Island Beach State Park: Go early or go home

I have been to Assateague. I have never been to Island Beach State Park.

That might sound strange coming from someone who has spent 48 years in New Jersey radio, who grew up in Atlantic County with the shore in his bones, who has hiked the Pine Barrens and kayaked the bay and spent more summer mornings than he can count watching the light come up over the water. But Island Beach State Park — ten miles of undeveloped barrier beach right here in Berkeley Township in Ocean County, one of the last stretches of wild coastline in the entire mid-Atlantic — somehow never made it onto my calendar.

I am fixing that this summer. And before I go, I wanted to tell you what I have learned about the place.

SEE ALSO: The best swimming in NJ this summer — no ocean required 

Island Beach State Park | Google Maps

The Carnegie connection and the crash that saved it

Island Beach almost became something else entirely. Steel magnate Henry C. Phipps, a partner of Andrew Carnegie, purchased the land in 1926 with visions of turning it into an exclusive seashore resort. He built three large homes on the property — the Ocean House, the Bay House, and the Freeman House — and had plans for golf courses, yacht clubs, and vacation properties. Then the stock market crashed in 1929. When the crash halted development, the land remained untouched. Phipps died in 1930. His resort never came. 

The State of New Jersey eventually purchased the property in 1953 for $2.7 million. The park officially opened in 1959. The three homes Phipps built are still standing. Since New Jersey acquired the property, the state has maintained an official vacation residence exclusively for the New Jersey governor. Which brings us to the part of the Island Beach story that most New Jersey residents remember. 

The governor's beach

In July 2017, aerial photos showed then-Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, relaxing on a beach at Island Beach State Park that had been closed to the public during a state government shutdown. Christie was using the governor's residence on the property. The images went viral. The governor's office initially said he had not gotten any sun. The photos suggested otherwise.

Christie later said he was there because it was one of the perks of the job. He was not wrong about the perk — the governor's residence has been there since the Phipps era. He was perhaps wrong about the optics. The image of a governor on a closed public beach became one of the defining photographs of his administration.

I share this not to relitigate the politics but because it speaks to something real about Island Beach. This is a place so rare, so beautiful, and so unspoiled that the Governor of New Jersey has maintained a private residence there for decades. New Jersey is one of just four states to maintain a state-owned vacation home for its governor. The other three are Alabama, Michigan, and North Carolina. That tells you something about what this stretch of coastline is worth. 

What it actually is

Island Beach State Park is a narrow barrier beach stretching for nearly 10 miles between the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. It stands today as the largest reserve of undeveloped, non-industrial barrier island in New Jersey. The park is divided into a Northern Natural Area and a much larger Southern Natural Area, with the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone covering about 1,600 acres of tidal marshes, creeks, ponds and open water on the bay side. 

For a birder, this place is serious business. The marshes are home to New Jersey's largest osprey colony, and peregrine falcons and migrating shorebirds make the area a top spot for birdwatchers throughout the year. I have 108 birds on my life list. Island Beach could change that number considerably. 

The comparison to Assateague is not accidental. My family spent years camping on Assateague Island, the undeveloped barrier island straddling Maryland and Virginia that became a national and state park after a failed development was destroyed by a storm in 1962. The parallel to Island Beach is almost exact — a stretch of wild coastline that survived the 20th century's development pressure through a combination of economic accident and public intervention, and is now one of the rarest things on the eastern seaboard: a beach that looks the way beaches used to look.

Before you go

If you are planning a visit, go early. On beautiful summer days, our Fast Traffic reports tell the story — the parking lots at Island Beach fill up fast, and once they are full, the park closes to incoming vehicles until space opens. The park gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. during summer. Getting there before 9 a.m. on a weekend is not a suggestion. It is the strategy. 

Weekend entry fees run $10 for New Jersey residents and $20 for out-of-state visitors from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with lower weekday rates. Walk-ins and cyclists enter free. No camping. No alcohol. No inner tubes or rafts in the swimming area. Dogs are welcome on leash in designated areas. 

I will be going before summer is out. I will bring the camera and report back.