Island Beach State Park — Attraction in Berkeley Township

Before I even get to the nature part, I have to share this lovely story about an Island Beach State Park hero! Last year, my son brought a few of his special stuffed animals to include them in the family trip. He accidentally left them behind and was crushed at their loss. The next morning I called down to the office and a kind woman named Nancy answered. When I explained how upset he was, she so kindly said, "Of course he is." I explained where they last were and she advised some park workers to look for them while they were out. They found them! She kindly called me back and held onto them until the weekend when we could get back down. Nancy and those workers saved the day when they could have not taken it seriously to begin with!

On top of that- this place is spectacular. We were looking for a new, dog friendly beach although every time we go down we have problems with people taking their dogs off leash. The views are lovely and the beaches are ultra clean. There are restrooms that are clean. Even in the off season, it was evident they were being cleaned every day. The foxes are fascinating to see up close. I haven't been there in season but off season is really a...

I drive from Philadelphia as much as possible in the summer to go to this beach. Both the beach and water are immaculately clean, there are restrooms, showers, changing spaces, a food court....this place has it all. The beach itself gets steep close to the water so don't expect a long stretch of shallow water here like you find at many other beaches on the jersey shore. The waves are also pretty powerful most of the time, so this beach may not be the best for really small children. We took my 2 year old a couple days ago and he was fine, but we had to watch him like a hawk the whole time because the waves would literally have swept him away if he had gotten caught in one. It was still a great day and we'll be bringing him again. Check this place out!! Plus, they charge by the carload so it's much cheaper...

This is NOT a beach for ocean swimmers. Gross mismanagement. Drove 2 hours because the official New Jersey State Park beach website stated beach was open with lifeguards all weekends through September. Just checked again and it's said same all day. Got to entrance and sign was posted No Swimming. Attendant stated it was due to rip currents. On a normal mild weather day. No storms in the area. She said I should have called by phone to check. By phone. This is in 2025. Drove another hour and a half to Ocean City beach where gaurds were on duty as promised and finally got I to the water after half a day wasted. Surf was entirely normal for New Jersey beaches. So again gross mismanagement of staff and communications. Stick with the locally run beaches if you actually expect to...