, with concerns cited over the confusion it would create and its impact on local commerce.

That founding history matters for a seasonal-recreation identity because it separates North Wildwood from the Doo-Wop motel-district branding associated with Wildwood itself. North Wildwood's own identity runs through Anglesea, the lighthouse, and free beach access -- a more residential, historically distinct character even while sharing Five Mile Beach and some infrastructure with its Wildwoods neighbors.

A Small, Residential City on Five Mile Beach

North Wildwood's 2020 census population was 3,621, down 420 residents (-10.4%) from 4,041 in 2010, per Wikipedia. The city covers 2.49 square miles (1.73 land, 0.77 water) and sits at an elevation of about 3 feet above sea level. It shares Wildwood High School and other island infrastructure with the neighboring Wildwoods communities, while Wikipedia describes it as maintaining a more residential character than Wildwood itself.

We did not independently confirm a current (2026) permanent population figure beyond the 2020 census count, nor current summer visitor totals. Nothing beyond the confirmed 2020 census figure is stated here as a current population fact.

What We Did Not Find, and Why That Is the Honest Story

This research pass confirmed, via Wikipedia, the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse's 1872 congressional funding, its 1873-1874 construction, its 1913 storm damage and 1913-14 relocation 150 feet west, its 1964 decommissioning, its 1982 community-petition restoration, its 1977 listing on the National and State Registers of Historic Places, its current status as both a city-run museum and an active Coast Guard navigation aid with a 2018 beacon upgrade, North Wildwood's 1885 Anglesea founding, its free public beach access as one of only five such New Jersey municipalities, and its 2020 census population of 3,621.

It did not confirm: current lighthouse museum hours, admission pricing, or garden and grounds details; current median home prices, active listing counts, or specific current rental rates; current New Jersey state sales tax or Cape May County property tax rates; specific current flood zone designations for individual North Wildwood parcels; or specific current restaurant, shop, or business names. None of those figures are invented here -- confirm them directly with the City of North Wildwood, Cape May County government, the State of New Jersey, or FEMA's Flood Map Service Center as applicable.

New Jersey, Not Delaware: A Different Tax Backdrop

North Wildwood is this site's fourth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest, and that matters beyond geography. New Jersey's state sales tax and its municipal and county property tax structure are genuinely different from the no-sales-tax framework used across the Delaware markets already built on this site. No specific current New Jersey sales tax rate or Cape May County property tax rate is stated here.

Confirm current tax rates and assessment figures directly with Cape May County government, the City of North Wildwood's own finance office, and the State of New Jersey. Nothing here should be read as carrying over Delaware's tax framework to North Wildwood.

What This Means for Planning a Visit

A realistic North Wildwood recreation day looks like this: free beach access without a badge purchase, time spent at the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse taking in a genuinely dated 1874 structure that still functions as an active navigation aid, and an appreciation for a more residential, less boardwalk-driven pace than Wildwood next door. That is a real, documented difference from a tramcar-and-boardwalk model -- free beach and working lighthouse, in that order -- and it lines up with what actually makes North Wildwood distinct among the Wildwoods. For current lighthouse hours, admission, and any beach rules, check directly with the City of North Wildwood and the lighthouse's own operator before finalizing plans.