Island Beach State Park

places where you won't be able to wipe the wag off your dog's tail - Seaside Park NJ

The Park

Henry Phipps, compatriot with Andrew Carnegie in U.S. Steel, purchased the island in 1926 with visions of a grand shore resort but the stock market crash halted his assault after erecting a handful of rambling houses. The Phipps estate sold the property to New Jersey in 1953 and the park opened to the public in 1959. Island Beach State Park protects 10 miles of dunesland that have survived virtually untouched as they have always been.

The Walks

There are a series of short nature trails (less than one mile) as you drive down the main park road to its end at Barnegat Inlet but once your dog gets that whiff of salt air in her nose, she may not be in any mood to tarry. Get to the beach! This is one of the few places in New Jersey you can enjoy the Atlantic Ocean with your dog in the summer. Parking is limited, however, and if you don’t arrive early enough you will be shut out. In the off-season this is not a problem so don’t confine your visits to the novelty of summer at the beach with your dog. There is some shade for your dog in the dunes and the thickets behind the dunes when it is hot but make sure you bring plenty of fresh water. From the last parking lot to the southern tip of the island is a hike of over one mile on the piles of white sand.

Where The Paw Meets The Earth: Sand everywhere

Workout For Your Dog - Long hikes on soft sand are tough

Swimming - Ocean swims are why you come

Restrictions On Dogs - No dogs in the swimming areas or near shorebird nesting areas

Something Extra

Henry David Thoreau wrote about beach heather after visiting Cape Cod in 1849, describing how local residents called the low-growing mossy plants “poverty grass” because it grew where nothing else did. Island Beach State Park is home to the greatest expanse of beach heather in New Jersey. In late May the heather balds, as patches of the plant are called, explode in a carpet of yellow in the secondary dunes.

Phone - (732) 793-0506

Website 

Admission Fee - Yes, higher in summer

Directions - Seaside Park, Ocean County; from the Garden State Parkway use Exit 82 - Route 37 East/Seaside Heights. Once on the island make a right onto Route 35 South to the park entrance.

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