Point Pleasant Beach Not On Top 10 Beach List, Report Says; Belmar Finishes Sixth

Belmar was voted the sixth best beach in New Jersey in an annual Top Ten Beaches Competition, while WOBM reports that beaches in Point Pleasant Beach, Brick, Ortley Beach, Long Beach Island, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park were shut out.

The contest was sponsored by New Jersey Tourism, the NJ Sea Grant Consortium and the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey Coastal Research Center.

Belmar Mayor Matthew Doherty said his town is "excited to be selected the best beach in Central Jersey. We are proud of how we have recovered from Hurricane Sandy, and rebuilt our boardwalk and beach. We look forward to a great 2014 summer season.”

Ocean City was voted the best beach; a more complete list is here: http://wobm.com/ocean-city-upends-wildwood-as-njs-best-beach/.

In 2013, the contest was put on hold because of the Hurricane Sandy recovery, and New Jersey’s Top Ten Beaches Survey focused on sharing images and memories of the Jersey Shore, according to its website.

Manasquan, Long Beach Island and Seaside Heights made the list in 2012. 

Seaside Heights was especially impacted by Hurricane Sandy, as well as a fire that torched the boardwalk last fall.Belmar makes up a stretch of 1.3 miles of beachfront. Manasquan, which actively campaigned for votes, also continues to rebuild some of its famous beach landmarks.

Belmar cleans and grooms the beach every morning, and starting this year, smoking is completely prohibited on the entire beach and boardwalk, according to Belmar officials.

Belmar’s beaches have playgrounds at 3rd, 8th, 12th and 16th Avenue Beaches.  Activities for children include boogie boarding, kayaking and surfing.

In a release, Belmar officials noted the town "prides itself on the accessibility of our beach. Every beach entrance is ADA compliant and features Mobi-Mats that provide a hard surface to operate a wheel chair, pair of crutches, or baby stroller.  Our boardwalk features a 6 foot center strip for smooth operation of a wheel chair."

"Our beach season never ends but our official kick-off starts Memorial Day Weekend on Friday, May 23rd and runs through Monday, September 1st, Labor Day Weekend. We have traditional food and beverage outlets on our boardwalk with plenty of parking available," according to the release.