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    Island Beach State Park

    4.5 (120 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

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    Mel M.

    SEASIDE PARK: WOW! Island Beach State Park is gorgeous!!! The protected barrier island has white sandy beaches, high dunes, wildlife, and so many plants! The 10-mile long island has a bunch of activities you can do with your leashed-pup: Beach time (in the off-season), they are allowed on all beaches! In-season from Memorial Day through end of September, they are not allowed on the life guard beaches. Walking trails! Dogs are allowed on 3 of the park trails (except for Spizzle Creek Bird Blind Trail - "pets can frighten wildlife.") Bay-side canoeing, kayaking, and stand-up paddle boarding! Mobile sport fishing (with permit)! If you drive all the way to the end and follow the foot path up the hill and there is a great view south of the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park! There is also an interpretative and nature center, as well as an herbarium! The RED FOX Beach Bar & Grill will have food and drinks in-season! Check a map before you go to get a lay of the land. $5 per vehicle for NJ residents in off-season / $6 in-season. Non-residents are welcome for an additional charge. Purchase a state-park pass if you plan to go a lot (good at all NJ State Parks!) The May Day Spring Festival is held in the beginning of May! Food trucks, craft and pet vendors will be there! Rain or shine!

    Steph W.

    There has been some changes at this beach, and it's one of the most nicest beaches in NJ, as an update, they have a new food court and a mini museum that's free for tourists to look at: Now I noticed that they have a "Don't Feed the Foxes" sign at the museum, but let me tell you all something, yes I know that human food can be harmful for the foxes and wildlife alike, but maybe there should be a fox/wildlife sanctuary because they are hungry and thirsty too, how would a human feel if they have to scavenge for food and water everyday living by the beach? In this sweltering heat, think about it, I am sure there is enough funding, but if more donations are needed then it can be helpful.

    Allie A.

    During the year of the PANDEMIC, I got vaccinated and took advantage of a special perk - a VAXPASS that allowed you to enter many NJ State Parks for F R E E. YES MA'AM. I signed up right away and finally had the chance to cross off one of the few (sigh) bucket list places to see in the state since I moved back here four years ago. We arrived the Friday over Labor Day weekend thinking the place would be packed. NO MA'AM. No line. My first time here, so first we drove down the long stretch of road to get the lay of the land, so to speak. We used the comfortable bathroom station at the visitor's center, and chatted with a gentleman at the final parking lot to find out where to access the Judge's Shack, the main reason I wanted to come. PRO TIP: It's between parking lots 12 and 13. We chose to park at #13, and after a few minutes walk, we emerged to a nice stretch of beach. We plopped down and settled in for a few hours of relaxing. If you walk left, it's about a 5 minute walk to the Judge's Shack, so I loved the walk over. CON: Oy vey. We had checked for wind direction before we left, and it said NNW. We knew that West winds usually meant flies were worse, but we hoped for the best. We still got bitten, me more so than my partner in crime - and man, did they itch like crazy; so much so that I had to take some light Benadryl and use calamine lotion for a few days after. Lesson learned.

    Karthikeyan R.

    The ongoing pandemic has definitely taken a toll on a lot of businesses and public places since a consumer's mindset to buy anything outside of essentials or to visit a public place like a park or beach, has crippled down significantly. Now by living with what has become the new normal, it is commendable on how these businesses and public places continue to remain open and cater to the general public by following the safety standards. It is now all the more important that we as customers, support these heroes during these dark hours to mankind. On Black Friday, we decided to take a drive to south of NJ to check out some beaches that wouldn't be crowded and luckily found this gem of a beach. It's a 1.5 hour drive through Garden State Parkway S for most of the time and the view keeps getting better once you are in the State park's vicinity. Once you are close to Seaside Park, the town seems to be a very quaint place that has been abandoned as we didn't see a single human being until we reached the checkpoint to drive into the state park. The entry fee is only $5 if you are a NJ resident and the check in was quite simple. We drove the complete 6 mile drive towards the end of the beach. There are other trek points as you drive by and parking places right next to them too. Take a short hike through the sands and viola, you will see the beach! The place was more crowded with SUV's driving on the sandy beach rather than humans and there was a congregation of SUV's at the west end of the beach and we couldn't walk all the way down there to check what was happening. There was even a constant patrol of a park ranger on a SUV too. We took a spot, had our lunch and then watched a beautiful sunset under the cover of a cloudy dark sky that looked surreal. If you are looking for good, secluded and clean beaches to avoid the crowd during the pandemic, do check this out. PS - Just realized that this is my 150th Yelp review.. phew :)

    Great day on the beach fishing
    Marc W.

    Great Surf Fishing beach with 4x4 access for licensed fishermen who have purchased the annual beach pass. This is a non-swimming beach reserved for fishing. Unfortunately there is limited enforcement of the rules and people walk down the beach to wade/swim which causes a safety hazard as there are many hooks and lines in the water. They should stay at the more northern swimming beaches.

