The name isn't just Jersey kitsch—Ulysses S. Grant, James Garfield, Rutherford B. Hayes, Chester Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, and Woodrow Wilson actually vacationed along this stretch of the Monmouth County shore, drawn by the same reliable summer swells and accessible coastline that bring your family today. The beach runs wider than most Jersey Shore spots, giving you breathing room even on July Saturdays when the parking lots fill up.
“This is where presidential vacations met working-class Jersey Shore grit, and somehow both traditions survived intact.”
Credit: UnsplashPerson walking on a sand spit
You'll enter through one of seven pavilions, each staffed with lifeguards who actually enforce the swim-between-the-flags rule your kids will inevitably test. The waves break gently enough for boogie boards but hold enough punch to keep things interesting. Wooden groins jut into the water every few hundred yards, creating natural pockets where toddlers hunt for hermit crabs while teenagers practice their dubious diving skills.
The boardwalk above offers relief when the sand gets too hot—concrete beneath your feet, benches facing the water, the occasional ice cream vendor who's been working this route since the Reagan administration. By late afternoon, when the lifeguards blow their whistles for the final time, you'll understand why those seven presidents kept coming back: some beaches just get the ratio of waves to space to honest-to-goodness summer right.
