Friends Don’t Let Friends Swim & Drive

Pretty much the only time I went to the beach as a kid was when my parents were willing to drive 2 hours to Wildwood or Cape May. I loved these trips and still look forward to going, but sometimes I wish the beach were closer and there wasn’t as much of a gas-guzzling excursion involved.

Well, I recently took a trip to Sandy Hook, and it’s my new beach destination of choice. Here’s why.

For one, not only do you not have to drive, it’s better if you don’t. Parking and traffic are rumored to be terrible. There are buses, but I opted for the ferry that leaves from two locations in Manhattan - Pier 11 and East 34th St. Yes, I had to get myself up early enough to catch the 8am-ish Decamp to get to the city (the other option was drive to the PATH), but I hate driving, so I tolerated all the public transportation. And, yes, the ferry is a bit costly, but when you average in the price of gas and parking, and the aggravation of driving, it’s well worth the $40 round trip per person. Of course, I wasn’t going with five people packed in a car, sharing the cost.

Extra benefit: you can take your bike on the ferry, and your dog (it’s only like $3 extra to take your bike).

And did I mention the ride was just 40 minutes?

There are five public beaches in Sandy Hook, a 2,044-acre barrier peninsula, with uncreative names like “North Beach” and “E Beach”. And then there’s Gunnison, the nude beach. Yes, nude. But Hetero men can stop drooling - most of the sunbathers here were gay men or old couples. Some teeangers sitting near me actually came running back in horror, complaining to their mom.

We chose to go to E Beach which has public bathrooms and a restaurant, and seemed to attract more families than horny teenagers in mini-kinis. So the atmosphere was tamer than what you might find in Seaside.

When we went, the water was so frigid it actually hurt, but every inch of sand was packed anyway. My husband who, for some unknown reason, isn’t bothered by cold water went swimming and was actually numb for about 15 minutes after getting out. And he said the water was “okay, not too bad” - so if you’re attracted to things like Polar Bear Clubs, please come now and don’t wait until August when the water is a little closer to body temperature. The water was also really rough and at times there are rip tides to watch out for.

There is no beach town or commercial community of Sandy Hook – it is actually a National Park that is also home to a military base and a lighthouse. So, no boardwalks, but I have read that in nearby Highlands there are seafood restaurants, and nightlife and outdoor activities. I didn’t get a chance to go, so if you’ve been there, please let us know if it’s worth the trip.

— by Donna M.
Donna is both a Jersey native and recent transplant from NYC. She is executive editor and a co-founder of GoOutJersey.

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