TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen today released the 2^nd annual New Jersey Beach Guide that provides important consumer information about the cost, facilities and amenities offered in New Jersey shore towns.

“New Jersey beachgoers should be informed about the costs and services available at our state’s great beaches” Chen said. “The Beach Guide documents that some beaches are free, while others charge significant daily fees. Some offer plenty of parking and services and others do not. Our beach guide will assist beachgoers in finding the right beach for them.”

The guide includes information about daily, weekly and seasonal fees, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, parking, rest rooms, lifeguard coverage and beach locations.  The Department did not study the quality of the services offered and whether higher cost beaches provide more and better services than lower cost beaches.

Since last year, 12 of the 48 towns along the New Jersey shoreline have increased beach fees, two have decreased them and the remaining 33 towns charge the same fees as last year. (Lower Township does not have public ocean beaches so no fees are assessed).

• Daily Rates Are Up -- Nine towns raised their daily badge fees by an average of 17 percent.
• Weekly Rates Are Up -- Five towns raised their weekly badge fees by an average of 25 percent.
• Seasonal Rates Are Up -- 10 towns raised their seasonal beach badge fees by an average of 18 percent.

(Some towns have raised multiple fees so the total adds up to more than 12. The attached chart summarizes beach fee changes).

Cape May Point reduced the price of its weekly pass from $12 to $10 (a 17 percent reduction) and Ventnor reduced the price of its seasonal pass from $17 to $15 (a 12 percent reduction).

The Beach Guide was assembled with information on public beaches obtained from Jersey shore municipal officials and Web sites.  The data in the report were then provided to local officials to confirm accuracy.

The 2007 Beach Guide includes, for the first time, information on 40 private beach clubs that the Public Advocate was able to identify. The beaches adjacent to these clubs are typically available only to club members or people who live in a certain development, neighborhood or town. A handful, however, do operate as public beaches, offering unrestricted access.  The fees these private beaches charge range from free to a high of $17,235 for membership.

New Jersey has nine free beaches, with five of those beaches located on a bay or a river. Most towns charge between $4 and $7 for a daily badge. In nine towns, it costs $8 or more to go to the beach for the day. In three of those towns, only weekly or seasonal badges are available, meaning people have to pay that fee to visit the beach for a day.

View the Beach Guide.

View NJ Beaches at a Glance.

View NJ's least and most expensive beaches.