Asbury Park Rocks

Asbury Park Offers a Unique Beach Experience to a Fun and Diverse Crowd

Founder of Asbury Park James Bradley designed a seaside town that was unique in its day for its open space plan with widened east-west streets, allowing beautiful vistas to the ocean and the movement of the sea breezes over the town. revitalization projects that continue.

Though some pockets of Asbury are still depressed, there is a vitality that pervades the place, even those areas with a run down façade. Today, Asbury Park is still unique in this and so many other ways.

Asbury is all about building its future while preserving its past.

Through the early to mid twentieth century, it was one of the most popular seaside towns and has continually overcome misfortune such as hurricanes, fires and economic decline. This indomitable spirit of the "city by the sea" can be seen in the Stone Pony or The Saint, two pretty divey looking "boites". But step inside and you will find a hot music scene that can take on anything in New York, and often does.

The Boardwalk and the Beach are the focal points during the day, and like most Jersey Shore beaches, the sand and the water are picture perfect. If all you want is to lay on soft sand and swim in refreshing ocean waves, any of the beaches on the Jersey coastline are perfect.

But the special ambiance of Asbury Park draws the visitor for so much more. How many towns in the United States would be proud to officially call themselves eclectic and diverse? The gay and lesbian community has become an integral part of this community and has worked hard to bring new vitality to it.

Asbury Park abounds in happenings and events. Music is a major part of the culture of the city, not the least because "The Bossss", Bruce Springsteen immortalized it by both singing in it and about it. The choice between big names and hot new acts is a difficult one to make on any given evening. Convention Hall is undergoing renovations and attracts old time big name stars such as Tony Bennet, while on the beach, the younger crowd can enjoy all day beach parties such as the Sand Blast.

If music is main ingredient to Asbury Park's magic, food is the sauce. Jerseyans drive from far and wide for some of the best and most inventive menus from upscale, avant garde venues such as Bistro Olé and Moonstruck to the famous Frank's Deli for perfect old fashioned breakfasts and deli lunches. As the city becomes more and more revitalized, new eating venues appear all the time. Check out a total listing here.

One of the drawbacks to a vacation in Asbury is that there is not a good choice of lodging within town. Most of the downtown is devoted to bars, restaurants and shops, and there are no decent motels or rental units in the areas outside of the downtown.

Nearby Ocean Grove however, has a treasure trove of hotels, Bed and Breakfasts and rental cottages, and any of the other nearby northern Shore towns, such as Belmar, Bradley Beach, Avon, Spring Lake and Manasquan, with lots of options for accommodations, are only a few minutes drive or cab trip away. Come and check out one of the most unique and memorable spots on the Jersey Shore. For a change from the plain vanilla beach vacations most of us have experienced, Asbury Park stands out.