Why You Should Visit Ocean City, New Jersey
There are many places to go on vacation with your family – Ocean City, New Jersey is one of the best. I spent my holiday in Ocean City, New Jersey this past summer and found it to be the perfect balance of relaxation and activity. The beach, boardwalk, amusements and food are all great reasons why you should visit Ocean City, New Jersey.
The beach is probably the most popular attraction in Ocean City. Seven miles of clean, soft sand run alongside the city. At the beach vacationers surf, boogie-board, sunbathe and build sandcastles. The beach is also a great place to take a walk, collect seashells or just people watch. Some of my favorite moments on the beach were the late afternoons when we would rest our chairs in the shoreline and watch boats go by.
Right next to the beach is two and a half miles of boardwalk. Ocean City’s boardwalk is lined with shops, restaurants, arcades, rides and hotels. Between dawn and 11 a.m., bicycles and surrey carts are allowed to ride on the boardwalk. My family enjoyed biking to the far southern end of the boardwalk to watch the sun rise and then heading to breakfast at Brown’s (a famous restaurant whose homemade donuts draw in long lines by 8 a.m.). The boardwalk is great for walking or jogging as well, there is never a moment of boredom as you watch all the sights go by.
The amusements on the boardwalk give many entertainment options for the vacation. Two small amusement parks offer rides and games for all ages; both parks have a good mix of children’s rides, adult rides and thrill rides. Another activity on the boardwalk is miniature golf; cute courses pop up in between the shops every couple of blocks. There is also a water park with slides and pools for varying ages. Arcades are another popular activity on the boardwalk; vacationers can be found playing skeeball, pinball, air-hockey and video games throughout the day. There is a movie theater on the boardwalk additionally, playing first-run films. Many of the amusements can be enjoyed during rainy days too; some of the rides are covered by open-air buildings, one of the mini-golf courses is under cover, all of the arcades are inside and of course, the movies are indoors.
Food is an important part of any vacation and Ocean City has some great treats to try. For meals, there is an average mix of diners, coffee shops and chain restaurants nearby, as well as a grocery store if you want to prepare meals. However, when it comes to beach food and desserts, the Ocean City fare is above average. Amazing soft pretzels are served hot and fresh at Philly Twist. We liked to eat our Philly Twist pretzels with a Polish Water Ice (similar to soft Italian ice, but creamier and more flavors to choose from). Johnson’s Popcorn is the place to go for caramel corn – sticky, sweet and made on the spot – order your bucket with no cover and ask for a bag to put around it. For your candy and fudge fix, stop by Steel’s fudge; their homemade confections are the best on the boardwalk. In additions to our aforementioned favorites, there are countless other stands along the boardwalk to grab pizza, fried dough, ice cream and baked goods.
When we left Ocean City this year, we felt that we still had activities that we wanted to try. My husband wanted another day or two of boogie-boarding, my daughter had not had a chance to play a mini-golf course that she had her eye on, my son wanted another ride on the train that goes around Wonderland amusement park and I still had some sun-bathing and treat-eating left in me. It was a great feeling to leave a vacation spot and know that we had plenty of reasons to plan a repeat visit.
If you get a chance, visit Ocean City, New Jersey. You will not be disappointed.
