The entrance to Island Beach State Park is truly breath-taking, and it is made more so by South Seaside Park/Berkeley Township, a narrow strand of beautiful white beach and rolling dunes. Its natural beauty, dunes and wetlands on the southern end of the island are made even more attractive by the nearby coastal flora, and the four block area in South Seaside Park is the perfect preparation for travelers and tourists who are about to enter Island Beach.
Berkeley Township has senior communities, its shore area and Pinelands. Much of its topography east of Route 9 is considered wetlands, and the area west of the Garden State Parkway is in the Pinelands Preservation area. The township is almost 42 square miles in size, and the total population, estimated in 2004, is approximately 42,500 persons.
Almost half (19,500 acres) of the township’s land is in the federally designated Pinelands National Reserve.
Incorporated in 1875, the area remained mostly undeveloped before 1950, but the subsequent opening of the Garden State Parkway and other road improvements resulted in substantial residential and commercial development concentrated in the areas of Pinewald and Bayville along the Barnegat Bay.
White Sands Beach in South Seaside Park, stretching from Twentieth to Twenty-Third Streets, is guarded for swimming from mid-June through Labor Day. Beach badges are required.
Badges may be purchased from the end of May to mid-June at the Berkeley Recreation Center on Route 9, and at the beach from mid-June on.
Seasonal: (prior to mid-June) $30.00
Seasonal: (after mid-June) $35.00
Weekly: $20.00
Weekends and holidays: $6.00
Daily: $5.00
Free admission: seniors 62 and older and children under 12 with proof of age.
For more information: 732-269-4456.
As the entrance to Island beach State Park, South Seaside Park is uniquely placed near the thin stretch of this barrier beach that is believed by many to be the prettiest part of the entire New Jersey shore. Operated by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry,
Island Beach State Park is the largest reserve of undeveloped barrier island in the state, and one of the largest in the United States. The Northern Natural Area contains 659 acres – some of it restricted from the public – and the larger Southern Natural Area has 1,237 acres. The park also includes the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone with about 1,600 acres of tidal marshes, creeks, ponds, and open water.
With the Atlantic Ocean on the east and Barnegat Bay on the west, Island Beach State Park is a nine mile stretch of island with miles of unspoiled sandy beaches, delicate shifting sand dunes, thickets, marshes, holly trees, red cedars, beach plum trees, sea grasses, and a narrow maritime forest.
Once home to pirates, whalers, smugglers and privateers, the miles of unspoiled beaches are home to wildlife and many species of birds, and running right down its middle is a straight two-lane road that’s ideal for cycling. Swimming, kayaking and fishing are permitted in some areas of the park, and four-wheel-drive vehicles are permitted onto the beach with a permit.
So, your options are as close to perfect as you can get: South Seaside Park for White Sands Beach, and the magnificent Island Beach State Park. A great place to visit with a whole lot of fun available to you, your family and friends!
