Daytrips to the Jersey Shore: Just for the Beach

This is the first summer I’ve felt brave and energetic enough to take the kids to the beach for the day. Before, I always had at least one child in diapers and too much equipment to manage. 

Furthermore, my family and I have always been lake and mountain people. Even though I’ve lived my whole life in New Jersey, I had no idea where to go to a beach.

Last week I took my first daytrip to the beach and found out exactly how easy it can be to find a quiet place to play for the day. I also asked around and got a few other recommendations.

Following are three quiet, quick and relatively easy beaches you can visit in just one day. 

Avon by the Sea

My friend Eileen Hoffman from the Intervale area asked us to join her and her twin first graders for a visit to Avon by the Sea. Turns out, this beach is pretty close to perfection.

Avon by the Sea is approximately 65 miles from Parsippany. Click here for directions. Without traffic, you can be there in a little more than an hour. It’s a small town next to Bradley Beach, south of Asbury Park and north of Belmar.

We went on a Wednesday and arrived just before lunch and low tide. We found parking easily and it was free and only a block from the beach. There’s a small boardwalk with bathrooms, showers on the beach and lifeguards. Beach badges are just $9 for adults and children 12 and under are free. 

During low tide the waves were mellow and perfect for young kids on boogie boards. There were tons of shells which provided hours of entertainment for my little beach comber.

We hung out on the southernmost end of the beach right next to the bridge to Belmar. The kids enjoyed watching boats pass in and out of the inlet. There’s food on the little boardwalks, but no arcade.

Ocean Grove

Jennifer Roth of Mount Tabor recommends Ocean Grove as a great daytrip destination.  This unique and historical spot is just north of Avon by the Sea on the other side Bradley Beach. Click here for directions.

As Roth describes it Ocean Grove is “a nice little Victorian town with a couple good restaurants and a quiet beach.”

According to Roth, whenever they’ve visited it’s been easy to park. If you get there early enough you can find a spot right on the beach. Beach badges are $7 per adult and children 12 and under are free. And, once you’ve had your fill of sun, salt and sand, you can enjoy some of the history of the town.

Ocean Grove, officially part of Neptune Township, shares a very similar history with Mount Tabor and is often described by Tabor historians as its “sister town.”   

Ocean Grove began in 1870 as an incorporated “Camp Meeting Association.” The association established rules which included banning use of carriages and automobiles and all beach bathing on Sundays. There has also been a long standing prohibition on the sale of alcohol within the town’s borders.

Originally more than 660 tents were erected during the summer season. Now, most land owners have built year-round homes and cottages on their lots, but 115 tents are still in use today, many by fourth- and fifth-generation families.

If you get a chance to check out these summer living tents you won’t believe it.  They are fully decorated with the amenities of a typical home, including furniture, rugs and even pictures.

You can continue your trip back in time at Ocean Grove by visiting Nagle’s Apothecary Café at 43 Main Avenue. Sit at a stool in this 1950s throwback and order an old-fashioned chocolate soda or milkshake.

Island Beach State Park

Allison Fichter, another mom friend from Intervale, likes to visit Island Beach State Park with her young girls.  Fichter said the following about this park:

“It's the closest thing to Long Island here in New Jersey. There’s a single lane road to get to the beach, with white sand on one side and pine trees on the other. The beach is clean and gorgeous and there are no hotels to muddy your view.”

Island Beach State Park is near Forked River, south of Toms River.  It’s close to 90 miles from Parsippany, but according to Fichter, “it’s worth it because it’s so pristine.”  Click here for directions.

When you visit this amazing state park, you pay a fee for your vehicle—$6 on weekdays and $10 on weekends. Park officials consider the park full when all the parking spots are gone. This happens frequently during the summer, so plan to arrive as close to the 8 a.m. opening time as possible.

Island Beach State Park is one of the few remaining barrier islands that used to cover the East Coast. It’s about 10 miles long and situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. 

This beach is almost entirely undisturbed by human development and interference, so it demonstrates what these islands looked like years ago. There are many sand dunes, naturalized plantings and birds.  It’s a very popular spot for swimming, surf fishing and bird watching, and there are paths for walking and biking.