Welcome to Avalon, Ocean Drive Bridge, NJ

Boating in Avalon, Ocean Drive Bridge, NJ Map View

Gasoline, diesel fuel, water, ice, berths, some marine supplies, and a 4-ton forklift are available at Avalon; hull and engine repairs can be done.

Townsends Inlet, 20 miles southwest of Absecon Inlet, is subject to considerable changes in position and depth, and is used principally by pleasure craft. Channel buoys are not charted, because they are shifted frequently to mark the best water. The depth over the bar is about 4 feet. Numerous wrecks and obstructions are in the approaches to the inlet from seaward.

Avalon, on the southwest side of the inlet, is separated from the waterway’s Ingram Thorofare by a wide marsh area. Townsends Inlet is a small resort on the northeast side of the inlet. A seasonal Coast Guard station is on the northeast side of the resort.

The highway bridge over Townsends Inlet has a bascule span with a clearance of 23 feet. The route of the New Jersey Intracoastal Waterway is just west of the bridge. In 1987, it is reported that a sandbar in a north-south direction across the east approach to the channel at the center of the drawspan causes hazardous conditions for mariners, especially during south winds and flood tidal currents that create a loss of steering and dangerous clockwise currents at the base of the bridge; extreme caution is advised in this area.

Cornell Harbor, a channel with a reported depth of 4.0 feet in the north half in 2000, leads southeastward through the marsh from Mile 96.8 to Avalon thence along the inner side of the resort.

Pennsylvania Harbor, 0.5-mile southwestward of Cornell Harbor, had a reported controlling depth of 2.7 feet (4.5 feet at midchannel) in 2000. Princeton Harbor, 0.2-mile southwestward of Pennsylvania Harbor had a reported controlling depth of 2.3 feet (deeper water is available with local knowledge) in 1999-2000. Both waterways lead to the Avalon waterfront. The fixed bridges over the Avalon channel at the inner ends of the two harbors restrict passage between them or to the southwest to an overhead clearance of 4 feet.

Coastal Stories See All

Southern Resident killer whales swim just off Seattle’s shore. NOAA experts anticipate that the West Coast and the Pacific Islands will feel the effects of the 2026–2027 El Niño event most directly. Credit: NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center; taken under NOAA permit #781-1824

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By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. What does El Niño mean for U.S. fisheries and marine life? What can fishermen and coastal communities expect to observe and experience as this event continues and potentially intensifies? And what are scientists at NOAA Fisheries doing to track this natural phenomenon? The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is a powerful… SEE MORE

NOAA's flood inundation map (left) depicting the forecast for flooding extent in New London, Wisconsin, and a photo of flooded streets in New London (right), dated April 17, 2026. (Image credit: NOAA NWS)

NOAA’s flood mapping tool now covers nearly 100% of U.S.

10/7/2026

By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. NOAA’s National Weather Service announced today that Flood Inundation Mapping (FIM), a revolutionary tool for predicting river flooding, is now available on an experimental basis to nearly 100% of the U.S. population. This is a massive expansion from FIM’s prior coverage of 60% of the country. FIM… SEE MORE

Meet Hawaii Fish Company, Tilapia Farmers in Hawaiʻi

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By fisheries.noaa.gov, fisheries.noaa.gov. For husband and wife duo Ron and and Estralita Weidenbach, fish farming is a family business. The couple met in the 1970s while Ron was consulting at the East West Center in Honolulu and the World Bank, focusing on sustainable aquaculture projects in Asia. Estralita was a… SEE MORE

Avalon, Ocean Drive Bridge, NJ

Welcome to Avalon, Ocean Drive Bridge, NJ

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Boating in Avalon, Ocean Drive Bridge, NJ Map View

Quietly Sophisticated: The Hood 42 LM

Coastal Stories See All

How Will El Niño Affect Your Local Fisheries?

NOAA’s flood mapping tool now covers nearly 100% of U.S.

Meet Hawaii Fish Company, Tilapia Farmers in Hawaiʻi

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