Putting Pins in a Map - Jersey Shore


Ocean Grove is a beach on the Jersey Shore a little over an hour south of New York City. It was first established as a permanent Christian camp meeting community in 1869; and was designated a State and National Historic District in 1975. The religious foundation is still shown today; it’s a dry community and beach, with the beach is not opening until 12:30 pm on Sundays. It lacks the huge boardwalk with shops and restaurants which keeps the crowds down a little more, and makes for a relaxing, laid back trip. There were lots of people on the beach, though it never really felt too crowded. We had no trouble finding a spot to throw down beach towels & lie out in the sand (note: next time bring an umbrella). We also happened to be there on the weekend where the ocean temperature hit a record high, which made the water so warm and nice. There are also these amazing Victorian style homes in the neighborhood directly next to the beach. They were also doing some new construction next to where we parked, so we looked up the prices when we got back home... they start at around $1.3 million. Next time we’ll look at getting a group together and renting one of these houses for a long weekend. Parking isn’t too bad and you can buy a pass and park in a lot directly next to the beach or, if you want to save a few bucks, park down one of the side streets and just walk a few blocks (that’s what we did). To get on the beach, its $7 a day ($2 if it’s after 4pm, since the beach closes at 5:30) or $12 for a weekend pass. You can also get season passes for $70 for adults and $35 for kids and you can also get discounts on the beach passes if you’re staying in one of the homes. The waves are a perfect height, not so low its boring, not too high that they take out younger kids, and absolutely perfect for boogie boards! We saw a few surfers out there trying to catch up a few waves, but the bigger waves they need were a little more infrequent. All in all, it was a great, relaxing weekend at Ocean Grove with our friends. It’s very family friendly, and we’ll definitely be back!

Ocean Grove is a beach on the Jersey Shore a little over an hour south of New York City. It was first established as a permanent Christian camp meeting community in 1869; and was designated a State and National Historic District in 1975. The religious foundation is still shown today; it’s a dry community and beach, with the beach is not opening until 12:30 pm on Sundays.

It lacks the huge boardwalk with shops and restaurants which keeps the crowds down a little more, and makes for a relaxing, laid back trip. There were lots of people on the beach, though it never really felt too crowded. We had no trouble finding a spot to throw down beach towels & lie out in the sand (note: next time bring an umbrella). We also happened to be there on the weekend where the ocean temperature hit a record high, which made the water so warm and nice.

There are also these amazing Victorian style homes in the neighborhood directly next to the beach. They were also doing some new construction next to where we parked, so we looked up the prices when we got back home... they start at around $1.3 million. Next time we’ll look at getting a group together and renting one of these houses for a long weekend.

Parking isn’t too bad and you can buy a pass and park in a lot directly next to the beach or, if you want to save a few bucks, park down one of the side streets and just walk a few blocks (that’s what we did). To get on the beach, its $7 a day ($2 if it’s after 4pm, since the beach closes at 5:30) or $12 for a weekend pass. You can also get season passes for $70 for adults and $35 for kids and you can also get discounts on the beach passes if you’re staying in one of the homes.

The waves are a perfect height, not so low its boring, not too high that they take out younger kids, and absolutely perfect for boogie boards! We saw a few surfers out there trying to catch up a few waves, but the bigger waves they need were a little more infrequent. All in all, it was a great, relaxing weekend at Ocean Grove with our friends.

It’s very family friendly, and we’ll definitely be back!