I called this one, and I’m a bit sad about that. I have so many fond memories of the free, beautiful Strathmere beach, going back to high school in the ’70s. Beach parties with friends in the ’80s. Family time with the kids in the ’90s. Empty-nesting there with my wife in the 2000s. All the expenses around it steadily went up over the years, affordability got harder and harder to justify. But that beach was free. Until now.
Back when I wrote about my top 10 New Jersey beaches, I said my loyalty to Strathmere might be wandering, that Upper Township was moving toward ending its free beach status for the first time ever, and that I’d rather pay a fee somewhere else, Cape May or my new favorite, Asbury Park, just to register my own small objection. I wrote about the actual proposal not long after that. Well, it’s not a proposal anymore.
The Upper Township Committee voted unanimously Monday night to approve a beach tag ordinance for Strathmere, according to NJ.com, ending a tradition of free beach access that had stood for more than a hundred years. Seasonal tags will run $45, or $30 if you buy early between October 4 and Presidents Day. Daily tags are $10, weekly tags $20. The township expects the program to bring in roughly $200,000 a year, and by law, every dollar of that has to go toward beach maintenance and operations, nothing else.
This connects to something I already wrote about
Here’s the part that actually ties two of my own stories together. I wrote a few weeks ago about why New Jersey keeps replenishing its beaches even though the ocean eventually takes the sand back anyway. Strathmere is a direct example of exactly that math. Upper Township recently borrowed $2.1 million in municipal bonds toward its share of a beach replenishment project, with a federal grant covering the other $21 million. That debt is real, and it’s part of why this ordinance exists at all.
SEE ALSO: I asked AI to average every “best NJ beach” list. Here’s the top 10
The beach, when it was free in Strathmere | photo by EJ
A town arguing with itself over what it wants to be
The public comment period showed a real split. Some residents said free beach access is what actually makes Strathmere Strathmere, the one thing that separates it from Avalon, Stone Harbor, and Sea Isle City. Others pointed out that $200,000 doesn’t come close to covering the town’s $500,000 annual lifeguard budget, let alone making a dent in that $2.1 million replenishment debt, and pushed for a resident-led Beach Funding Committee to find other options first. There’s also a real worry that beach tags will just push crowds over to the free, adjacent Corson’s Inlet State Park instead of solving anything.
Supporters framed it differently: a fair user fee that shifts cost onto day trippers who’ve been using free parking and free beaches for years without putting a dollar back into the town. Resident Fred Duffy, who grew up in Surf City on Long Beach Island, where tags have existed since 1967, said paying a small fee to keep Strathmere strong felt like an easy trade. Mayor Curtis Corson was blunt about how conditional this whole thing is: “If it doesn’t make economic sense at the end of the day, we will discontinue the program.”
Where that leaves New Jersey’s free beaches
With Strathmere joining the paid side, Atlantic City, Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest are now among the last true free beaches left on the Jersey Shore. Corson’s Inlet State Park in Ocean City stays free too, but parking fills fast. Sandy Hook and Island Beach State Park don’t charge beach tags, but you’ll pay a vehicle fee to get in either way.
So here’s where I actually land on my own plan. I said I’d rather spend my beach fee money somewhere else, as a small protest, and then go back to the beach I was born into. Atlantic City is still free. I already know where I’m headed.
Asbury Park and the perfect summer day in the summer of ’26!
EJ did a broadcast from our Asbury Park Boardwalk Studio on Saturday August 15, 2026. Asbury Park was hopping! The beach and boardwalk were busy well into the evening with low humidity, sunny cloudless skies and a surf temp of 78° and a light breezy air temp of 80°! EJ felt the need to take a walk and document it! Enjoy the photos!
Gallery Credit: Eric “EJ” Johnson
EJ takes a walk in Atlantic City
On Friday June 26, 2026 me and Kyle Forcini were joined by Dennis Malloy and hosted “The Judi & EJ Show” live from the Atlantic City Boardwalk at the legendary Steel Pier. Prior to the show I took a walk around town and snapped some photos!
Gallery Credit: Eric “EJ” Johnson
