Jersey Shore beaches generally don’t allow you to walk your pet during the summer season but off-season you’re free to romp waterside with your pooch on leash. The thing is, most every town has its own definition of “off season,” with differing start and end dates, so please check the individual town listings below. You’ll also find a few dedicated dog beaches, as well as coastal parks and refuges that will let your pup come and visit. As always, be considerate and pick up after your pet.

Cape May Beaches
Dogs are not permitted on town beaches, with the exception of Poverty Beach, which is located at the easternmost end of the beach. You can walk your dog on leash there from November through March.

Cape May National Wildlife Refuge
Cape May, NJ
You and your pet can enjoy hiking and birdwatching within the 11,000 acres of this refuge located in the Delaware Bay watershed. Pets on a 6-foot leash are permitted throughout the refuge, except for Two Mile Beach Unit.

Cape May Point State Park
Cape May, NJ
Off season (September 16 through March 31), you and your pet, on leash, can take a stroll along the park’s beach down to Cape May Lighthouse.

Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area
Cape May, NJ
This 1,100-acre park, located on the Atlantic Flyway, offers you and your pooch a wonderful place to birdwatch, walk along the dunes, or hike through the forest and scrub. Dogs are permitted on leash in the park September 1 through April 30.

Sunset Beach
Cape May Point, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted September 15 through April 15.

Stone Harbor Beaches
Stone Harbor, NJ
Dogs on a 6-foot leash are permitted on the north end of the beach between 80th and 82nd streets before 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m.

Sea Isle City Beaches
Sea Isle City, NJ
Dogs are permitted on the beach from October 31 through April 30; they must be on a 6-foot leash.

Ocean City Beaches
Ocean City, NJ
Dogs are permitted on the beach from October 31 through April 30; they must be on a 6-foot leash. Dogs are never permitted on the boardwalk, even in a carrier.

Ventnor City Beaches
Ventnor City, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach October 1 through May 14 in the areas washed by the high tideline.

Brigantine Beach
Brigantine Beach, NJ
You can walk your dog at the north end of the beach all year long; from October 1 through May 29, you and your pooch can have the run of the entire beach, but keep your pet on a 6-foot leash.

Barnegat Light Beaches
Barnegat Light, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach October 2 through April 30.

Beach Haven Beaches
Beach Haven, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach September 16 through May 14.

Harvey Cedars Beaches
Harvey Cedars, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach September 16 through May 29.

Long Beach Island Township Beaches
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach October 1 through April 30. LBI Township includes: Beach Haven Crest, Beach Haven Gardens, Beach Haven Inlet, Beach Haven Park, Beach Haven Terrace, Brant Beach, Brighton Beach, Haven Beach, High Bar Harbour, Holgate, Loveladies, North Beach, North Beach Haven, Peahala Park, South Beach Haven, Sparay Beach, and the Dunes.

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge
Great Creek Road
Oceanville, NJ 08231
The 43,000 acres of this refuge, 78 percent of which is salt marsh, are located along one of the Atlantic Flyway’s most active migratory flight paths. Pets are NOT permitted at Holgate and Graveling Point year round, and are prohibited from Little Beach Island during piping plover nesting season, which begins around the middle of March. Otherwise, you can walk your pet on a 6-foot leash.

Island Beach State Park
Seaside Park, NJ
This barrier island park stretches for almost 10 miles, separating the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay. Its 3,000 acres include sandy beaches, dunes, tidal marshes, and maritime forests and is home to peregrine falcons, ospreys, and all sorts of wading and shorebirds. It also offers a wonderful view of Barnegat Lighthouse to the south. Your pet can accompany you on a 6-foot leash, except in the lifeguarded portion of the beach during the summer, as well as the Spizzle Creek Blind Trail all year long.

Seaside Park Beaches
Seaside Park, NJ
Pets are not permitted on the beaches or boardwalk but are allowed on the Marina Lawn.

Mantoloking Beaches
Mantoloking, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach September 15 through June 15.

Sea Girt Beaches
Sea Girt, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach from October 1 through March 14. Pets are not permitted on the boardwalk at any time.

Spring Lake Beaches
Spring Lake, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach from October 1 through May 14.

Belmar Beaches
Belmar, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beach from October 1 through April 30. Pets are not permitted on the boardwalk at any time, except to access the beach when dog walking is permitted.

Avon-by-the-Sea Beaches
Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ
Dogs on leash are permitted on the beachfrom October 1 through May 1.

Bradley Beach
Bradley Beach, NJ
Dogs under voice control may be off leash on the beach September 16 through April 30; the rest of the year they are not permitted on the beach. Pets are not permitted on the boardwalk except to gain access to the beach.

Asbury Park Beaches
Asbury Park, NJ
Dogs are permitted on the beach and the boardwalk October 1 through April 30. During beach season, take your pup to the 8th Avenue Dog Beach for waterside fun. All summer long, dogs are allowed to go off leash on that section of the beach from 6 p.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Gateway National Recreational Area, Sandy Hook Unit
Sandy Hook, NJ
This park is part of the larger recreation area that also includes units on Staten Island and Jamaica Bay in New York. It’s a wonderful place for walking on the beach, surf casting, biking, or birdwatching (the park is located on the Atlantic Flyway). Pets (dogs and cats) are permitted on leash on the bayside beaches at Plum Island and Horseshoe Cove and on the oceanside beaches the day after Labor Day through March 14.

Facebook Comments