Ocean City Named Best Beach in America by Coastal Living

Ocean City, NJ -- It took a week longer than expected, but the nation found out which beach is the best in America on Monday.

It’s Ocean City.

Ocean City emerged victorious in Coastal Living’s inaugural Beach Madness Bracket, "The Best Beach in America 2016."

Ocean City defeated Huntington Beach, California, in the finals. It garnered over 100,000 votes, according to an announcement from the city.

“The contest included a lot of beautiful beaches, but the voters knew that Ocean City is much more than that,” Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian said. “It’s a tradition and a part of life for generations of residents and guests. Days on the beach and boardwalk nights in Ocean City are the fabric of many fond memories for people across the country. We all feel blessed to live in such a wonderful place and proud that so many visitors share our passion.”

Ocean City beat Ogunquit Beach (Maine), Hammonasset State Park (Conn.), Crescent Beach (R.I.) and Tybee Island (Ga.) to reach the final.

The winner was to be announced on Monday, April 4, but Coastal Living America detected “some unusual voting activity” that delayed the announcement by a week while it consulted its polling provider.

No further information was posted on the magazine’s website on Monday.

Ocean City will now be featured in the June 2016 issue of Coastal Living Magazine, as well as in several special digital packages.

The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce is preparing a gift basket of some favorite local treats to share with representatives of Huntington Beach, officials said.

The victory is the latest in a series of accolades for America's Greatest Family Resort.

Ocean City has come in ranked as the state's top beach as rated by the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium and the Stockton University Coastal Research Center.

It's been voted no just the top beach in the state, but also took first place in the categories for Best Destination for Family Vacation, Day Trip and Ecotourism in both 2014 and 2015. In 2013, it was selected as the second best beach in New Jersey by the consortium. The Wildwoods was first that year.

So in three years, Ocean City climbed from second in the state to first in the country.

The Coastal Living America vote was conducted exclusively online, from March 11-April 3. A total of 30 beaches from across the country were paired off, and each victory in a head-to-head matchup allowed that beach to advance, just like the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.

To view the complete bracket, visit coastalliving.com.