Like the old “Cheers” theme song used to say, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. Other times, you want peace, quiet, and solitude.
A study set out to find the quietest and calmest beaches in the United States, and three of them are right here in New Jersey.
The study looked at about a quarter of a million TripAdvisor reviews for 158 beaches around America. Then they looked for how many times certain keywords like “relax,” “peaceful,” or “quiet” were used.
Most peaceful beaches in the country
The three that made this list all placed among the top 50. Not too shabby! Before we tell you which beaches to head to when you want a truly relaxing day, here’s a quick rundown of the top 10 in the nation.
1 — Holden Beach, North Carolina
2 — Lewes Beach, Delaware
3 — Cape Charles Beach, Virginia
4 — Chic’s Beach, Virginia
5 — Sandbridge Beach, Virginia
6 — Oak Island Beach, North Carolina
7 — Sullivan’s Island Beach, South Carolina
8 — Bethany Beach, Delaware
9 — St Andrews Beach, Georgia
10 — Goose Rocks Beach, Maine
Most peaceful beaches in New Jersey
Now, in a state with 9 million people and the most congested area on the planet, you can hardly fault us for not being in the top 10. But our first showing on this list is pretty high up there.
Ocean Grove Beach in Neptune Township landed the 16th spot on the list of calmest, quietest beaches.
It started as a Methodist retreat, and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting still owns the beach. If you can’t find peace here, you may not be looking hard enough.
Often named among the state’s finest beaches, it’s also one of the few that doesn’t charge a beach fee. Maybe the quieter part of this beach is the northern end, away from that perpetually annoying tram car announcement.
Finally, there’s Island Beach State Park, coming in at No. 50.
No boardwalk, no rides, no rowdiness. Just nature at its most glorious. The park is a haven for bird watchers, and some of the nature here is even restricted to the public. As long as Chris Christie doesn’t reprise his beach chair moment and cause a media frenzy, you’ll probably have a quiet, relaxing time.
Happy beach day!
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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.