Seaside Heights New Jersey

There are quite a few beach communities along the New Jersey coast. Seaside Heights is one of the most well know and most popular of these many summer tourism destinations. Different places around town have been featured on MTV, in movies, on TV and in music videos. Small in size, being less than a square mile in total area, Seaside can play host to many over ten thousand visitors on a summer's day. Teenagers and young twenty somethings make up one of the largest groups of visitors but there are also large numbers of families with young children. What do all these people do, where do they go and why are they here? This hub will provide an overview of Seaside Heights and what you can expect to find.

From Memorial Day through Labor Day the wide sandy beach is protected by lifeguards during the day. You are required to buy a beach badge to get onto the beach and to swim in the ocean. Some out of towners are shocked by the idea of a pay to play beach, especially if they have enjoyed other beaches and beach services (lifeguards, trash pick up and public bathrooms) for free. It is just not that way here and in many places in New Jersey. The town simply cannot afford to provide the range of services it does without charging for beach access.

One of the things that sets Seaside Heights apart from other Jersey shore locations like Ortley Beach, Belmar and communities on Long Beach Island is its large commercial boardwalk. It runs along the entire length of the one mile plus of beach. There are arcades, amusement rides, games of chance, carousels, bars and food stands. If you want to play video games, pinball, skeeball and other arcade games there are more than a dozen arcades that are filled with these types of games. You will find lots of amusement rides with their overall quality being something between a traveling fair and what you will find in a Six Flags type park. There are a few roller coasters, for example, but none of them are the huge wooden kind that will wow a roller coaster lover. If you want to get a bite to eat there is a lot of different options. Pizza, sweets, seafood and other kinds of food are readily available. As you might expect for a resort/summer tourism area the prices are a little high, so be prepared to spend more than you might expect for any of the things you desire.

The town is full of places to stay. There are some homes and condominiums for rent but most people that visit stay in Seaside Heights hotels and motels while they are in town. The hotels and motels are all Mom and Pop operations, which means there is a wide range of service and amenities available. The cheaper hotels tend to draw a young crowd so if you are with your children finding a bargain might not be your best bet. You are more likely to be disturbed by late night revelers, especially on the weekends, at the cheapest places in town.

The main street through town is the business district, with roughly half of the businesses either restaurants, sub shops or some other kind of place to get a meal. You can enjoy full course meals or get take out, depending on the place and your preferences. There are a few bars in town that serve food too, both on the boardwalk and in the downtown business district.

You can find out how to get to Seaside Heights by looking at the "getting there" section of this Seaside Heights St. Patrick's Day Parade hub. If you do plan on visiting Seaside Heights and want to expand your options beyond the town's borders you should consider shopping, movies and restaurants in Toms River. It is located just over the bridge that leads from the mainland to Seaside Heights. If you want to see what the town once looked like, before it was developed, you can visit Island Beach. This state park is just a few miles south of town and features ten miles of ocean front beach.

Enjoy the Beach!