Point Pleasant Beach- Seaside Heights

Which would be better if you were brining
3 teenage boys? We plan to do Six Flags and the shore.

Thanks, Val

In my opinion, Pt. Pleasant Beach would be the better of the two.

Pt. Pleasant for sure. Seaside is a dump.

Ditto--Seaside is a dump.

They are somewhat similar, but Point Pleasant seems to be a little more family oriented, where Seaside is a real mecca for teens from the New York NJ cities. Seaside has a much bigger boardwalk amusement area, and miles upon miles of sany beach. The 'Point' has a fair amount of rides, a nice beach, and is a bit more sedate. You might want to consider the south end of Seaside Park, which is a few miles south of all the hubub of the Seaside amusements, but has a great beach and is a 20 minute walk up the 'boards' to all the action.

Back in the day, Seaside was the place 'guidos' & 'guidettes' hung out, drove mustangs or IROCs, walked the boardwalks with Cavaricci pants and beat up headbangers like me.

Years later, after a haircut or twelve, Point Pleasant was where I met my wife and later proposed.

Hope that silly contrast helps your decision.

Well, spent many nites strolling the boardwalk back in the '60s at Seaside. Was back there last year and still had some fun. Stopping for pizza at the stands or Taylor pork roll sandwiches brought back lots of fond memories. But would probably opt for Pt. Pl. in these latter years - it's a little more sedate and probably a LITTLE less traffic! Hope y'all have fun whatever you decide...

Val--Pt Pleasant wins my vote ;-)

Steve--Your comments crack me up! That's pretty much how I remember it too. We all drove down from Rockland County after the prom in my friend's Camaro or 'stang and quite a few w/e after that too. I remember my guy friends making fun of the headbangers though but were smart enough to do it quietly. (I hung w/a bunch of JAPs but was right there w/my big 80s hair and Z Cavaricci's checking out the guys in their Guido-T's)

I'll chime in that Point Pleasant is probably a better place to stay. The White Sands hotel is nice, if not a bit overpriced. There are several other options right along Ocean Avenue though.

Seaside might not be bad for a visit, especially with teenagers, as there several waterparks and the Boardwalk is about twice the size of Pt. Pleasant and geared towards older kids. (The amusement park at Pt. Pleasant is really more for the under 12 set.) It's an easy ride down route 35 as they are only about 20 minutes apart.

neither don't mean to offend but both attract a tough crowd, both have fairly frequent environmental problems that make swimming risky. I would head for the more southern beaches in NJ.

"Fairly frequent environment problems" -Since when?

I've spent every summer since 1995 in Bay Head, the town next to Pt. Pleasant. The only time they've had the water off limits has been the result of strong tides and undertows due to storms.

Occasionally there may be a "red tide" problem. But red tide is not pollution, it's an algae that forms when plankton can't recieve sufficient nutrients from the water. It occurs due to high water tempature an is just as likely to occur in LBI or Stone Harbor.

I am also not sure why these are your only 2 choices. If you are seeking upscale, Spring Lakes is lovely. It is more family oriented but there is no boardwalk I must warn you. It may be boring with teenagers. Kids do love those boardwalks. You could always drive to them from Spring Lakes. Seaside Park is away from the Boardwalks and is just o.k. It is nicer than the Heights.

I was fundraising door to door in both towns for Greenpeace in the early nineties. I recall a beach closing in Seaside because a raw sewage plant had spilled into the ocean. This was something the local news station had uncovered nothing that government discovered and warned residents about. Remember it happening more than once.

Also remember a lecture that we did when fundraising about high PCb's and other contaminates in the water that caused other beach closings. This was nothing new to area residents as I recall, nothing new if you watch the news on beaches in that part of NJ over any given summer. I have heard others talk about it on this very forum.

I grew up here on the Jersey Shore(Southern Monmouth County)as did my husband, and have enjoyed, truly, decades of wonderful beach days here. The water is just fine, thank you . Not perfect,but fine. Also, it is interesting to note that real estate in Ocean and Southern Monmouth Counties continue, year after year, to go through the roof. See for yourself and look up real estate (Bay Head, Spring Lake, Sea Girt) in these counties. If the water was so awful, homes in those shore towns would not be commanding millions of dollars.

Val,
Both would be ok, but I would definately check out (in person) the place/home/hotel you will stay.

The reputations of each are solidified by people's experience. The Shore has a variety of different beaches; from public, party, private and upscale. This varies BLOCK BY BLOCK and TOWN by TOWN. Check it out yourself.

For the record, Jersey Beaches have consistently been rated the cleanest along the Atlantic. This is true for several years, dating back to the early 90's. Each year they count trash on all Eastern beaches and the Jersey beaches have cleand up their act. The PCB/needles/cigarette butt/tampon applicator days are long gone.

Please, though, don't tell everyone how nice the beaches really are as that may bring them to the Shore.

Debbie! I think I remember you laughing at me while I got my ass kicked by your boyfriend! lol! No, actually never had real trouble but there was tension occasionally. Good to know that you didn't repress those memories!

My teenagers prefer Wildwood to Seaside, and Point Pleasant is way too small for them.

Seaside Heights is not wat it used to be. The last time we were there it was loaded with Gangs calling out lewd remarks to our 12 year old daughter.Very shady & unsafe.