Things to Do in Seaside Park, New Jersey
Seaside Park sits on the Barnegat Peninsula in Ocean County, New Jersey, immediately south of its far more famous neighbor, