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We have some great beaches in New York City, but sometimes I want to escape the hustle and bustle of the beaches on Coney island or the Rockaways and feel like I’m fully out of the boroughs.
And that’s when I’m split between returning to the familiar beaches of my childhood at the Jersey Shore or to more convenient beaches on Long Island.
Which state has better beaches? When the Looped In team and I discussed where we could find answers, we realized there was only one place filled with both Jersey Shore die-hards and Long Island beach loyalists ready to make their case: Penn Station.
Entertainment vs. natural beauty
For a beach day that goes beyond relaxing on the sand, commuters told me they head to the Jersey Shore.
There are plenty of Garden State beaches with long wooden boardwalks filled with food options, nightlife, live music, and amusement park rides.
“It’s a good time – you want to get drunk, you want to hook up? Yes, Jersey. Long Island, not so much,” said Julia Fragias, who was waiting for her train at Penn Station.
The difference between the two shorelines traces back to the mid-1800s, when Jersey Shore’s rise as a tourist destination took off as train travel made towns like Cape May and Long Branch newly accessible to the middle class in nearby New York and Philadelphia.
Long Island’s beaches, on the other hand, lean more into the quiet, natural beauty of their shoreline.
“When you come here, you kind of feel like you’re home…it’s not just a summer place,” said Leah Toser, chairwoman of the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. Whereas on the Jersey Shore, you feel a little bit like a tourist having “a carnival experience,” she said.
The less commercialized beach culture on Long Island is partly influenced by Robert Moses, the controversial urban planner who preserved much of New York’s beaches as public parkland, such as Jones Beach State Park and Fire Island’s Robert Moses State Park (shoutout to the first hundred pages I read of “The Power Broker”).
And unlike the Jersey Shore, many Long Island beaches are managed by local towns that exclusively allow resident permits, like Overlook Beach and Hempstead beaches, prioritizing a quieter atmosphere rather than becoming a summertime destination for out-of-towners.
For Fragias, the nude beach on Robert Moses State Park is the “cleanest, nicest, chillest” option in the tri-state area. “Nobody bothers anybody, everyone’s cool, walking over to you trying to say hi,” she said.
If you want an even more isolated and nature-heavy beach, head to Fire Island.
“You walk out of your house and barefoot into the ocean. It's a remarkable kind of intimacy with nature,” said John Jiler, who owns a cottage there.
Cars are banned on most of the island, so “you're virtually naked walking down the street except for a bathing suit. There’s really no barrier between you and other people,” fostering a closer sense of community, he said.
But the Jersey Shore has plenty of quiet, peaceful enclaves too. Whatever beach vibe you’re looking for, there’ll be a place along the Jersey Shore that’ll have it, Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone said.
If you want elegance and quiet, go to Spring Lake, if you want upscale shopping and dining experience, go to Long Branch, if you like quaint towns with Victorian architecture, go to Ocean Grove, and if you like music and nightlife, go to Asbury Park, he said.
Is one actually cleaner?
Both the Jersey Shore and New York beaches are somewhat notorious for their murky water. On which is worse, you’ll get the same answer from both sides: It's the other state that has dirtier beaches.
Sheila Bilgin from Harlem goes to both Asbury Park in New Jersey and the Rockaways in Queens, but doesn’t trust the water at either beach.
“ I don't do New York water. I don't do Jersey water,” she said. “I only do water when I go to the Caribbean or out of the country because it's just ugly looking.”
There’s really not a clear-cut answer as to which shoreline is cleaner. Beach water quality comes down to hyperlocal sources of pollution, like specific stormwater runoff and septic systems of each town, said David Abreau, a clean water expert at Save the Sound.
And just because local ocean water isn’t the clearest doesn’t mean it’s unsafe to swim in; it just means there’s more nutrients and sentiments that leads to a brown color, according to marine science professor Christine Thompson at Stockton University.
New York has more free beaches … with a caveat
The Jersey Shore is known for having very few free beaches. Most towns require anywhere between $5-15 for a daily pass whereas there are more free beaches in the city and Long Island, but you most likely have to pay for parking.
When I pointed this out to Monmouth County Commissioner Arnone, he told me, “If people are naive to think they’re not paying, they’re paying, okay? Trust me, it’s in their tax base.”
The reality is: whether you prefer one shoreline over the other, you’re most likely going to go to the one that’s closest to you. Without a car, you can rely on public transit options like NJ Transit’s North Jersey Coast line or the Long Island Rail Road.
For now, Long Beach off Long Island is my go-to beach *this* summer because it’s laid back and easiest to get to from Brooklyn. But Ocean City in New Jersey where I grew up going every summer, remains my all time favorite.
