The weather is getting warmer and the countdown to summer is in full effect. New Jersey is getting ready for beach days which means tourists and a bumper-to-bumper Parkway drive.

Car queue in the bad traffic road
Photo via chat9780
loading...

Although that doesn’t keep us from our favorite beach or boardwalk, it does steer us away from crowds.

Most Jerseyans know what beach towns to stay away from during the busiest times of the summer, but not many know of the best quiet ones to visit while everyone else is playing boardwalk games and eating huge slices of pizza.

TSM New Jersey
TSM New Jersey
loading...

We know that the go-to beach towns for tourists are:

Point Pleasant

Jenkinson's
Jenkinson's
loading...

Seaside Heights

Dan Zarrow, Townsquare Media
Dan Zarrow, Townsquare Media
loading...

Wildwood

Morey's Piers
Morey's Piers
loading...

Asbury Park

Canva
Canva
loading...

Ocean City

Canva
Canva
loading...

Cape May

Canva
Canva
loading...

Atlantic City

Canva
Canva
loading...

Belmar

Belmar via Facebook
Belmar via Facebook
loading...

You could argue that these are the best beaches in New Jersey, just ask Google. But “best” and “popular” are two different things.

Thankfully, Reader’s Digest steered away from these towns and named the best beach in New Jersey and it’s one that you might not have heard of if you’re not local.

Canva
Canva
loading...

It’s a list that names the best beaches in each state so let’s take a look at more local beaches that you can road trip to this summer:

Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT

Rehoboth Beach in Delaware

Presque Isle State Park in Pennslyvania

Misquamicut State Beach, Westerly in Rhode Island

If you’re ready to avoid the crowds, you’ll want to visit Strathmere.

Tourists are not aware of this beach because there is no boardwalk, but if you hang out of the northern end, you’ll be able to see Ocean City.

It is not too far from Sea Isle City and Avalon and it is a secluded piece of beach heaven.

Sea Isle City
Sea Isle City (Sea Isle City Beach Patrol)
loading...

If you're willing to travel, see the best beaches in America.

LOOK: See America's 50 Best Beach Towns

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.

Gallery Credit: Keri Wiginton

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Morning Show Producer Kristen. Any opinions expressed are her own.

Questions, corrections, or comments? Send Producer Kristen an email at kristen.accardi@townsquaremedia.com or follow her on Instagram.