Our Favorite New Jersey Beaches
/If you follow my Instagram feed, you know we’re avid beach-goers. And living in New Jersey, where it’s cold 9 months out of the year, we take advantage of it as much as possible—even when it’s over an hour drive each way! (Told you, we’re dedicated!).
We haven’t explored all of the Jersey Shore, but we’ve definitely found some gems along the way… and I’m sharing them today!
Manasquan
Manasquan is my favorite Jersey Shore beach, hands down 🙌🏼 It has the best local feel and is rarely crowded. It’s the perfect beach if you just want a relaxing/fun day in the sand and water. Plus, it’s nice to walk around and look at all of the beautiful houses. Fair warning: there aren’t a lot of restaurants/food options compared to other beaches, but the food there is good if you decide not to bring your own.
Manasquan Beach, NJ
Long Branch
I really like Long Branch. It reminds me of Virginia Beach (where I grew up) a little bit with the nice boardwalk, local restaurants, and new buildings (both areas have been going through redevelopment projects lately). Also, this was the first beach we took Ellis so it has a special place in my heart. She was two months old, we were insane! We mostly hang out near the Pier Village area to keep close to the action—and grab an excellent brunch from the Turning Point restaurant!
Ellis’ first beach day in Long Branch, NJ.
Catching the Kite Festival in Long Branch, NJ.
Cape May
We’ve only been to Cape May in the spring (read more about our visit here), so we haven’t had the full beach experience here yet—but we hope to in the future. However, we did enjoy their many great restaurants and coffee shops, and we loved checking out the historic homes during our walks.
Cape May, NJ
Asbury Park
We just visited Asbury Park, but the whole time we were kicking ourselves for not visiting this place before having kids. It is such a fun place (for kids too, don’t get me wrong, but it’s definitely built well for the childless crowd). There are really great restaurants and bars, local shops, street art, live music, and historic buildings along the boardwalk. I will say the beach part isn’t the best. It’s crowded on the weekends, so we set up in the surfing only section to get more of our own space.
Asbury Park, NJ.
Asbury Park, NJ.
There are plenty of other beaches we need to explore along the Jersey Shore, but until then, I think these will be our rotating faves until next summer!
-J
