Friday August 29th at 7pm free beach concert. Let's Rock &…read moreRoll The Side Effects Rock Band will be playing this Friday night at Keansburg Beach Nj which is across the street from Half Moon restaurant in Keansburg, NJ. Be sure to bring a credit card to pay the parking meter. It's about $6.00 for 2 hours.

Great beach day experience with my hubby. You do not need to pay to get onto the beach. There is a…read moreboardwalk with rides, plus $10 parking, but you can also pay and pay by the hour which we did. For two hours, we laid $5.25, but $10 for a full beach day / if you're one who likes to say longer is not bad comparingly to my other experiences. The best part, is the view of the NYC Skyline in the distance! The beach is clean and well maintained and there is plenty of beach! The whole left of where we were was empty of people. I would definitely recommend if you want great views & to not have to pay for beach access!

It could look better on the approach they could monetize the parking lot. Add a blue path up on the…read moresand and make it look inviting. How about a little gift shop how about at least some food trucks nearby?

Ideal beach is pretty ideal. No one saw that intro coming…read more But really, it is! It gives secluded beach vibes with the narrow strip entrance way, free parking, and neat outdoor washing stations. It's perfect for those near Edison and surrounding towns when a 60 mile drive to Jersey shore doesn't seem ideal. Lots of seashells, kelp in the water and dead crabs. I didn't mind it at all. It gives sort of an Island feel. It's clean, not crowded and in the day you catch a foggy but still pretty view of the skyline. Will have to return at sunset to get a true skyline view, but still made for a quick and nice escape of a beach day.

Beautiful free beach! Part of the Monmouth county park system so they offer all types of activities…read morehere. My kids love the free summer seining!!! They are doing an incredible job replenishing the beach here after Sandy. And dogs are allowed on the beach year round!

So I've lived down the street for close to 20years . There has been so much of a improvement in…read morethis down and since the devastation of hurricane sandy. It's a good place for the summer as a beach spot with good restaurants and delis around for lunch, also very historic!

Great place to keep a beach cat and good for families…read more Fees to join are very reasonable. Great beach for kids to enjoy. They also have a social calendar to meet new friends and network. Everyone is friendly and fun their!

Beautiful park! Great for people of all ages and abilities. There are multiple trails for bikers,…read morejoggers, people with strollers, walkers and kiddos. Deeper into the park there is a lake where people bring canoes! I love that this park has so many layers. Even when there are many people there, using the playground, hanging out at the lake, hiking, etc., it feels like you're all alone because there are so many spots for people to be! It never feels crowded like other parks which make me feel like there was no point in going (I go to escape crowds!). It can get a little swampy after the rain, so wear suitable shoes. I slid down a hill once and my shoes saved the day. Lots of winding trails and water views, so bring a camera!

Named after the social welfare reformer Geraldine Thompson (who was an influential woman in NJ…read morepolitics and history way back in the day when Republicans actually believed that the government should be proactive in ameliorating social ills), this park features a beautiful restored estate home, beautifully maintained landscaping, and numerous activities for the public. This park is simply elegant and an oasis away from the world. Thompson had a long career of political activism and public service on behalf of prison reform, public health and juvenile justice in New Jersey, and was a generous benefactor of psychiatric services and college scholarships for the needy. Geraldine Thompson was active for many years in the state's Republican Party, and, in 1923, became the first female New Jersey delegate to a Republican National Convention. She shared a great many social welfare interests with her lifelong friend, Eleanor Roosevelt. During her later life she played an influential role in preserving Island Beach as a state park, and promoted the conservation of wildlife habitat. This park is a truly fitting monument to this woman's memory, and it is thankfully a treasure which the public can utilize for recreation and the elevation of everyday life.

Beautiful park in this quaint town. Several really nice restaurants and bars line the waterfront…read moreas well as ice cream parlors. They also have a few antique shops and even a distillery that serves some good liquor. The town is culturally diverse and hold numerous activities during the summer. On this day they had a DJ playing music with a bounce house for kids. It is a very pretty place to visit.

The playground is fenced in, which is great since it's so close to the road. The playground also…read morehas safe flooring which makes a big difference compared to other parks/playgrounds. The favorite part for us was the toddler/baby swing and an adult seat so you can enjoy the excitement together with views of the bay. Everything is in working condition and plenty of things to do.

Friendly staff, cutting boards, rod holders. Just wish not so much bird crap everywhere, but they…read morecan't help that.

I've been coming to this beach and boardwalk since I was able to be wheeled around in a stroller…read more It's not the greatest beach in the world, that was never the idea or purpose of being there. Altho it is always usually empty it's a great spot to shell search. Since I was kid we used to walk along the wave breaks and look for shells, horseshoe crabs,mussels, clams and whatever else we could find. True it's not clean never was even as a kid. I remember the jelly fish swarms way back when and their is always horseshoe crab and little crab body parts up and down the beach. I do have to say you can always find something cool on your walks and that's what I did today. When Sandy hit, that beach was even worse if that's possible but it was with brown stinky water rushing up the black sand and waves pushing garbage up onshore. Now it is so much better and has gotten a little cleaner and the sand is actually like sugar, minus the shells,seaweed, stones and miscellaneous stuff that pops up. It still holds some wonderful memories. They also built a fishing pier down the beach some and it looks pretty cool. People were fishing off it today. So having the storm actually made it better than it has been in a very long time. Don't get me wrong I don't plan on jumping in and swimming there anytime soon but definitely perfect for walks and finding marine treasure with the kids. 4 stars for the memories.