    "Toes in the sand"
    Rebecca C.

    Price: $6 per car Weekdays/$10 per car Weekends NJ Resident I'm vaccinated so I have the VAXPASS which gets me into any NJ state park for free till the end of the year! I decided to make use of this great perk! My first visit to Island Beach State Park and I loved it! The beach and amenities are so clean! The people are friendly and courteous! I visited beach #1 which had a bar with alcoholic drinks as well as snacks. They have indoor showers and changing rooms as well as outdoor showers to rinse off! These facilities are open until 7pm with last entry at 6:45PM. Beach swimming closes at 6PM (life guards depart). Beautiful Jersey beach with not too much rocks in the sand. Simply love it here and I'm sure you will too! Covid Info: Masks are not required.

    Will V.

    I love coming to this beach! You don't have to worry about badges or checks in your bags. They let you be free!!! They did a great job this year with limiting capacity due to COVID although you needed to get there early on some days. They have food and a bar at the first swimming area. Also, paying per car instead of per person is much easier! Even if the beach might be out of your way, it is the best beach to go to.

    Scott C.

    My family and I have always enjoyed going to Island beach state park. It's very clean and the beaches are nice. They have food bathrooms a place to rinse off. One of the ramps going onto the beach is handy capped friendly. I'm not happy that they now service alcohol. To me it just creates issues with people getting drunk and going in the water. But it's still a nice place to swim

    Briana G.

    I took a day trip here the weekend before Memorial Day. It cost $10 to enter the park because I was out of state but the fee was well worth it. I went to the 1st swimming area that is ~3 miles down the road. It's a beautiful island, the beaches are clean and the people on the beach were friendly. Parking was easy as well! Make sure you bring bug spray as well as sunscreen! The waves there are amazing, the water was a little cold and be careful for rip currents. Sometimes you can get caught up in swimming that you don't realize how far you've drifted out or get from your spot on the beach. The water was clean and refreshing, even saw a cute little crab riding the waves with me! I would 10/1 recommend, definitely a NJ gem. Please keep it clean and don't tell too many folks!

    Dunes and beach
    Sabrina V.

    Beat the summer heat by spending a day here! Beautiful stretch of undeveloped shoreline that makes you feel surrounded by nature. Tips: If it's a hot day, get there before 9am and you'll find plenty of parking. Try out some of the other smaller beach areas to avoid the big crowds. Check the wind direction -- a breeze coming from inland (west) will blow biting flies in to your camp!

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    3 years ago

    Best beach on the entire coast!! Great facilities and access for many miles!! Fishing access is vast on both sides of the island!!

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    3 years ago

    Best place to go get your beach on. It has bathrooms, snack bar, parking...why go anywhere else

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    4 years ago

    This beach is unbelievable. Especially for New Jersey. Super clean, not crowded at all and did i mention the water is CLEAR !!

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    3 years ago

    This year not so hot. Beware this year can't bike here. They said nothing on their pages about this

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    Ask the Community - Island Beach State Park

    Does this beach/park close at night? I want to know if I can go at night after midnight to take Milky Way pictures.

    It is only open 24hrs for those who have sport fishing permits to drive on the beach and fish. Otherwise it closes daily. If you don't have one ($200 and sold out this year) get someone to take you. Hope this helps

    What is the best time to enter the park on weekends?

    View All 4 Questions

    Review Highlights - Island Beach State Park

    You pay for the day for your car-group, depending on if you're an NJ resident or not, and that's it.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    The Dock Outfitters - The view is the best part!

    The Dock Outfitters

    4.1(50 reviews)
    10.6 mi

    We have been in the area TWENTY YEARS and only stopped at this place recently! (This review is for…read morethe cafe at Dock Outfitters, by the way.) What a cute little luncheonette! We stopped by this cafe for breakfast after church on Sunday, and it did not disappoint. First thing you should know - the cafe is located upstairs from the bait and tackle shop. On the first level, there is a little counter with about four seats that you can use to eat (as well as picnic tables outside), but upstairs they have a little seating area with spectacular views of the bay. There are only about nine tables, so the place is not very big. We waited a few minutes for a table to be cleared off, which we didn't mind. They serve breakfast all day and the menu is quite solid, especially for being a little roadside eatery that's attached to a dock. It was also pleasantly surprising to see that they had specials for the day, too! The food was hot, tasty, and reasonably priced. All of the staff were super friendly, too! Not to mention...we were able to enjoy brunch overlooking the gorgeous Barnegat Bay. What more can you ask for? We'll definitely be returning here for more!

