Home Care In Ocean Grove, NJ

If you’re visiting Ocean Grove for the first time, you can expect, on arriving, to experience a pleasant sense of dislocation. Founded by a group of Methodist clergymen in 1869 as a retreat from the physical and psychological assaults of the urban summer, the Monmouth County town of 3,057 looks much as it did at the turn of the 19th century and offers a similar sensation of escape, whether you’re visiting in January or July.

WHAT TO DO

Special events abound, especially in the summer and on weekends throughout the year, including car shows, flea markets, house and garden tours, and classical concerts in the Great Auditorium, the 129-year-old theater whose breathtaking wooden interior was designed to evoke an upturned ship. But the real pleasure of Ocean Grove is taking in the town itself, which boasts the country’s greatest conglomeration of Victorian architecture, from the summer tents that surround the Great Auditorium to tiny porched cottages to mansions decked out in architectural gingerbread. Any walk through the town should include a stroll along its resolutely noncommercial boardwalk and its newly rebuilt fishing pier.

[RELATED: What Life Is Like In Ocean Grove’s Unique Tent Community]

WHERE TO EAT

As its name suggests, Seagrass offers an ocean-inflected menu that includes sesame-encrusted ahi tuna, roasted Atlantic salmon in shrimp beurre blanc, and seared dayboat sea scallops. If you can’t imagine the Shore without a slice, step into Tino’s Artisan Pizza, an outlet of the popular New Jersey chain, where you can sample thin-crust marvels like the X Pie (cremini mushrooms, white truffle oil) and the Ruchetta (mozzarella, prosciutto, baby arugula, balsamic reduction), plus a plethora of pastas, salads and antipasti. Odyssey Coffee, which bills itself as a “vigorous refuge for thinkers,” also welcomes the sleepy and footsore in need of a caffeine fix and a nibble. A caveat: Ocean Grove is a dry town, so you’ll have to BYO.

WHERE TO STAY

The Ocean Plaza Hotel features 16 rooms and three suites, many with wraparound porches and ocean views. Also offering beach vistas, Selah is an intimate B&B with five nicely appointed rooms and a basement suite.

Want to keep exploring? Check out more of our 12 favorite small towns to visit now.

Great Auditorium, 21 Pilgrim Pathway; Seagrass, 68 Main Avenue; Tino’s Artisan Pizza, 50 Main Avenue; Odyssey Coffee, 50 Main Avenue; Ocean Plaza Hotel, 18 Ocean Pathway; Selah, 7 Ocean Avenue

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A dispute involving the longtime practice in Ocean Grove of blocking beach access from its boardwalk on summer Sunday mornings may be resolved by a state administrative court judge.

Up to five days of hearings have been scheduled, starting April 17, as a landowners’ association challenges an order, from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, to stop using chains and padlocked barriers blocking beach access from its Monmouth County boardwalk or risk fines of up to $25,000 per day.

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association has cited religious freedom and its origins as a Methodist community retreat. But the DEP, which first sent a violation notice in September, said the restriction runs afoul of state law.

Judge Tricia Caliguire will preside over a hearing in Trenton, which is scheduled for five days over two weeks concluding April 26, according to the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law.

The battle over summer beach access on Sunday mornings, which prompted protests last year, is part of a larger debate over the influence of religion in public spaces in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune Township. Ocean Grove is a seaside community of roughly 3,000 residents founded more than 150 years ago.

Critics separately took issue with the association’s decision to build a $2 million pier in the shape of a Christian cross that opened last April, but has been closed since December amid structural concerns.

The camp meeting association did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ocean Grove was governed by the association as a religious enclave for a century until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared its original charter unconstitutional after a series of lawsuits. However, the association still owns all the land and helps oversee the boardwalk and beachfront community.

The nine “step entrances” — access points from the Ocean Grove Boardwalk onto the beach — historically have been closed on Sunday mornings from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. However, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association officials have said the beach is not closed because the public can still get on the sand if they walk along the high tide line from Asbury Park to the north or from Bradley Beach to the south.

