Whether you’re bringing your bathing suit and sun tan oil, your golf or tennis clubs, your fishing rod or surf board, or an insatiable appetite for the performing and cultural arts and history, those seeking leisure recreation and amusements will find plenty to see and do when visiting southern Ocean County.

Centrally located along the New Jersey coast and within a tank of gas of nearly one third of the nation’s population, Long Beach Island and the surrounding waterfront region is a mecca for anyone interested in seashore related excitement and eco-tourism opportunities. Besides deep sea and back bay fishing, there is surf fishing, clamming, crabbing, scuba diving, fresh water fishing, surfing, boogie boarding, power boating, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, parasailing, whale watching and a wide variety of tours and programs exploring the National Wildlife Refuges and back bay areas that separate the island from the mainland. For fishing aficionados, the nationally renowned Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic has been enthralling competitors for more than 50 years.

Images © Sandra Anton LBI Memories

For golfers, the Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis, in Little Egg Harbor, recently was named the best inexpensive golf course in New Jersey by USA Weekend magazine. There also are the Sea Oaks Golf Course in Little Egg Harbor and the Ocean Acres Country Club in Manahawkin, just a few minutes away, and another dozen golf courses within a short drive, including courses highly regarded by Golfweek, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, and former PGA and LPGA courses.

It is no surprise that the golfing is so good, as that the southern Ocean County region is filled with spectacular scenic countryside and pristine forest and wetland areas teeming with wildlife, including the internationally renowned Pinelands, the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management area and the northern tips of the Bass River State Forest and Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, providing ample opportunities for those exploring ecological and environmental interests or the avid hunter.

At the Jacques Costeau National Estuarine Research Reserve Showcase, in Tuckerton, visitors can journey through an interactive exhibit exploring the headwaters of the Mullica River, through the forested Pinelands and the marshes and wetlands perimetering Great Bay into the open Atlantic Ocean. The Long Beach Island Arts and Sciences Foundation, in Loveladies, offers a variety of programs for all ages exploring the interaction between science, technology, art and society, and the Natural Resource Education Foundation of New Jersey’s Lighthouse Center, in Waretown, provides ecological and environmental programming throughout the year at its scenic 194 acre site adjacent to Barnegat Bay.

Those interested in the performing arts will be delighted at the selection of local theatres. The award-winning Surflight Theatre, in Beach Haven, presents a continuous series of performances for every interest, from some of yesterday’s and today’s most popular headliners, ballet, modern dance and contemporary music revues, to jazz, folk, traveling Broadway shows, classic theatre, comedy and a wonderful selection of children’s shows. The Albert Music Hall, in Waretown, showcases some of the finest bluegrass, country western and folk musicians found in the East, and the state-of-the-art Stafford Township Arts Center is home to the Garden State Philharmonic Orchestra and the Our Gang Players, and hosts touring theatre shows and national TV stars, such as Bob Newhart and Joy Behar, throughout the year.

Someone seeking simple solitude or religious renewal can find their site for R&R at the Maris Stella and Harvey Cedars Bible Conferences, both located on LBI, which host religious retreats and conferences throughout the year.

History buffs will find themselves immersed in the founding of the nation, as several Revolutionary War historic sites dot the area. The final documented conflict took place in nearby Barnegat, at the site of the Cedar Bridge Tavern, where a unique collection of artifacts can be found and battle reenactments are held annually. Not too far away too is the monument to the Battle of the Village of Chestnut Neck, just off Garden State Parkway exit 48, just south of Tuckerton, marking the spot where British troops stormed the village to eliminate the privateers that had been sailing small quick schooners and ketches out of Little Egg Inlet, at the foot of LBI, and Absecon Inlet, at the northern tip of Atlantic City, to plunder the British Merchant fleet.

The region’s boat building and fishing industries date back to that era, and visitors will be fascinated as southern New Jersey’s maritime heritage comes to life at Tuckerton Seaport, in Tuckerton, a 40-acre working maritime village filled with historic buildings, hands-on demonstrations and interpretive exhibits. The Seaport’s sixteen structures and Folklife Center recreate the various trades, crafts and traditions unique to the Barnegat Bay and Pinelands region.

Ocean County’s newest attraction, the Museum of New Jersey Maritime History, in Beach Haven, provides a view of more contemporary seafaring interests through artifacts and collections, including exhibits on the United States Life Saving Service, shipwreck artifacts dating back to the 1800’s, antique navigational and diving equipment and an extensive display on the 1934 sinking of the luxury liner, Morro Castle, off the coast of Asbury Park. The museum is also home to the Alliance for a Living Ocean, an environmental stewardship organization which presents a variety of ecological educational, research, preservation and cleanup programs to help protect New Jersey’s marine resources.

There also is “Old Barney,” a 165-foot tall lighthouse at Barnegat Light State Park, dating from 1834, which beckons the hardy to climb its 217-step spiral staircase to see the view from the top, and the Barnegat Light Museum and Edith Duff Gwinn Gardens will also be enjoyed just a few blocks away. Also in Barnegat, the Barnegat Heritage Center preserves old buildings and shops that house a collection of artifacts and records retelling the village’s founding, and offers a popular hosts and Legends Tours every Fall.

In nearby Beach Haven, the Long Beach Island Historical Association & Museum, housed in a vintage 1882 church, displays exhibits on LBI life dating from the 1800’s, and those visiting the Old Stone Store & Train Station, in Manahawkin, will feel the nostalgia of the steam train era as they explore the ticket office, waiting room and exhibits. Also in Manahawkin, the Stafford Township Museum, which is located in the first house of worship in Ocean County and was Stafford Township’s only school until 1800, offers exhibits and a weekly concert series.

Back outdoors, both the island and mainland are great for bicycling and running, and fitness enthusiasts will be found at the myriad of sports and recreation complexes throughout the area. The Stanley “Tip” Seaman County Park, on the banks of Lake Pohatcong in Tuckerton, offers a visitor center, bocce ball, fitness trails, horseshoes, tennis courts and a softball field. The Doc Cramer Recreational Complex, in Cedar Run, has 25 sports fields and is a great place to ride bikes and host sports competitions. There also is the Paul King County Park, on Manahawkin Lake in Manahawkin, with swimming, picnicking and playgrounds, and bayside beaches at the Bayview Park, in Brant Beach. Beach Haven’s Veterans Bicentennial Park features free outdoor concerts and festivals during the summer, and Waretown’s Wells Mills County Park & Nature Center maintains a full schedule of nature science programs, trips, classes and events throughout the year.

Southern Ocean County’s mix of family beach resorts and quaint mainland communities offer every imaginable visitor amenity, from its glistening silver sand beaches, sea breezes and panoramic bays, to an abundance of leisure recreational activities, dining, shopping, historical sites, arts and cultural attractions, sports, events, tours and breathtaking scenery. There is an atmosphere throughout the region that is at once tranquil, restful, cultural, educational, refined and adventurous – in other words, something for everyone.