Came here twice with a friend who has been here before. It is a nice park with plenty of parking…read moreand trails. They also have a clean restroom and water fountains. I've been here twice already. We did the short trail that had some steep hills. It was about 2 miles and we decided to do another round. I love it! Depending on where you go, you can see right across to Seabright Beach and the strip of perfectly lined homes. A beautiful view. Everyone is friendly, though I do not feel comfortable coming here by myself. Must be the native NYC part of me. I do recommend this park.

Plenty of trails of varying difficulty-but something for everyone. Everyone on a walk has a…read morefriendly greeting, and I've yet to see an unleashed dog-a big plus!

5/5 experience from the beginning to the end. Affordable…read moreprices, takes cash and credit. Pet friendly and even provided him with a life vest! If you're at Sandy Hook or the shore and looking for an fun activity, definitely recommend stopping by here for a hour or two.

My husband and I LOVE Sandy Hook and have wanted to try stand up paddle boarding for some time. So…read morewe decided to make reservations the night before a beach trip and give these guys a shot. What a great decision! Before we even left for the beach we called SHK and they told us the conditions were a bit too windy for paddle boarding. He advised us to check the Sandy Hook wind forecast before our next trip and suggested wind under 7mph is ideal. So a few days later we tried again. Upon arrival we were greeted by one of the guys who works there. He told us a bit about how the weather affects your time on the water. Then he got our boards ready and explained where we could go. We had a blast but it was one heck of a workout. Midway through our first trip I exchanged my board out for a more stable (larger) one. What a difference! The 1 hour rental is enough time to explore the area and not feel completely beat. We loved our experience so much we went back 2 more times.

My FAVORITE hidden spot! The sand isn't the greatest and the water is rough but if you want a…read morepeaceful spot to reflect and listen to the waves, this is it. The trail is long and paved and quite scenic. It gets busy with other joggers/walkers and bike riders but it's an easy trail with a good stretch. It's got lots of places to sit in between if you get tired. There's enough parking but it can get full.

I don't know what possessed us to go biking when it was roughly 95 degrees in the shade (I came…read morehome afterwards to chug Evian bottles next to the air conditioning in a catatonic state for several hours), but given the conditions involved it was pretty remarkable that this was overall a positive experience. The Millennial Chum suggested a Juneteenth bike ride from Keyport to Atlantic Highlands for lunch, and then back. I'm basing a lot of the estimated mileage on her Apple Watch, which claimed we did a little under 20 miles roundtrip. If there are readers more familiar with the area that think that's an exaggeration, they could be correct. I'm more Team Fitbit. Anyway. The overall trail is pretty long - it's actually featured in my rail trail book and boasts well over 20 miles, including a big chunk in the interior of Monmouth County on the other side of the GSP. We accessed it in Keyport at Atlantic Street, then followed it east and mostly parallel with Route 36 through Union Beach, Keansburg and a section of Middletown Twp, before finally arriving at Atlantic Highlands and biking onto Avenue D/Center Ave into the downtown area. The worst part by far (and I don't see a way to fix or avoid it) is that the portion through Middletown is RIGHT next to 36. You're contending with traffic noises and quite a few times actually biking across busy streets intersecting 36. Definitely can get on the chaotic side, though most of the notorious Shore drivers were well behaved from my perspective. Since this was a former railroad track, the path itself is very flat. I can tell you though that the bike I borrowed had a pretty uncomfortable seat (which the Millennial Chum nobly tried to improve by purchasing an edgy gel seat cover thing in Atlantic Highlands, but the damage had been done) so any little bumps in the path were noticeable to me especially on the return trip. And full disclosure - I am sitting on a soft pillow as I type this. There were some very slight inclines/declines at various points but they were honestly so negligible that it seems barely worth mentioning - the most significant was probably right after we got off the official bike trail in Atlantic Highlands on Avenue D; we were hot and tired and yowled for most of our time on there because our legs were feeling those few blocks. Grain of salt depending on weather and your hindpaw conditioning (it's been literally years since I've been on a bike; I'm much more of a hiker). Because you're never far from civilization you have easy access to businesses should the need present itself. The Keansburg area literally featured a bar/restaurant within probably 50 feet of the trail (it had a bear statue I insisted on taking a picture with; we all have our kinks), and I saw a 7-11 as well. On a hot day, those both could have been pretty clutch if we hadn't responsibly packed some cold liquids with us. There were also a few port-a-potties scattered along our route, but thankfully that wasn't needed - I don't think anyone loves using a port-a-potty but boy do I not want to go in one when it's above 90 degrees. The optics are also pretty pleasant with the obvious exception of Route 36. There are long stretches where you're in a woodsy/shady situation, as well as some marshy/boardwalk sections that require riding across small wooden bridges. The wildlife situation was plentiful; I saw a deer literally running through a creek, which I honestly haven't seen outside of a Bambi viewing. There were also tons of obligatory squirrels/chipmunks, as well as some solid, colorful waterfowl. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this on a similarly sweltering day, but this is overall a very decent trail and I'd certainly opt for this over Route 36 any day.