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Island Beach State Park in New Jersey is a ten-mile long barrier island between Barnegat Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The State purchased the land from entrepreneur Henry Phipps Jr to preserve the natural environment as a park.
The State also maintains the Phipps mansion as a summer residence for the governor. This became infamous when Governor Christie was photographed vacationing there in the summer of 2017 amidst a state government shutdown (beach-chair Christie memes were very popular that year.)
Island Beach is one of few undeveloped patches of Jersey Shore. In the summer, visitors can enjoy the pristine beaches without all the commercialism of the surrounding boardwalk communities.
In the off-season, its a nice place for short hikes, fishing and dune buggying. The bayside has a network of water trails for kayaking.
Island Beach is also a diverse wildlife habitat. Foxes are often seen playing here and occasionally snowy owls are photographed in the dunes. There had been recent sightings of two owls in the park when we visited, but we weren’t lucky enough to see one that day.
The Interpretive Center is about 7 miles from the entry gate. We parked there first…the restrooms were open, but the nature center was not. We picked up the Johnny Allen’s Cove Trail behind the building.
First we took the fork to the right, through the maritime forest with its holly trees and on out to the dunes and the beach beyond. Even though it was mid-morning, the sky still had the pinkish glow of sunrise.
Then we backtracked and took the trail out to the bay side. We had to cross the park road to do this, but it was pretty quiet in the park. We walked through the salt marsh, past some vacant osprey platforms to the bay.
We drove down to the last parking lot at the southernmost tip of the island. This is where people with dune buggies can off road on the beach. Just over the dunes, we could see Barnegat Light on neighboring Long Beach Island.
Location: Central Ave, Seaside Park, NJ 08752
Designation: State Park
Date designated or established: 1953
Date of my visit: January 6, 2019
I think the general perception is that this kind of wilderness experience is not available in New Jersey. Thanks and great photos — as usual.
Thanks! In spite of being the most densely populated state, there are still many areas set aside for the conservation of nature
Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine.
Thanks 🙏🏻
Beautiful. Love a quiet beach!
Thanks! Me too!
You have wonderfully captured the beauty of this place.
A beautiful place. But for those of us who live in the region the mere mention of Island Beach State Park conjures up memories of that fantastic image of big Chris plopped in his beach chair.
Yup…can’t unsee that image. Ever😂
Thanks 🙏🏻
I also had not heard of this barrier island. It looks very inviting, and your mention of the Snowy Owls perked my interest-no surprise there! I hope you and I will get to see them one of these days.
One of these days, maybe 👍🏻
This is such a beautiful beach! I’ve never visited any of the NJ beaches, but need to remedy that.
Best not go when school is out. After Labor Day, it’s still warm, but the crowds aren’t there
Thanks for the tip! I always prefer quieter shoulder-season (or even off-season) travel.