Sandy Hook's Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast. The eastern, ocean-facing shoreline consists of various public and fishing beaches, and serves as a Shore gateway and popular destination for recreation in summer when seasonal SeaStreak ferries bring beachgoers. Sandy Hook is a long, narrow largely undeveloped barrier spit, most of which is owned and managed by the National Park Service as a unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Many New York residents board the ferry to travel to Atlantic Highlands and Sandy Hook Beach, along with the rest of the Jersey Shore region at large. Many Jersey Shore residents board the ferry to travel to different points across the Tri-State area and New England coastline. The ferry also offers seasonal sightseeing excursions. SeaStreak ferry provides high-speed commuter service for residents on the Raritan Bayshore in northern Monmouth County to Manhattan in New York City. SeaStreak ferry Ītlantic Highlands is home to 715 craft, including the high-speed SeaStreak ferry service to New York City, which was introduced in 1986. The Highlands–Sea Bright Bridge connects Highlands and Sea Bright across the Shrewsbury River. Hurricane Donna wiped out much of the waterfront area in 1960, and a number of fires in the 1980s destroyed many of the town's main attractions, including the Dance Hall Auditorium, the Keansburg Bowling Alley and the Casino Theater. Keansburg was a popular early 20th century summertime destination for tourists from New York City, who would cross the Raritan Bay on steamboats to escape the city heat. At the northern parking lot of the park, there is bay beach swimming access along with a bathroom and showers. The park's boardwalk is also popular for jogging and dog walking. This area is very popular for fishing as three jetties extend into Raritan Bay and are in excellent condition, also recently redone in the past ten years. It extends approximately one mile from the Old Bridge Police substation south, to the Aberdeen Township neighborhood of Cliffwood Beach, and runs parallel with New Jersey Route 35. The beachfront was redone through a joint venture by Old Bridge Township, New Jersey and Middlesex County Parks Department. Laurence Harbor is home to Old Bridge Waterfront Park, which consists of a new boardwalk (the old boardwalk was destroyed in the 1940–1950s) that was completed in 2002. The rocky Raritan Bayshore of Cliffwood Beach, looking northwest towards South Amboy.

Hurricane Sandy in 2012 devastated much of the northern part of the region, spawning the demolition and rebuilding of entire neighborhoods, with reinvention on a physically and financially elevated and economically upscale level this process of gentrification is rapidly escalating property values and transforming many communities on the Jersey Shore into a second home for the New York financial community, akin to the more established Gold Coast and Hamptons on Long Island. Due to New Jersey's peninsular geography, both sunrise and sunset are visible over water from different points on the Jersey Shore.

Certain shore communities are also popular with visitors of the Canadian province of Quebec. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.įamous for its many boardwalks with arcades, amusement parks, and water parks boasting hundreds of rides and attractions, the Jersey Shore is a popular vacation spot with residents of North Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metropolitan area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Delaware Valley. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The Jersey Shore (known by locals as The Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. Sunset on the Shore at Sunset Beach, Cape May County

New jersey seashore map