Ocean City is the Shore's big family resort: a dry town built around a long boardwalk, amusement rides, downtown shopping on Asbury Avenue, and wide beaches.
Cape May County·South Shore·Official site ↗
141 Miles verified June 7, 2026. Hours and prices may have shifted.
How Ocean City ranks across the 141 Miles editorial indexes.
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Ocean City is the Shore's big family resort: a dry town built around a long boardwalk, amusement rides, downtown shopping on Asbury Avenue, and wide beaches. It runs on repeat visitation and a fixed summer rhythm of beach days and boardwalk nights, and it sells itself as "America's Greatest Family Resort." The no-alcohol policy is central to how the town presents itself and why families pick it over rowdier neighbors.
History
Four Methodist ministers bought the barrier island then called Peck's Beach in 1879 to build a Christian seaside resort, formed the Ocean City Association, and wrote alcohol prohibition into the founding plan from the start. That ban became law in 1909, more than a decade before national Prohibition, and the town kept it after repeal. A 1927 fire destroyed much of the boardwalk, which was rebuilt closer to the ocean. The dry identity has held: voters rejected a BYOB proposal in 2012, with nearly 70% against.
What makes it unique
The dry-town status is the whole differentiator. No bars and no liquor stores make for a calmer, more family-fixed boardwalk than Wildwood or Atlantic City, and residents keep voting to hold the line. The defining change is recent: Gillian's Wonderland Pier closed in October 2024 after 94 years, and the fight over its boardwalk site, including a possible hotel, is still unresolved.
Interesting facts
Founded in 1879 by four Methodist ministers as a Christian resort on Peck's Beach.
The alcohol ban predates national Prohibition by about a decade and survived its repeal.
Gillian's closed in 2024; Playland's Castaway Cove is now the main boardwalk amusement park.
The boardwalk runs about 2.45 miles; the island sits in Cape May County.
Summary
Ocean City suits families who want a beach-and-boardwalk week without a bar scene. Come for the rides, the sand, and the tradition, not nightlife, and expect heavy summer crowds.
Routes 316 and 559 bus; no rail
Very walkable/bikeable once there; getting there by bus is doable but slow
NJ Transit 316 — Ocean City
NJ Transit 559 — Atlantic City to Ocean City
Ocean City's oldest business, published continually since 1881. The local paper of record.
Daily Ocean City local-news site covering schools, council, and community.
Outbound links. 141 Miles does not control content on third-party sites for Ocean City.
No dogs May 1–Sep 30. Also banned Mar 15–Sep 30 between OC-Longport Bridge and terminal groin
Boardwalk Beaches
Gardens Area
Street meters
Virtual parking meters throughout town
Tents and canopies under 10×10ft allowed near dunes in soft sand. Enclosed or larger structures banned
All fires banned year-round — barbecues, bonfires, tiki torches, sparklers
Designated surf beaches at Waverly Blvd, 7th St, 16th St, and south of 36th St. No surfing at guarded beaches 10am–5:30pm
Dry town — no alcohol sales or consumption on beach or in public. Strictly enforced
Smoking banned on all NJ public beaches (state law since 2019). Fines $250–$1,000
Glass containers prohibited on beach
No upcoming events.
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