Things to Do in Seaside Heights, New Jersey
Seaside Heights' entire visitor identity runs along a single two-mile boardwalk on the Barnegat Peninsula in Ocean County, New Jersey, anchored by two amusement piers — Casino Pier and, formerly, Funtown Pier — each extending roughly 300 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. That boardwalk is also the real filming location behind a decade and a half of pop culture: MTV's Jersey Shore, a 1985 Bon Jovi music video, and a 2008 ABC soap opera storyline. This page does not list current ride hours, ticket prices, or a confirmed 2026 attraction lineup for Casino Pier, because none was independently confirmed during this research pass, and inventing one would mislead a visitor more than an honestly disclosed gap does. What is confirmed, and worth knowing before a visit, is the boardwalk's real amusement history, the genuine Hurricane Sandy story behind its most famous former ride, and the town's documented reality-television and film history. Confirm current hours, prices, and ride availability directly with Casino Pier and the Borough of Seaside Heights before planning a visit around any specific attraction.
This Site's Nineteenth New Jersey Market, and the First Built Around Nightlife and Amusement
Seaside Heights is this site's nineteenth New Jersey market, and it is the first stop north of the now fully built Long Beach Island cluster of Ship Bottom, Surf City, Harvey Cedars, and Barnegat Light. It sits on a different barrier landform entirely, the Barnegat Peninsula, reached via NJ Route 37 and the Toms River rather than Route 72 and the causeway that serves Long Beach Island, and nothing about those four towns' own attractions — Ship Bottom's surf shop, Surf City's political history, Harvey Cedars' dune-easement case, or Barnegat Light's lighthouse and fishing fleet — has any bearing on what a visitor does here. Seaside Heights' own draw is a genuinely different one for this site: a working amusement boardwalk and a real, documented pop-culture filming history, not a historic district, a lighthouse, or a fishing dock.
That distinction matters just as much next door. Seaside Heights' immediate neighbor, Seaside Park, shares the same boardwalk at one end but has long marketed itself as a quieter, more residential family resort. The things to do described on this page — the amusement piers, the Star Jet's Hurricane Sandy history, and the Jersey Shore filming legacy — belong to Seaside Heights specifically. A visitor planning a day that crosses into Seaside Park should expect a different, quieter pace once they cross the line, not an identical stretch of the same boardwalk.
Casino Pier and Funtown Pier: Two Amusement Piers on a Two-Mile Boardwalk
Seaside Heights' amusement identity dates to 1915, when the Senate Amusement Company of Philadelphia built a covered pier housing a carousel under Joseph Vanderslice's direction; after budget trouble in 1916, the pier was sold to Frank Freeman. The Toms River Bridge, completed October 23, 1914, combined with that pier and boardwalk development to help drive a 159% population surge in the borough between the 1920 and 1930 censuses — an early sign of how much the amusement economy shaped the town from the start.
Today, Casino Pier and Funtown Pier each extend roughly 300 feet into the Atlantic Ocean as part of the two-mile boardwalk that runs the length of the town, the same stretch that anchors both the daytime amusement-park experience and the nighttime boardwalk scene that gives Seaside Heights its reputation. A visitor walking the full boardwalk is walking through more than a century of continuous amusement-pier history, not a recently built attraction.
The Star Jet: A Roller Coaster That Became a Hurricane Sandy Icon
The single most famous thing to see, discuss, or simply know about before visiting Seaside Heights is the story of the Star Jet, a roller coaster that once stood on Casino Pier. Hurricane Sandy struck beginning October 29, 2012, flooding much of the borough and heavily damaging both Casino Pier and Funtown Pier; the Star Jet fell into the Atlantic during the storm and, partially submerged, became one of the most widely photographed, internationally recognized images of Sandy's destruction anywhere on the Jersey Shore. It remained a tourist curiosity in that fallen state before being demolished on May 14, 2013.
Reporting describes a replacement coaster opening at Casino Pier in 2017, and more recent reporting also references a newer coaster called Hydrus. Ride offerings change year to year, and no single, current 2026 ride lineup for Casino Pier was independently confirmed during this research pass, so none is asserted here as a visitor guide. What is confirmed is the Star Jet's real place in Hurricane Sandy history: a visitor drawn to Seaside Heights by that story should treat it as exactly that, a genuine and well-documented piece of the town's past, and confirm today's actual coaster lineup directly with Casino Pier before a visit.
Real Jersey Shore: Why Many Visitors Actually Come
A large share of visitors come to Seaside Heights for a reason that has nothing to do with the amusement piers themselves: it was the primary filming location for MTV's reality series Jersey Shore. Season one filmed in the borough in August 2009, season three filmed July through September 2010, and season five filming concluded August 2, 2011. A local business improvement district director said in 2010 that the town "can't even calculate the economic benefit" the show brought — a reported opinion, not an independently verified dollar figure, and it is presented here as exactly that.
That television history is the real, documented reason many visitors walk this specific boardwalk rather than any other Jersey Shore town's. It is worth knowing going in: the show's house and filming locations are not a maintained, ticketed attraction, and this page does not claim otherwise. What is confirmed is that the filming happened here, on this boardwalk, across those three seasons, and that it remains a genuine part of why Seaside Heights draws visitors today.
The Boardwalk on Film Before Reality TV: Bon Jovi and One Life to Live
Jersey Shore was not the boardwalk's first appearance on screen. Bon Jovi's 1985 music video for "In and Out of Love" was filmed on the Seaside Heights boardwalk, decades before MTV's cameras arrived. The boardwalk also appeared in scenes from the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, filmed there in 2008, the year before Jersey Shore's first season.
Taken together, that gives Seaside Heights a genuine, decades-spanning film and television history tied to one physical place — the same two-mile boardwalk described above — rather than a single reality-show moment. A visitor with an interest in that history is walking the same stretch of boardwalk that appeared on screen in 1985, in 2008, and again from 2009 through 2011.
Planning a Visit Honestly: What We Confirmed, and What to Check Yourself
What is confirmed and real here: a two-mile boardwalk anchored by Casino Pier and, formerly, Funtown Pier, each extending roughly 300 feet into the Atlantic; a century-plus amusement-pier history dating to 1915; the Star Jet roller coaster's fall into the ocean during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, its status as a widely photographed storm-damage icon, and its demolition on May 14, 2013, followed by reported replacement coasters including one reported to have opened in 2017 and a newer one reported as Hydrus; MTV Jersey Shore filming across 2009, 2010, and 2011; Bon Jovi's 1985 "In and Out of Love" video shoot; and 2008 filming for One Life to Live. Seaside Heights is this site's nineteenth New Jersey market, and its own draw is genuinely distinct from every other New Jersey town built on this site so far.
What we could not find, and will not invent: a confirmed, current 2026 Casino Pier ride lineup, current ticket prices, current operating hours or season dates, or any specific, present-day Jersey Shore filming-location tour. Confirm current rides, hours, and prices directly with Casino Pier and the Borough of Seaside Heights, and treat the Star Jet's history and the show's filming history as exactly what they are: real, well-documented past events, not a current attraction guide. Nothing on this page is a substitute for checking current details before a visit.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data drawn from research on Seaside Heights, New Jersey, including the 1915 construction of a covered amusement pier by the Senate Amusement Company of Philadelphia under Joseph Vanderslice, its 1916 sale to Frank Freeman, and the 159% population surge between the 1920 and 1930 censuses following completion of the Toms River Bridge on October 23, 1914; today's Casino Pier and Funtown Pier, each extending roughly 300 feet into the Atlantic as part of a two-mile boardwalk running the length of the borough; Hurricane Sandy's landfall beginning October 29, 2012, which flooded much of the borough and heavily damaged Casino Pier and Funtown Pier, including the Star Jet roller coaster's fall into the Atlantic and its demolition on May 14, 2013, with reporting (WGBH/NPR, 2017) describing a replacement coaster opening in 2017 and more recent reporting (CBS New York) referencing a newer "Hydrus" coaster, presented without asserting a single current 2026 ride lineup; MTV's Jersey Shore filming in the borough, with season one in August 2009, season three from July to September 2010, and season five concluding August 2, 2011, plus a 2010 quote from a local business improvement district director that the town "can't even calculate the economic benefit" the show brought, presented as a reported opinion rather than a verified figure; and other filming history including Bon Jovi's 1985 "In and Out of Love" music video and 2008 scenes from the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Seaside Heights is this site's nineteenth New Jersey market, following Cape May, Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, North Wildwood, Stone Harbor, Avalon, Sea Isle City, Ocean City, Strathmere, Longport, Margate City, Ventnor City, Atlantic City, Brigantine, Ship Bottom, Surf City, Harvey Cedars, and Barnegat Light, and it is distinct from its immediate neighbor Seaside Park, covered separately, which markets itself as a quieter, more residential family resort rather than the amusement-and-filming destination described here. No current Casino Pier ride lineup, ticket prices, operating hours, or Jersey Shore filming-location tour details were independently confirmed this research pass and none is invented here. Confirm current rides, hours, and prices directly with Casino Pier and the Borough of Seaside Heights before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.