With a name like Ocean City, you know what kind of destination to expect!
The crystal-clear waters and wide sandy beaches have tourists coming back year after year – including me!
Here’s my take on the best beaches in Ocean City, NJ.
1. 9th Street Beach
9th Street Beach is located on the ocean side of the barrier island. The wide sandy beach makes it a perfect spot for families to enjoy the sun, sea, and sand.
This spot appealed to us as it has lifeguards on duty during the summer months – when you’ve got young children, this is especially important.
Watersports are big here, especially surfing and boogie boarding.
Though my kids would happily spend all day on the beach, my husband and I like somewhere to walk around and grab a drink, which is why this place appealed to us especially.
The Ocean City Boardwalk is a short walk away and is full of shops, arcades, and restaurants.
My little girl loved the playground here, especially the swings! There are also restrooms and showers, so you can freshen up after the beach.
2. Gardens Beach
Gardens Beach is located on the southern end of the city and enjoys a more peaceful atmosphere than some of the other beaches in New Jersey.
We were impressed with the size of the beach, as even on a busy Saturday in July, there was plenty of space for families. If you’re keen on fishing, you’ll fit right in here.
You’ll be able to spot a huge variety of fish available, including:
- Fluke: a flat-bodied fish, often found in the coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
- Weakfish: a slender-bodied fish popular with anglers due to its tasty flesh and strong fighting ability.
- Striped Bass: Known for their distinctive dark stripes along their bodies. Often found in coastal areas of the Atlantic Ocean.
- Tautog: A large fish, they are usually dark brown, or black in color with a distinctive white chin and large lips.
We saw many people fishing and some had big catches!
Unfortunately, we did not have time to do this on our visit, but my husband wants to head back here to fish sometime.
3. Ocean City Beach
Ocean City Beach is an 8-mile-long stretch of sandy beach and blue sea; it was perfect for swimming in.
Since Ocean City Beach has a reputation for being clean and family-friendly, we were eager to visit!
The first thing we noticed was the stunning boardwalk that runs parallel to the beach. It is lined with a great mixture of shops, restaurants, and amusement parks – which meant my kids were eager to park up and explore!
Some of the top amusement parks are:
- Playlands Castaway Cove: Ocean Beach’s oldest amusement park at over 50 years old. It has an amazing-looking rollercoaster, a pirate ship, which my boys loved, and bumper cars.
- Gillian’s Wonderland Pier: When I saw the Ferris wheel here, I just had to go on it! There’s also a very spooky-looking haunted house and bumper cars.
- Seaport Village Golf: This fun 19-hole miniature golf course is a must-visit! It features a maritime fishing village with a great white shark. Plus, if you sink a hole-in-one on the 19th green, you get a free round of golf, unfortunately, we couldn’t do this though.
Watersports are popular here and you can hire surfboards and kayaks as well as fishing gear. Walking, jogging, and cycling are all popular too.
Overall, we found Ocean City Beach to be a great place to spend a day with the family relaxing in the sun and being entertained.
4. North Street Beach
North Street Beach is popular with tourists and locals alike. It is known for its wide sandy beach and huge waves, making it an ideal surfing spot.
You will find a range of amenities here, including restrooms, showers, and beach volleyball courts.
The volleyball courts were great for my older kids, as they got bored of the beach after a couple of hours.
Like many local beaches, North Street is great for watersports and you can find equipment available to rent quite easily if you don’t have your own. Most people we saw looked like they had brought their own equipment with them.
There was a lifeguard on duty who put me at ease; he told us he worked the whole summer season.
He also advised us that there can be riptides, so people should always check the information boards before entering the water if there is no lifeguard on duty.
I noticed there were beach umbrellas to rent too, however, it was overcast on the day of our visit, so we didn’t need to get one.
We had brought our own lunch with us, but I noticed there were beachside grills available to use so I was disappointed we didn’t bring burgers!
Many families were making use of these and I would definitely bring food to grill if we come again.
5. 34th Street Beach
34th Street Beach is a gorgeous spot for swimming, with great facilities such as showers, changing rooms, and restrooms.
We had heard that the boardwalk that runs parallel to the beach is a good spot for jogging, my husband is on a bit of a health kick, so he wanted to do this.
The kids and I stayed on the beach, sunbathing and playing in the sand.
My daughter is obsessed with building sandcastles at the moment, so she spent hours doing this. My two older kids get a little bored at the beach after a while.
Thankfully, there were some volleyball nets up, so they had a few games with some other kids they met there, which kept them entertained.
Final Thoughts on the Best Beaches in Ocean City, NJ
New Jersey is lucky to have so many stunning beaches, but we had the best day at Ocean City Beach. The amusements were amazing and the most fun we’ve had in years.
The beautiful beach itself certainly comes recommended too and is great for couples, groups, and families alike.
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