Many hundreds of years before Europeans sailed along the coast of the new land that would become America, the beaches of Sea Girt were a popular bathing spot for the Lenni Lenape native Americans, who would come to the cedar-grown dunes near the Wreck Pond Inlet for their yearly bath and baked clam feast.
After the area was colonized, settlers for miles around the area would congregate here in sheet-topped wagons for what became known as “Big Sea Day” on the second Saturday in August, and families held their reunions with bathing, a basket breakfast, lunches on the beach and singing.
The name “Sea Girt” was first used in a deed by Commodore Robert F. Stockton in 1866. He had built a summer mansion in area in the 1850’s, and “Sea Girt” was recognized as the name of the entire tract in 1869 when the corporate body known as the “Sea Girt Improvement Company” was officially incorporated by an act of the legislature. The company was a key player in bringing the central railroad to Sea Girt in 1875.
Today, visitors drive south out of Spring Lake in Monmouth County, New Jersey, cross over the Wreck Pond Bridge, and come to Sea Girt, a town of roughly 2,000 people where most residents live year round. The community was founded in 1875, the year the railroad arrived, and incorporated as Sea Girt, New Jersey in 1917.
President Woodrow Wilson came to Sea Girt during the summer season years ago, and the square mile of the community proper sits between Wreck Pond and Stockton Lake, and it is home to a mile of sandy white beaches and an old fashioned boardwalk.
You can walk the boards beginning at the foot of the historic lighthouse and continue on to the south end of town. Visitors discover that Sea Girt is a great place to visit, dine, and enjoy great views of the Atlantic.
However, Sea Girt also boasts of two other very important things in the undeveloped area of the community that cannot be found elsewhere: the National Guard Camp, and the New Jersey State Police Academy where troopers receive their training before they join the ranks of New Jersey’s finest.
The National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey is located in both Sea Girt and Lawrenceville. This organization helps to preserve the military heritage of New Jersey. The Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to assist in the collection, preservation and display of artifacts and related memorabilia, which has specific historical significance to the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, and the Naval Militia of New Jersey.
The National Guard Camp was once the summer home to past governors of the State of New Jersey, and it now hosts summer and fall Monmouth-Ocean County soccer camps and leagues. Sea Girt also has an award-winning lifeguard program, and a variety of youth-related activities offered by the town government.
Beach Information:
Beach Tag Fees:
Seasonal (Adults 13 – 64): $70.00
Seasonal (Senior 65+): $50.00
Children ( 12 and under): Free
Daily: $7.00
Purchase badges (cash only) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Beach Pavilion.
Beach Season: Memorial Day – Labor Day.
Restrooms: Available at the pavilion. Beach visitors may use the restrooms only with presentation of their beach badge.
Showers: Showers and changing rooms are only available to beachgoers with seasonal beach badges.
Parking: Free on-street parking is available.
Lifeguards: On duty 9:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. weekends only from Memorial Day through Father’s Day, and then daily thereafter through Labor Day.
Handicap Access: The beaches are wheelchair-accessible, and beach wheelchairs are available.
Food: Food is not permitted on the beach. Non-alcoholic beverages in non disposable containers are permitted.
Pets: Dogs are not allowed on the beach from May 1 through September 30.
Bikes: Bicycle riding is permitted on the boardwalk from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Motorized vehicles, skates and skateboards are not permitted on the beach or boardwalk at any time.
Games: Throwing balls or other objects such as Frisbees, paddleball and football is prohibited on beaches during bathing hours during the entire beach season, except at North Beach. Kite flying is prohibited on all beaches.
Surfing: Permitted only at Philadelphia Boulevard beach.
Kayaking: Allowed at Trenton Boulevard and North Bell Place.
Catamarans: Permitted north of the Beacon Boulevard jetty as posted.
Public Beaches: Beacon Beach, Brooklyn Beach, Baltimore Beach, Trenton Beach, North Beach, Chicago Beach, New York Beach, Boston Beach and Neptune/Seaside Beach.
Free tours of the Sea Girt Lighthouse, circa 1896, at Beacon Boulevard and Ocean Avenue are offered from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
For more information, call (732) 449-9433 or visit
www.seagirtboro.com or www.seagirtbeachpatrol.com.
Sea Girt Important Telephone Numbers
Police – Fire – Medical Emergency: Dial 911
Borough Offices: 732-449-9433
Chamber of Commerce: 732-974-1151
Houses of Worship:
St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church
215 Crescent Parkway
Sea Girt, NJ
732-449-6364
St. Uriel’s Episcopal Church
219 Philadelphia Boulevard
Sea Girt, NJ
732-449-6173
