I can’t believe I lived on the Jersey shore at one point in my life and never heard of Long Beach Island. I mean, it’s hard to overlook a 22 mile long island! But when we got an opportunity to do a home exchange with some folks on LBI, we looked it up on Google Maps and there it was.

Barnegat Light

Turns out, it’s a half mile wide strip of sand that forms the eastern side of Barnegat Bay, one of the world’s premier protected harbors. There are 10 towns on the island. But best of all are the 22 uninterrupted miles of white sand beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean.

Here in New England, when we go to the beach, we drive to a large parking lot, unload the car and drag all the stuff down to the sand. On Long Beach Island, there isn’t any beach parking.  If  you have a place to stay, you simply walk out the door, go to a nearby public access ramp and choose your spot in the sand.

Our home away from home was sparkling and bright, with lots of decks for eating outdoors or just kicking back with a good book. But since the nearest public beach access just a few steps away, the beach is where we spent most of our time. We wait all winter for good summer weather. We weren’t about to waste a single moment of it.

Our hosts had cruiser bikes available and we rode almost everywhere we went for shopping, dining or getting a hot fudge brownie sundae with whipped cream and nuts. Yummm….scrumptious! We would definitely welcome another trip to Long Beach Island in the near future.

Please enjoy our photos from the trip.