    We had an awesome experience renting a pontoon boat from Dock Outfitters. From the moment we walked…read morein, the staff was incredibly friendly, welcoming, and patient. You can tell they genuinely want you to have a great day on the water. They took the time to walk us through everything, answered all our questions, and made sure we felt comfortable and confident before heading out. The boat itself was in fantastic condition. Clean, well-maintained, and clearly cared for. It ran perfectly all day, which made the whole experience relaxing instead of stressful. There's nothing better than knowing you're on a safe, reliable boat so you can just enjoy being out on the bay. One of the biggest surprises was how convenient everything was. Having the café right there is such a great touch. We grabbed coffee and breakfast before heading out and came back to food and drinks waiting for us. It made the whole day feel easy and seamless. If you're looking for a pontoon rental at the Jersey Shore, this is the place. Great people, great boats, and a really fun, laid-back vibe. We'll definitely be back.

    Photos
    The Dock Outfitters
    The Dock Outfitters - Look at that sausage!!! Great views

    Look at that sausage!!! Great views

    The Dock Outfitters

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    Lavallette Beach And Boardwalk - Nice beach and boardwalk. Can't wait to return in the summer.

    Lavallette Beach And Boardwalk

    4.2(14 reviews)
    12.8 mi

    I've been coming here my entire life, as did my parents and grandparents. (I have a picture of my…read moregrandfather with my father as a young boy, standing on the beach with a bamboo fishing pole and metal bucket. The back of the photo reads "Lavallette 1929") I love it here and aside from the nostalgia, it is a treasure of the Jersey Shore. The beautiful oceanfront boardwalk is absolutely spectacular any time of year and is a valuable amenity to the entire area, as well the entire State. The whitest, most powdery sand in New Jersey. And certainly one the the best maintained beaches anywhere. As a kid, going "down the shore" always meant Lavallette to me. Remarkably nothing much has changed: there are larger houses and perhaps more people, but the character and vibe remains unchanged. Happy families, laughing and running children, coming of age teens. First kisses, summer loves. Growing up. Surfboards, beach bikes, crabbing. It's that kind of place. But note: if you're looking for the Seaside Heights crowd here, keep driving. Lavallette is all-American clean-cut family fun.

    One of my noblest chums rented a beach house about two blocks from the Lavallette Beach. Last year,…read morewe stayed a little further south and went to the Ortley Brach, but this one was definitely more warmly received by the crew. We ended up coming to the beach twice as a group, ranging from a solid half day to maybe an hour or two, and then I took a solitary walk in the early morning at sunrise once - definitely got a lot of time in here, which I feel is the number one objective of a shore excursion, regardless of whether you go into the water or not. This is definitely more of a local beach in the sense that it's not teeming with tons of people, and if you want a drink or a snack, you need to bring it with you. While there were lifeguards stationed nearby during our visits, whistling from time to time at wayward swimmers floating outside of the designated flag areas, there really aren't a lot of rules. Beach badges are required but I don't recall the kids at the entrance to the beach ever looking for them. The cleanest beach I've ever been to is Spring Lake, I'd guess 35 to 40 minutes north of here. Absolutely pristine, but it's also very restrictive with TONS of rules about what you can and mostly can't bring onto the beach. I definitely saw a few random pieces of garbage but nothing crazy and honestly it's possible that most of it was just swept in from the sea overnight. When I took my morning stroll I saw some employees cleaning the beach with an intimidating looking machine, so they're on top of it. As an aside, all of us noticed some super aggressive seagulls on the premises that absolutely knew how to recognize which bags had food in them. One particular seagull (which I captured in the accompanying photo so you can easily identify him in the future) physically dragged a bag several feet to intentionally tip over and scrounge around in. It was a very sophisticated operation. Keep your eyes on your shizzle. One area where I do think Ortley beats out Lavallette is access to additional snacks and whatnot. I love to embrace the power of advertising when I'm on the beach, so it's not unusual for me to make an impulse decision on a food or drink item based on one of the famous banners flying by along the coastline. One of those banners boasted an intriguing-looking spiked iced tea, but I never ended up sampling it because we were nowhere near a convenience store. Ortley had several within a block or two of the beach where you could quickly run over, grab a few items and return to your towel within five or 10 minutes. My recommendation would be to stock up and take a few extra minutes before going to the beach to make sure you have adequate provisions for your visit. In terms of the fellow beachgoers, it was a pretty laidback crew. I'd by and large agree with other characterizations that this is pretty family friendly. We saw a lot of content children frolicking around in the sand and on the water. There was one bad apple, a high maintenance teenager screaming and belittling her mother for a solid chunk of the afternoon with no obvious consequences, but I think we can just blame the parenting there and not the Lavallette Beach. Unless you're literally on a deserted island, expect a whole spectrum of people - makes it more interesting anyway. Definitely a chill, welcome vibe. But if you're looking for more action, I'd direct your attention a few miles south to the insanity that Seaside offers.

    Photos
    Lavallette Beach And Boardwalk - With bestie!

    With bestie!

    Lavallette Beach And Boardwalk - Boardwalk

    Boardwalk

    Lavallette Beach And Boardwalk - Enjoy a walk on the beach

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    Enjoy a walk on the beach

    Island Beach State Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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