Living at the Jersey Shore Year-Round: What the Off-Season Looks Like

Living at the Jersey Shore year-round means the beach and the boardwalk are still there after Labor Day, with fall festivals, Halloween parades, holiday events in historic villages and winter trails in county parks filling the calendar from September to May. The pace changes with the seasons, and for a lot of people who move here, the off-season is the part they end up loving most.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. I grew up in Monmouth County and live in Ocean County, and I call myself a Lifestyle Connector because the job starts long before the showing. Here's what the shore looks like from September to May.

Is the beach open after Labor Day?

Badge checks end with the summer season, and the shoreline is still there to walk. Belmar puts it directly: "The Borough of Belmar's beaches and boardwalk are open on a year-round basis." A sunrise walk on an empty beach in November is one of those things people don't picture until they live here. The rules for each beach are set by the town, so check its beach page; my guide to how beach badges work covers the summer side.

What happens in the fall?

Fall is festival season. A few that come back every year:

• Festival of the Sea, Point Pleasant Beach. The Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce held its 48th annual Festival of the Sea downtown on September 19, 2026. The same chamber runs a Witches Walk at the end of October, Beer on the Boards in November and a Ladies Night Out in December.
• Asbury Park Zombie Walk. It celebrated its eighteenth year on October 3, 2026, starting at Convention Hall on the boardwalk.
• Toms River in October. Downtown Toms River runs a Scarecrow Walk through much of October, and the Toms River Halloween Parade, produced by Toms River Fire Company No. 1, marked its 86th year in 2025.
• Ghost tours at Allaire Village. The historic village inside Allaire State Park ran evening ghost tours on two October Sundays in 2026.

What is there to do in winter?

The county park systems keep going all year.

• Holmdel Park opens at 7 a.m. daily, year round. It has sledding, ice skating on the pond when the ice is thick enough, and Historic Longstreet Farm, a living history farm set in the 1890s.
• Thompson Park in Lincroft also opens daily year round, with about 14 miles of trails, a Creative Arts Center and an off-leash dog area. In winter, the Monmouth County Park System grooms trails there for cross-country skiing and rents skis and snowshoes from its Ski Hut.
• Ocean County's nature centers. Cattus Island County Park in Toms River has 530 acres, 7 miles of trails and the Cooper Environmental Center. Jakes Branch County Park in Beachwood has more than 8 miles of nature trails and a nature center with an observation deck five stories up. Wells Mills County Park in Waretown covers 910 acres.
• State parks. The outdoor areas of Allaire Village are open year-round, inside a state park of more than 3,000 acres. Double Trouble State Park's grounds, with cranberry bogs and a historic village, open daily from 8 a.m. to dusk.

The Monmouth County Park System has over 30 park areas and Ocean County Parks and Recreation has 27 parks and conservation areas, so there's always another trail to try.

What does the holiday season look like?

Allaire Village does Christmas the old-fashioned way. Its 2026 calendar lists lantern tours and a Holiday Evening Stroll on mid-December weekends, and Christmas at Allaire on December Sundays. Downtowns along the shore decorate and hold their own events, so check the town calendar for wherever you're looking. The county tourism calendars for Monmouth and Ocean list events by date.

What happens in late winter and early spring?

• The Polar Bear Plunge, Seaside Heights. Held each winter, it draws thousands of jumpers into the ocean to benefit Special Olympics New Jersey. The 2026 plunge was March 14.
• The Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade. Its committee lists March 7, 2027 for the next parade on Main Street.

Then the boardwalks wake up, the badge booths reopen, and the cycle starts again.

Where do year-round residents spend a rainy day?

The libraries. The Ocean County Library has 21 locations, and cards are free for Ocean County residents in its service area. The Monmouth County Library has a headquarters in Manalapan and 12 branches, with free cards for anyone living or owning property in a member town. A few Monmouth towns run their own libraries, so ask which system yours belongs to.

How do you pick a town you'll love all year?

Visit in the off-season before you buy. Walk the downtown on a Tuesday in February. Find the coffee shop that's open at 7 a.m. Drive your commute when school's in session. A town that fits you in January will fit you in July. Start with the Where We Work page and the town pages, many with a free town guide. The relocation page explains how I help out-of-state buyers choose a town, and my free Relocation Guide walks through the whole move.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Jersey Shore boardwalks open in the winter?

Many are. Belmar, for example, says its beaches and boardwalk are open on a year-round basis. Check each town's page for its own rules.

What is there to do at the Jersey Shore in the off-season?

Fall festivals like Point Pleasant Beach's Festival of the Sea, Halloween events in Asbury Park and Toms River, holiday programs at Allaire Village, winter trails and ice skating in county parks, and the Polar Bear Plunge in Seaside Heights.

Can you ice skate in Monmouth County parks?

Yes, when conditions allow. The Monmouth County Park System allows skating at Holmdel Park when the ice is more than five inches thick, and posts "Skating Today" signs when it's open.

Do you need a beach badge in the winter?

Badge checks run during each town's summer season. Outside it, check the town's beach page for its rules.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Event dates come from each organizer's posted calendar and can change.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• How to research a Jersey Shore town before you visit
• Rent first or buy right away when you relocate?
• Already own at the shore? See what your home is worth with a free home value.
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark and it may become the next article.