Route 47 is a state highway in the southern part of New Jersey. It runs from Atlantic Avenue in Wildwood, Cape May County, north to U.S. Route 130 (US 130) in Brooklawn, Camden County. It is also referred to as Delsea Drive, as it connects the Delaware River near Brooklawn to the Atlantic Ocean (the sea) in Wildwood. This name was assigned by the New Jersey Legislature in 1933. The route runs through rural areas of Cape May and southern Cumberland counties as a two-lane road. Traffic jams along this portion of Route 47 are commonplace in the summer vacation season and can stretch for miles due to the missing southern section of Route 55, where all Jersey Shore-bound traffic enters the small two-lane road. North of here, the route runs through the cities of Millville and Vineland before entering Gloucester County, where it passes through more rural areas as well as Clayton and Glassboro. Past Glassboro, it heads through suburban areas in Washington and Deptford townships before running through Westville and Brooklawn. Route 47 is the longest signed state route in New Jersey. The road passes through residential and commercial areas before crossing the intersection with Ocean Drive/New Jersey Avenue (CR 621), where it becomes a four-lane undivided county-maintained road that is designated as County Route 661 (CR 661). Upon crossing the intersection with Park Boulevard, the route gains a center left-turn lane and passes businesses, intersecting Susquehanna Avenue. Past this intersection, the road passes more rural dwellings and enters the community of Dias Creek, where it intersects Dias Creek Road (CR 612). The route crosses over Bidwell Creek near wetlands and heads into forests. It reaches the residential community of Goshen, where there is an intersection with Goshen–Swainton Road (CR 615). The road comes to an intersection with Leesburg–Belleplain Road (CR 550) and Station Road (CR 710) to the east of Leesburg and continues north. Route 47 reaches an intersection with Mauricetown Road (CR 670) in a commercial area prior to Route 347 merging back into the route.
thumb|left|View north along Route 47 at College Drive in Vineland
From here, Route 47 continues through a mix of trees and residences, intersecting Schooner Landing Road, which provides access to the northbound direction of Route 55. Just past this intersection, the route crosses the Manantico Creek into Millville, where it becomes South 2nd Street, and continues past more woodland containing residences. Here, the road meets the intersection with Hurrfville Road (Route 41), Blackwood–Barnsboro Road (CR 603), and Egg Harbor Road (CR 630). North of Port Elizabeth, the road was maintained by several turnpikes: the Westville and Glassboro Turnpike, chartered in 1852, following Tanyard Road and Woodbury Road south of New Sharon; the Glassboro and Malaga Turnpike, chartered in 1851; the Millville and Malaga Turnpike, chartered in 1852; and the Port Elizabeth and Millville Turnpike, chartered in 1852. The modern road north of Port Elizabeth and from Dennisville to Goshen was incorporated into the Cape May Way, an auto trail running from Camden to Cape May.
thumb|left|Route 47 southbound approaching split with Route 347 in Maurice River Township
The road was originally designated as a segment of pre-1927 Route 15 between Rio Grande and Millville in 1917, and as one of two branches of pre-1927 Route 20 between Millville and Westville in 1923. In the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 47 was legislated to run from Route 50 in Tuckahoe to Brooklawn, following present-day Route 49 between Tuckahoe and Millville and its current alignment north of Millville. Meanwhile, the present-day alignment of Route 47 between the current intersection with Route 83 in South Dennis and Millville was designated a part of Route 49 while the current alignment between South Dennis and US 9/Route 4 in Rio Grande became Route S49, a spur of Route 49. In 1933, the New Jersey Legislature named Route 47 as "Delsea Drive" after a reporter for the Woodbury Times joked how the road connected the Delaware River to the Atlantic Sea. Route S49 was extended from Rio Grande to Park Boulevard in Wildwood in 1938. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 47 and Route 49 switched alignments south and east of Millville, and Route 47 replaced Route S49 south to Wildwood.
thumb|right|Route 47 southbound at the Garden State Parkway interchange in Middle Township
By the 1980s, Route 47 was moved from High Street to North 2nd Street through the northern part of Millville. An alternate route for Route 47 was eventually created to the east along county routes in Cape May and Cumberland counties; this eventually became Route 347 by the 1990s.
In the 2000s, Rio Grande Avenue in Wildwood received improvements to make it reminisce the doo wop atmosphere for which the beach resort is known.
The Route 47 bridge over Dennis Creek in Dennis Township and the intersection with Route 83 received improvements that were completed in July 2007. The bridge over the creek was structurally deficient and in need of replacing. The job was completed with wider shoulders and a wider sidewalk on the new bridge. The intersection between Route 47 and Route 83 was also realigned and had signals installed.
In 2018, a $10 million construction project began to improve the section of Route 47 along Rio Grande Avenue at the entrance to Wildwood, which added a center left-turn lane, raised the road by , and added new lighting and signs. The project was completed in 2020. A dedication ceremony marking the completion of the project was held on July 1, 2020, with local officials in attendance. As part of the project, Rio Grande Avenue leading into Wildwood was to be renamed to Beach Ball Boulevard following a contest to rename the roadway. However, on July 10, 2020, it was announced that the Wildwood city commissioners decided to keep the road name as Rio Grande Avenue after receiving input from residents that the road name should not change.