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We are in our late 30's and have a 1yr old and recently moved to Maplewood. The only Beach we are familiar with is Spring Lake and like it a lot. But we would like to to explore the other beaches with a similar vibe, perhaps with a little bit more going on, but do not care for the crowds and high school/college kids. Oh one more catch, cuz our child does not like car rides, would like it to be within an hour drving distance.
We are in our late 30's and have a 1yr old and recently moved to Maplewood. The only Beach we are familiar with is Spring Lake and like it a lot. But we would like to to explore the other beaches with a similar vibe, perhaps with a little bit more going on, but do not care for the crowds and high school/college kids. Oh one more catch, cuz our child does not like car rides, would like it to be within an hour drving distance.
Looking forward to your suggestions.
Ocean Grove,Bradly Beach,Avon,Parts of Belmar,Sea Girt and Manasquan are all nice and clean.
Ocean City! "America's Greatest Family Resort!" Ocean City NJ
Clean, safe, fun. Great boardwalk with amusement parks, mini golf, video arcades, the whole 9. It's a "dry town" so no alcohol is sold anywhere in town (keeps the college kids away). It's a bit far from Maplewood (close to 2 hours) but really well worth the trip IMO. Many of the boardwalk towns farther north (Seaside Heights, Manasquan, Pt Pleasant, etc) have bars and more college kids.
Long Branch went through a huge revilitization (sp?) and is quite lovely. Pier Village has loads of nice shops and restaurants. I don't think it's a huge draw for the college kids as Belmar is so close.
Beach Haven (on Long Beach Island) has a lovely Historical District, a nice shopping, restaurant district and the Surflight Theater which performs live professional theater (and childrens theater) all summer. There is no boardwalk (so there isn't as much of a honky tonk vibe as some towns), but there is very nice water park (Thundering Surf) and a small amusement park more suitable for younger children (Fantasy Island). There are also weekly free concerts outdoors in the park, and the Alliance for a Living Ocean does free educational (and fun) programming for children.
There is also the expected mix of mini golf, ice cream, bike rentals etc.
Yeah, I know the OP wanted a shorter ride but I have to agree with LBI (my little ones hate the ride too but boy are they glad once we get there) ANYWHERE on LBI is awesome for families & kids. They do a good job at keeping the riff-raff off the island & they are strict with rental laws etc (keeping alot of the college crowd away). LBI is great because the entire island is only like 14 miles long (or 16, I can't recall) so nothing is VERY far away. I've been going down for over 30 years (I'm in my late 30's as well) & have been lucky enough to have a house in the family down there since I was 2 & I even hated the ride...but my memories are worth it all....
Sorry, I admit that I missed the 1 hour portion of the OP. That would eliminate Ocean City as well. By the way, I found with my kids, once we were on the road a bit, they were actually lulled to sleep. Now if you can tell me how to keep older kids from the "are we there yet" refrain..........
But my now 16 year olds daughter stated a few years ago as we crossed the causeway onto LBI, "I am already starting to relax" (teens have such stressful lives!)
Like someone else pointed out, Long Branch has some nice beaches but not where she suggested, On the northern end of town is 7 presidents park, it's a nice family beach with nice facilities
Can we keep the posting to opinions and not arguing over it?
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