Making plans for Spring Break? Put some of these Camden adventures on the top of your to-do list.
1. Camden Children’s Garden
Kids (and their parents!) can get in touch with the natural world at the four-acre Camden Children’s Garden, which is packed with horticultural experiences that encourage kids’ creativity and imaginative play. Visit with butterflies, ride the garden carousel, climb inside a baby hadrosaur’s egg, explore an underground maze, and much, much more.
2. Visit the Adventure Aquarium
Get up close and personal with sea turtles, penguins, hippos and hundreds of other underwater creatures at Camden’s Adventure Aquarium. Touch exotic seastars and stingrays – take a 3D journey to the Galapagos Islands, or even take a walk on the wild side and across the Shark Bridge.
Get to know one of the most celebrated poets that ever lived. Walt Whitman’s home has been preserved so well that you almost expect him to walk around the corner. Much of his original furniture is there, including the desk where he sat to write many pieces of his poetry. General admission is free.
4. Camden County Historical Society
Camden City is bursting with history, from the African slave trade to the RCA Victor Company and beyond. Learn all about its cultural roots with a visit to the Camden County Museum and Historic Pomona Hall. You’ll find monuments from the past, like a 101-year-old stained glass window from the RCA Factory and a mural by local artist Donna Backues documenting life in Camden from the late 1600s to today.
5. Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum
The shipbuilding industry once employed tens of thousands of people in Camden and the berths were the birthplace of the world’s most well-known vessels. The Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum (CSMM) honors the memories of those ships and the workers who created them. Apart from the historical artifacts, CSMM is housed in the former Church of Our Savior on Broadway, a beautiful and historic building that fans of architecture will love.
6. Battleship New Jersey
The USS New Jersey brings history to life – creating an immersive experience that allows visitors to understand how navy soldiers lived on board and below deck. It’s a great educational trip for kids with features like overnight stays. There’s an exciting scene for adults too, with events like the upcoming NJ Beer Festival on June 22.
7. Donkey’s Place
Now an official stop on the “Anthony Bourdain Food Trail”, Donkey’s Place has been challenging the notion of “Philly” cheesesteaks for over 75 years. Founded by a heavyweight boxer, Donkey’s signature sandwich puts a twist on the traditional version, serving it on a poppy seed kaiser roll, loaded with American cheese, fried onions. Go ahead and add their delicious one-of-a-kind hot sauce, if you dare.
8. The Camden GreenWay
If physical fitness is your thing, lace up your running shoes, or dust off your bike – and head over to the Camden GreenWay. It’s one of the most scenic ways to experience the city, featuring a network of walking and biking trails that connect Camden, Philadelphia and other suburban South Jersey communities.
9. A Walk in the Park
Pyne Poynt Park, the historic home of Camden’s Cooper family in the 1800s, is now the home field of the North Camden Little League (recently featured in Woman’s Day). The baseball/softball season is in full swing, so catch a couple of innings – jump around on the state-of-the-art playground equipment – or walk along a path next to the Delaware River.
10. The Arts in Camden
Many don’t expect Camden to be a hot-spot for visual and theatrical art, but there is a rich scene in the city.
- The Stedman Art Gallery, established in 1975 at Rutgers-Camden, includes the works of more than 450 artists and is now featuring an exhibit titled “Camden: Past, Present, and Future,” which includes a mural painted with the help of more than 300 local students.
- Once the Engine Company 3 firehouse between 1890 to 1986, FireWorks Gallery is now a renovated creative space for painters, sculptors, and photographers. You can view the work of others, host a party, or even create some of your own art in one of its classes.
- More into performance art? Visit South Camden Theatre Company – modeled after a Prohibition-era speakeasy that stood on the same corner of Ferry Avenue and Jasper Street. Now in its 14th season, the company will open “An Infinite Ache,” an original romantic drama about a young couple.
How to Get to Camden
“Many South Jersey families can be on the waterfront in under an hour. One way to do that is by taking the River Line,” says Camden County Freeholder Director Lou Cappelli. “Or, you can hop on the Speedline and be there in no time. When it comes to ease of transportation, there’s no city where it’s easier to get in and out.”
The RiverLine is a diesel tram-train light rail that plots a scenic course along the Delaware River, connecting Camden to Trenton. On its southbound route, the RiverLine stops in Bordentown, Roebling, Florence, Burlington, Delanco, Riverside, Cinnaminson, Riverton, Palmyra and Pennsauken, before making multiple stops at Camden’s major hubs.
For those coming to Camden from the Philadelphia side of the river, the RiverLink Ferry System provides waterfront-to-waterfront service. Ferries run daily through Sept. 3, then on Saturdays and Sundays only (during concerts and special events) through September. The 500+ passenger ferry Freedom docks next to the Adventure Aquarium.
The PATCO Speedline runs through Camden County and across the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia, PATCO stations in Lindenwold, Voorhees, Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Westmont, Collingswood and Camden make getting to the city as simple as climbing aboard.