“The slight limitation on physical presence on the beachfront on the Lord’s Day is consistent with the Plaintiff’s Mission to build and maintain a beautiful seaside community to serve as a place for meditation, reflection and renewal during the summer months,” the association’s attorney, James M. McGovern, stated in a lawsuit filed last fall against some critics of the beach restriction.

That lawsuit has since been withdrawn, according to the Asbury Park Press.

However, DEP is countering that the restriction runs afoul of the state’s Coastal Area Facility Review Act.

“The department recommends that representatives of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association engage in compliance discussions with the Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement aimed at resolving this matter as soon as possible,” regional supervisor Robert H. Clark wrote in his letter last fall to the association.

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OCEAN GROVE, NJ - State officials say a Jersey Shore town’s long-held rule prohibiting beach access on Sunday mornings is not in line with New Jersey law, according to a letter shared by the community advocacy group Neptune United.

In the Ocean Grove section of Neptune Township, which is controlled by the Christian Methodist group Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, access to the beach is restricted before noon on Sundays through Sept. 3, when the beach closes for the season.

But the camp meeting association, which owns much of the land in Ocean Grove, was sent a warning by the state last month denouncing the use of chain and padlock barriers blocking beach access on Sunday mornings. The action specifically violates a special condition of the Coastal Area Facility Review Act surrounding public access to the beach during daylight hours, Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement Regional Supervisor Robert H. Clark said in the letter.

NJ.com initially reported on the exchange.

Find out what's happening in Asbury Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“Please be advised that the DEP may continue to monitor the site for compliance and we are available to provide guidance as needed,” Clark wrote.

In a response to the DEP provided to NJ.com, Michael Badger, the president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, said the closure “enhances religious and secular quality of life experiences in Ocean Grove which society recognizes as valuable.”

The camp meeting association has not been issued any fines from the Department of Environmental Protection, the outlet reported.

The policy to close Ocean Grove beach access has been in place for 154 years, Badger told the outlet, and 2023 marked the first year the association was met with complaints.

This isn’t the first time the camp meeting association has been the subject of controversy in recent years. Earlier this year, the group drew criticism from some locals after rebuilding a cross-shaped pier by the waterfront.

Shane Martins, an attorney who lives in Ocean Grove and sits on the Neptune Zoning Board, said last summer he was going to ask the ACLU to look into the legality of cross-shaped pier.

"This is Christian nationalism," Martins said at the time. "We are not a Christian nation; we are a nation that has many Christians in it.”

One Ocean Grove resident, Douglas Grote, told Patch last year he donated $50 to a fundraising campaign to help build the new pier, but added he never would have donated had he first seen a rendering that the pier would be in the shape of a cross.

"It's sectarian," Grote said. "And I'm a Presbyterian. Just this past weekend, I saw brown and black people on the beach in Ocean Grove; I saw people with Muslim scarves, someone in a Jewish scarf, and a transgender person in a halter top and bikini bottoms. If they are out here on the beach and there's a cross right in the middle of their views, I would say that's offensive as all get out. Wouldn't you?"

Back in 2007, the Camp Meeting Association refused to give two lesbian women permission when they applied for a permit to get married at the boardwalk pavilion. The Methodist group denied the women's application, saying civil unions violated Christian doctrine against same-sex marriage.

The couple sued and in 2012, a state administrative law judge ruled the Camp Meeting Association was breaking New Jersey's law against discrimination.

In response, the Camp Meeting Association now does not allow any weddings to be held at its boardwalk pavilion. Read more: Judge Rules In Favor Of Same-Sex Couple In Ocean Grove Discrimination Case

-With reporting by Carly Baldwin.

