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Location: Newton, NJ (but my heart is in Tennessee)
311 posts, read 1,376,787 times
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I'm not sure where people get the idea that most if not all NJ beaches are no good. There are a few I would avoid. Asbury Park is run down, Point Pleasant is crowded and I would not visit Atlantic City because of the gambling - not a good family atmosphere. However, there are many very good beaches too. One of the best is Cape May. I was impressed by the way they have restored that town. The beaches are clean, the town has many Victorian style homes (and B&B's to stay in). The Cape May Zoo is a great place for kids. Here is a list of shore towns with additional information on each beach. If you take the time to look you will find many that are worth a visit.
There is no real comparison in New Jersey to anything in the Outer Banks. I'm a Jersey girl, born and raised and now living in Pennsylvania. The Jersey shore is crowded and just not clean. I vacationed as a kid in Wildwood Crest every year and was appalled this year on the changes.
We've been vacationing in OBX for the past 10 years and love it. It's a very special place (especially off season). Always serene, always peaceful and always clean. No giant hotels on the beach and instead of thousands of people on every block, you might have a hundred. There is just no comparison. It's worth every minute of the drive to me.
If you want to travel even further south, check out the beaches around Charleston. They are absolutely breath taking.
Cape May is a beautiful town but IMO, Cape May's beach isn't the best in NJ.
IMO, the best beach in NJ is Island Beach State Park which is located in Seaside Park. I wouldn't call it a surfer's beach, but it's simply beautiful and usually not crowded (no boardwalk or commercial businesses there).
I used to travel down to Wildwood in my younger years. It had the best of both worlds. In North Wildwood, Zabers probably had the best restaurant in all of Wildwood and Miss Kitty's featured some great live entertainment.
The main center of Wildwood (by the boardwalk) is geared more towards teens to mid 30s crowd. The boardwalk is about 2 miles long and is serviced
by a tram car. .......Watch the tram car please! Very family friendly compared to Seaside IMO.
South Wildwood attracted quieter, older folks. I believe it was dry
which helped cut down on the wild parties. Bal Harbor used to be the upscale
motel on the ocean featuring a restaurant on the first level.
Cape May has a fee for using their beaches but it is very clean. Many Victorian Homes have been restored in Cape May. "Angel of the Sea" is worth visiting. Built in 1850, the home has been converted to an Inn. It is an airy, Victorian 'painted lady.' Completely renovated in 1988 by John and Barbara Girton.
My parents would rent a home in Wildwood Crest for years when we were little growing up. I remember they paid 210 a week for a nice house only 3 blocks from the beach. We used to sneak our little dog in. We would always pass the Captains Table when walking onto the beach. They had great hot dogs and fries.
There is no real comparison in New Jersey to anything in the Outer Banks. I'm a Jersey girl, born and raised and now living in Pennsylvania. The Jersey shore is crowded and just not clean. I vacationed as a kid in Wildwood Crest every year and was appalled this year on the changes.
We've been vacationing in OBX for the past 10 years and love it. It's a very special place (especially off season). Always serene, always peaceful and always clean. No giant hotels on the beach and instead of thousands of people on every block, you might have a hundred. There is just no comparison. It's worth every minute of the drive to me.
If you want to travel even further south, check out the beaches around Charleston. They are absolutely breath taking.
the closest to the outer banks IMHO is LBI - parts of LBI are nicer than OBX (Kitty Hawk and Nags Head are kind of gross and way too built up, IMHO), and vice versa (Duck and Corolla are better than Loveladies/Harvey Cedars).
Youre nuts. Cape May, Spring Lake, Bay Head, Island beach, Loveladies are all nicer. However Avalon is very nice, I do like the beach there. Definitely a "top 10" for NJ.
Most overrated beach in NJ is Ocean City. All the Southern NJ Eagle fanatic people who knock Northern NJ traffic/congestion come crowd this beach every summer. They swear its the best beach in America. The summertime population has to be well over 100k people if not 200k. Its as crowded as Hoboken, I dont know how people call this a "vacation".
Quote:
Originally Posted by FergusonDechert
Cape May is very nice, but the true gem of the shore is Avalon. Check out Avalon and Stone Harbor.
The tackiest thing about the Outer Banks are those stupid oval "OBX" stickers. I think at least half of the people with those stickers on their car have never even been to the outer banks. I think in the case of those stickers, "OBX" is short for OBnoXious.
I'm sure the outer banks are nice, but I don't see the point of driving 12 hours to the beach when there are beaches much closer. I like Ocean City and Wildwood Crest, NJ. And if you're looking for something more quiet in NJ, there's always Cape May, Avalon, Stone Harbor. Or there's always the Delaware beaches, which are nice and quiet. Driving to NC to go the beach is stupid, in my opinion, especially with the high gas prices.
The tackiest thing about the Outer Banks are those stupid oval "OBX" stickers. I think at least half of the people with those stickers on their car have never even been to the outer banks. I think in the case of those stickers, "OBX" is short for OBnoXious.
I'm sure the outer banks are nice, but I don't see the point of driving 12 hours to the beach when there are beaches much closer. I like Ocean City and Wildwood Crest, NJ. And if you're looking for something more quiet in NJ, there's always Cape May, Avalon, Stone Harbor. Or there's always the Delaware beaches, which are nice and quiet. Driving to NC to go the beach is stupid, in my opinion, especially with the high gas prices.
nah, not really. first off, it's not 12 hrs away. more like 7-8, and I'm in Northwest Jersey. secondly, even with the price of gas (which, when all was said and done, cost maybe $50 more than the shore?), you get MUCH MORE bang for your buck down there - we rented a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house with private inground pool, hottub, large EIK, large family room, full basement with TV, foosball, 4 houses from the ocean for probably 1/4 the cost of what it would in Jersey. There were 11 of us and our share was peanuts.
Thirdly, it never hurts to see different parts of the country (we went to Jockey Hollow State Park - home of the largest sand dunes on the east coast, and also went to the Wright Brothers museum) and expand your horizons a bit.
Tahiti, your arguing with a typical "OUUUUSHHINN CITY IS HEAVEN AND THE IGGLES ARE THE BEST TEAM EVER" type individual. Many (not all) in the Philly metro tend to be closeminded and live in a tight bubble that they feel is superior to everywhere else in the country. Dont even bother, enjoy Hatteras and the silence from no E-A-G-L-E-S chants.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tahiti
nah, not really. first off, it's not 12 hrs away. more like 7-8, and I'm in Northwest Jersey. secondly, even with the price of gas (which, when all was said and done, cost maybe $50 more than the shore?), you get MUCH MORE bang for your buck down there - we rented a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house with private inground pool, hottub, large EIK, large family room, full basement with TV, foosball, 4 houses from the ocean for probably 1/4 the cost of what it would in Jersey. There were 11 of us and our share was peanuts.
Thirdly, it never hurts to see different parts of the country (we went to Jockey Hollow State Park - home of the largest sand dunes on the east coast, and also went to the Wright Brothers museum) and expand your horizons a bit.
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Greenheads...
