Beach Haven

The Borough of Beach Haven, the Queen City, is a small beach community that is rich in history and alive with excitement for all ages. In one square mile Beach Haven boasts pristine guarded beaches, bay access for all types of activities, a thriving downtown with an array of eateries, shopping and amusements. The Borough of Beach Haven is home to an amusement park, a water park, an award winning theatre and a historic public library with all modern amenities.

You will quickly get comfortable here, as you ride in our wide bike lanes into town for ice cream, groceries or even for a spa day. We will keep kids of all ages busy all summer with mini-golf, surfing lessons, soccer and lacrosse camps, even t-ball and tennis programs. The Municipal tennis courts are the perfect place to take private lessons from a pro or play with an old friend. Our events calendar is chock full of events, festivals as well as weekly concerts and movies in the park. If you’re a chowder lover, the annual Chowderfest is a fun, winner-takes-all, event to name the best chowder in the area.

Beach Haven is the perfect wedding destination with two beachfront pavilions and several beachfront resorts to host the perfect gala or simple beach wedding. The family can stay the week, the weekend or just the day as we offer comfort facilities, including bathrooms on the beach at Centre Street at the Lifeguard Headquarters.

The Borough of Beach Haven is proud to be a Certified Local Government with an established Historic District as well as a quaint Bed and Breakfast District. During your visit, however long you decide to stay, you can visit several historic museums or take the kids on a real pirate ship for an experience of a lifetime

Beach Haven NJ Brief History

Situated about 4- 6 miles out from the mainland, Long Beach Island is an 18-mile long Barrier Island that was happened upon by Captain Cornelius Jacobsen Mey in 1614. As Captain Mey sailed the Northern end of Long Beach Island, he noted very rough tides through the northern inlet. He named the inlet “Barendegat”, which means “Inlet of the Breakers”. This name has since been Anglicized to “Barnegat”. Because of the length of the island and the lovely beaches, island has been called Long Beach for the last several hundred years.

The tides of Long Beach Island were so strong that even today, the coast is dotted with many shipwrecks. A lighthouse was constructed in 1835, but its proximity to the water combined with storms and erosion caused it to fall into the sea in 1855. A new lighthouse at Barnegat, “Old Barney” as it is locally known, was constructed in 1859 and is still standing today. In the summer months, visitors can climb to the top for a vantage view of the island and further.

Back before there were roads, the only way to visit Long Beach Island was by boat. In 1886, a railway was constructed across the bay, which was subsequently destroyed by a storm. Today visitors without a boat can drive the causeway over Barnegat Bay to reach Long Beach Island. There is no public transportation to Long Beach Island.

Although Long Beach Island has over twenty separate communities, there are only about 20,000 year round residents. Both Beach Haven and Barnegat Light were developed as resort towns, other areas remained simply a place to relax and enjoy the ocean.

Long Beach Island remains the premier spot in New Jersey for quiet relaxation by the ocean. Since it is only a quarter mile wide, visitors are close to both the sea and the bay. Only one town on the island has an amusement area, and there is no boardwalk. Long Beach Island boasts some of the most naturally beautiful beaches on the east coast, as well as hundreds of boutiques and fine restaurants.