Four months, one tent: Welcome to Jennifer Walsh's paradise

Simple sounds of nature have such restorative effects on the body and brain. The trill of birdsong, the rasp of blowing leaves, the patter of rainfall and the crash of ocean waves are almost universally calming, which is why so many people use them to quiet the mind and lull the body into sleep. I, for one, relish those moments in which nature’s rhythms are louder than man-made noise. It’s one of the reasons I make an annual trek from the buzzing Big Apple to the quiet of Ocean Grove’s Tent City.

Each spring, I leave my New York City apartment and move into a tent in Ocean Grove, New Jersey. I’ve lived there every summer for the past 35 years, sharing a space with my family. For those four months of every year, the sounds of the natural world envelop me from sunup to sundown.

I like to say that I stay in a living structure with walls that ebb and flow with the breeze. I can hear the push and pull of the ropes that keep the canvas in place. I can smell the first drops of rain the minute they hit the soil. I can tell how foggy it might be at the beach, two-and-a-half blocks away, based on how fragrant the scent of the brine is coming off the ocean. I rise with the first light, and my home changes color—turning vibrant pastels in shades of orange, pink and purple—with the magnificent shades of the summer sunset.

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The making of Tent City

Courtesy Jennifer Walsh

Ocean Grove is a quaint and historic beach community located just shy of two hours south of New York City. Flanked by two lakes and bordering the Atlantic Ocean, it’s a summertime oasis with a long history. Methodist settlers set up camp here and established the town in 1869. They were part of the camp meeting movement of the 19th century, which saw groups of people of various Protestant denominations pitching their tents across America and gathering for camp activities like religious worship, singing and praying.

As tents and cabins were erected on this stretch of New Jersey shore, the story of Ocean Grove began. My Ocean Grove story begins anew each spring. On May 15, I join 113 other “tenters” for a move into our tents for the season. We stay until Sept. 15, when it is time to close up for the fall and winter months.

While we’re there, visitors from all over the country stroll through the town and meander through the tent community to get a look at what life is like in Ocean Grove’s Tent City. When asked, I always say it’s magical. It is such a unique way to exist and be part of something so special. I never take a moment here for granted.

Small-town life

Today, walking through the town is like stepping back in time. It’s full of beautiful old Victorian homes and crowned by the must-visit Great Auditorium. Surrounded by Ocean Grove’s Tent City, the Great Auditorium was completed in 1894 and can house nearly 7,000 people, who come for church services, concerts and speakers. In the past, it’s played host to speakers like presidents Nixon, Roosevelt and Wilson. And many who have performed concerts here compare the acoustics to that of the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Main Street ushers guests through the main gates, past storefronts full of small businesses and lovely little eateries, and on to the ocean. One of the best aspects of living here is its walkability. When I stay in Ocean Grove’s Tent City, I can traverse the town with ease—and explore the surrounding areas too.

Just north of Ocean Grove, Asbury Park is full of hip restaurants, bars and countless shops. And then there’s the historic Stone Pony, where Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi used to play regularly and where you can catch indoor and outdoor concerts from some of the biggest names in music all summer long. There is always something going on in Ocean Grove, in Asbury Park and in the other adjoining beach communities, which are all connected along the boardwalk.

But I don’t have to go far to find something to do. In the summer months, most people entertain on their front porches in both the tent community and the Victorian homes residents live in year-round. The city is full of life and conversations with neighbors. We often joke about how long it takes to walk a block—there’s always someone (or someones) you can stop and speak with.

A summer community

Courtesy Jennifer Walsh

To the uninitiated, Ocean Grove’s Tent City may conjure images of national park camping, with its portable tents and potential for bear sightings. But tent life in this small New Jersey enclave is a different sort of experience, which may be why the tents are hard to come by. Right now, there is close to a 10-year wait-list for one.

These tents are family heirlooms of sorts, handed down from generation to generation. There are strict rules against renting out a tent or turning it into an Airbnb experience, so I’m not surrounded by strangers. I’ve known my neighbors for decades. Though we’re seasonal residents, tenters are an active part of the community all summer long, and most volunteer at the countless fun events the town puts together for locals and visitors alike.

