Margate City Fishing Pier — Live Webcam Online

Jersey Shore Coastline in Real Time

The Margate City Fishing Pier is one of those spots along the New Jersey coast where the panorama is typically reserved for locals and avid anglers. This live webcam streams the Atlantic Ocean beach from the pier's height: a wide strip of golden sand, rolling waves, dunes with coastal vegetation, and a row of condos in the background. The camera broadcasts live — you see exactly what a person standing on the metal railings in the bottom right corner of the frame would see.

Margate City sits on Absecon Island, a barrier island off the southeastern coast of New Jersey, between Atlantic City and Ventnor City. It's part of the Jersey Shore region, which stretches for hundreds of miles along the Atlantic Ocean. The pier extends into the water, offering views of the shoreline to the north and south, and on clear days you can see the beach stretching in both directions.

Pier History: From Destruction to Rebuilding

The current Margate City Fishing Pier is not the original structure. The old pier was declared unsafe in 2006 due to damage from the powerful waves and winds typical of this stretch of coastline. Six years later, in 2010, the pier was completely rebuilt. The new structure retained its functionality for anglers but became safer and more resilient to the storms that regularly batter the Jersey Shore from the Atlantic.

The pier is managed by The Angler's Club of Margate — a private club that partners with the city to maintain the public areas. This is an unusual model for the coast: the club handles the infrastructure while the city ensures the pier remains accessible to everyone.

Fishing from the Pier: What's Caught and the Rules

For many visitors, the pier is first and foremost a fishing spot. It features fishing shelters on both the inner and outer platforms, approximately 50 feet of bait tables on the north side with freshwater rinse stations, and two bait lockers with freezer units. This is serious infrastructure designed for year-round use.

The catch depends on the season. Anglers reel in striped bass, fluke, bluefish, tautog, cod, as well as clams, mullet, herring, mackerel, and bunker. In spring and fall, the striped bass migration turns the pier into a magnet for anglers from across the region.

Important: saltwater fishing from the pier requires registration with the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program (free of charge). A freshwater fishing license is required for anyone 16 and older. These rules apply along the entire New Jersey coast, and the Margate City Pier is no exception.

Seasonal Highlights: What Changes on Camera

The webcam at Margate City Pier shows a different scene depending on the time of year. In summer, the beach is packed with visitors: lounge chairs, umbrellas, families with children at the water's edge. This is peak season on the Jersey Shore, when water temperatures rise to comfortable levels and lifeguards are on duty from 10 AM to 6 PM.

In winter, the scene shifts. The beach empties out, leaving only anglers and joggers. The waves are higher, the wind stronger, and the ocean turns a steely gray. On stormy days — and there are plenty on the Jersey Shore — the pier may be closed to the public, but the camera keeps streaming: you can watch the Atlantic Ocean crash against the shore, sending spray tens of meters into the air.

Sunrises and sunsets from the pier are reason enough to tune in. At sunset, the ocean glows in shades of orange and pink, while the silhouettes of anglers and the dunes create a striking foreground.

Attractions Around the Pier

Margate City is more than just a beach and fishing. Within walking distance of the pier sits one of the most unusual attractions on the U.S. East Coast — Lucy the Elephant. This 65-foot (20 m) wooden and tin elephant was built in 1881. It's designated as a National Historic Landmark and holds the unofficial title of America's Oldest Surviving Roadside Attraction. The elephant-shaped building was originally created to attract land buyers to the coast — and it still works to this day.

Two miles from the pier are the Margate beaches with lifeguards on duty from 10 AM to 6 PM, from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Nearby you'll also find the Ventnor City Fishing Pier and Atlantic City with its aquarium and boardwalk. All of this infrastructure makes Margate City a convenient base for exploring the southern Jersey Shore.

Weather and Viewing Conditions

The pier camera operates around the clock, but image quality depends on the weather. On clear days, visibility is at its maximum: you can make out beach details, individual people, and boats on the horizon. In rain or fog, the picture softens but gains atmosphere — gray sky, leaden ocean, rare silhouettes.

The best times to watch are morning (sunrise over the Atlantic) and evening (sunset). In summer, daytime hours when the beach is alive with activity. In winter, stormy days — if the camera isn't shut down: watching the waves from a safe distance is what keeps many viewers coming back to the stream.

How to Get to the Pier

The Margate City Fishing Pier is located in the southern part of Absecon Island, roughly 2 miles south of Atlantic City. You can drive there via Atlantic Avenue — the main artery that runs the length of the island. Parking near the pier is street parking, and during peak season spots can be hard to find. Public transportation is available via NJ Transit buses connecting Margate with Atlantic City and Philadelphia.

For those who can't make the trip in person, the live webcam is the only way to see the pier in real time. The stream is available free of charge and requires no registration.

What You'll See on the Camera

The camera is mounted on the Margate City Fishing Pier and faces the Atlantic Ocean beach. In the frame: a wide sandy stretch with lounge chairs and beach umbrellas (in season), the shoreline with rolling waves on the left, sand dunes with coastal vegetation, and a row of beachfront residential buildings (condos, villas) on the right. In the bottom right corner — the metal pier railings. In the distance — the continuation of the beach and development along the Absecon Island coastline.

During the day, you can see beachgoers, anglers at the water's edge, and occasionally surfers riding the waves. At night, the camera switches to low-light mode: silhouettes of dunes, building lights in the background, the dark mass of the ocean. At any time of day, the stream delivers a live feed from the Jersey Shore coast — no editing, no delays.