Thinking Summer? Get Your Beach Badges For Ortley, Shelter Cove Now

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Beach season is still a few weeks away, but for those who are craving summer already, Toms River officials have just the answer: beach badges.

Specifically, beach badges for Ortley Beach and Shelter Cove, which went on sale Monday, according to the township's Recreation Department. Seasonal badges are on sale for a preseason rate of $35, and a $15 lifetime access card is available for seniors (you must show proof of age).

To celebrate the township's 250th anniversary this year, the badges were created with a special 250th logo, officials said.

Badges can be purchased at the Recreation Administration Office, 1810 Warren Point Road, or the Toms River Senior Center located at 652 Garfield Avenue, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Fees are waived for all active U.S. military, military reservists and military retirees, their spouses or civil union partners and dependent children. You must present a valid military identification card to receive your beach badge.

Ortley Beach is expected to begin receiving beach fill in the next week as a preliminary step in the Army Corps of Engineers's long-awaited dune and beach replenishment project on the northern barrier peninsula in Ocean County.

The $128 million project, awarded to Weeks Marine, will begin with the beach fill in Ortley, then shift to Mantoloking. Ortley Beach's full portion of the dune project is anticipated to be completed in the fall, officials said, which will avoid disrupting the summer beach crowds there.

>> READ MORE: Ortley's First: Army Corps Dune Project Will Begin In Toms River, DEP Says

2017 Ortley Beach beach badge photo provided by Toms River Township