The gift of time

Tent life is a simplified life, and that’s a good thing. Our quarters are small but offer everything we need. Each tent connects to a cabin that houses a bathroom, kitchen and living area. We have running water and air conditioning in the cabin, and almost everyone has Wi-Fi. (The cabin’s use goes beyond space: In the fall and winter, we move all our furniture from the tent to the cabin and board it up for safekeeping during the colder months.)

Most of these structures are more than 140 years old, and no two tents are alike. Our homes are full of personality, with almost all the 114 tents measuring slightly different in terms of square footage. Everyone decorates their tent in a unique way too.

Tenters come from all over the country, so when they get here, they often stay for the entire four-month season. I share this space with my parents. Many others live with multiple family members—and yes, it is a small space for more than two to three people. (If you’ve ever gone car camping, though, you could handle it with ease.)

Living with multiple generations is a gift that many other cultures take such pride and joy in. For me, the greatest gift the experience offers is time. I have time with my parents, and that is the ultimate joy.

The allure of living simply

During the summer of 2020, Ocean Grove’s Tent City gave me another gift: freedom. I lived outdoors for a full four months at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a time when indoor activity was restricted. We said goodbye to indoor dining, movies in theaters, museum visits and so many other activities we were used to. But in this tent community, we sat on front porches and in backyards experiencing togetherness in a safer environment.

I rarely went home to my New York City apartment that summer, and why would I? Those four months of living outdoors transformed me and my work. It helped me step into a greater understanding of what it meant to live simply, to need very little and to have a solid community of people of all ages that would check on one another and share meals and food from our gardens.

I was so thankful for that laughter and joy in an otherwise challenging and uncertain time. It was honestly the best place to be to “hunker down” during the first few months of the COVID-19 storm.

Life lessons

Society today encourages nonstop stimulus from technology and jam-packed schedules. We’re trapped indoors, burned out and isolated. But living in harmony with nature and those around us is tonic for the soul.

If you get a chance to slow down for a day, a weekend or longer, I recommend finding spaces and places that fill your heart and soul with joy and kindness and offer a slower pace to life. Whether you nab a tent in Ocean Grove’s community, book a glamping vacation or do some free camping in your area, experience tent living with your whole body. Listen, smell and see the beauty of life and the beauty of nature. Notice how you feel. Seek the moments of quiet, stillness and beauty, and never underestimate the power of community for your health and well-being.

OCEAN GROVE - During their beachfront walks in recent weeks, Asbury Park residents Robert and Amy Pignatello noticed folks camped out with cameras near the remnants of the old North End Pavilion in the Ocean Grove section of Neptune.

They were waiting for a peek at a family of red foxes that turned the spot into a den.

“I said, ‘Why would people spend all this time waiting for foxes to come out?'” Robert said. “I have one word for these folks: Pinterest. You can get all the pictures of foxes you want.”

On Tuesday, the Pignatellos discovered what the fuss was about. They were walking past the area when the fox family of five emerged onto the beach, the pups playing with each other and the mom grooming her young.

Ocean Grove:Cross-shaped pier opens to the public on April 15

“We saw the whole family of foxes and I was just dumbfounded,” said Robert Pignatello, who is a vice president at Fairleigh Dickinson University. “I never expected to see something like that on the beach. It was a beautiful thing to see.”

It’s not the first time the site has been used as a den. In the spring of 2021 a family of red foxes caused a similar sensation among the locals. Typically, pups emerge from the den about a month after birth and are weaned by 8 to 10 weeks. The family remains together until the fall after the birth, and then the young disperse.

Several generations of foxes may use the same den site, so this could well be part of the family that romped the Ocean Grove sands in 2021.

According to New Jersey’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, “healthy foxes pose virtually no danger to humans. Foxes can grow accustomed to human activity but are seldom aggressive toward people.”

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Robert Pignatello snapped a few photos and some video with his iPhone. He no longer questions the camera-wielding enthusiasts staking out the spot.

“Now I understand why,” he said.

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at [email protected].