National Guard Beach in Sea Girt, NJ:  The Shore’s Best Kept Secret 

We love the beach. We were thrilled when we found out we were going to be stationed in New Jersey, in part because of all of the cool travel opportunities near by, but also because we were finally going to be close to a coast.  As a Puerto Rican girl whose military family retired in Colorado and who had just spent almost six years in Kansas (thanks to the Air Force), you can understand my excitement.

There are some things to know before hitting “the shore”.  First, many beaches require you to purchase “beach badges”.  If you’re military, many places waive that requirement/fee, as long as you can provide military I.D.  Make sure to check beforehand.  This can get tricky, because there are tons of tiny beach towns right next to each other, and before you know it you’ve driven out of the one you have a beach badge for and into the next one, where you don’t.   Second, many places lack parking and facilities (both bathrooms and showers).  This can make a day at the shore a daunting proposition for those with young childen, special needs or who are elderly.  Of course, a little planning goes a long way, and as long as you prep beforehand, you can find places with both parking and facilities.  Just don’t expect to find them easily without any pre-planning.

Now, if you’re a military family I’m about to let you in on a little secret, one that I found out about a year into living here.  That secret is the National Guard Beach in Sea Girt, NJ.  After showing your military I.D. at the gate, you stay on the same road and you run right into the entrance of the beach.  There’s plenty of close parking….and bathrooms (ok, porta potties, but still)…AND SHOWERS!

 

The walk from the parking area (even the one farther back) is short and easily managed.  The entrance to the beach is a wooden walkway which takes you over the sand dune, so its less sand you have to walk through.  If you’ve ever had to struggle through never ending sand paths to enter a beach, you know how miserable it can be.  Once over the dune, there is a firm blue walkway entering the beach.  I love this, because it means less of a struggle pulling beach wagons, pushing wheel chairs, etc.  Speaking of wheelchairs, I’ve seen at least two of the beach accessible, big-wheeled wheelchairs available for use every time we’ve been there.

There are three lifeguard stands spread out across this section of beach and there’s been at least one manned every time we’ve gone this past month (depends on the season, crowd, day, etc).  Because this beach is connected to the National Guard Training Center (which requires military I.D. to enter through the base entrance), no beach badge is needed.

The beach is really clean and there tends to be fewer people since the closest entrance requires military I.D. for access.  We’ve had a blast every time we’ve gone, and I bet you will too!  Oh, and did I mention there’s a Surf Taco (restaurant) nearby?!

Wherever you end up spending the day on the Shore, I’m sure you’ll have a great time.  From the famous Jersey Shore Boardwalks, to the quiet residential beach towns, there’s something for everyone!  As always, thanks for reading!  ?~Lyssa

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