South Jersey beaches, nearly all of them in Cape May County, trounced their northern competition on the Top 10 list. The poll asked participants to rate towns along the state's 127-mile coastline on the basis of several characteristics including water quality, access, and aesthetics.
Neighboring Wildwood Crest came in second, followed by Ocean City, North Wildwood, Cape May, Asbury Park in Monmouth County, Avalon, Point Pleasant Beach in northern Ocean County, Beach Haven in southern Ocean County and Stone Harbor.
Survey respondents also named Wildwood the best beach town for events and tourism. Wildwood Crest was named tops for family vacations and Island Beach State Park, in central Jersey, was voted best for ecotourism, according to the survey, released at a news conference in Sandy Hook timed to kick off the Memorial Day weekend.
"People come to the Jersey Shore for the beaches and this proves that when people look for a good beach, they look for the factors that we offer in Wildwood," said Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr.
"We're fortunate and proud to have the widest, cleanest and safest beach in the state. And it's free."
Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood and Atlantic City are the only beaches in the state that don't require visitors to purchase a beach tag. The cost of a daily tag elsewhere ranges from about $5 to $10; seasonal tags sell for an average of about $20.
Troiano said the only complaint the town of 5,000 year-round residents ever receives about its beaches seems to be how big they are.
Most like the size, which leaves plenty of room for volleyball, kite-flying and other activities. But "some people have said it's too long a walk to the water's edge," Troiano said.
"It's kind of an embarrassment of riches considering so many other towns are plagued by beach erosion," he said.
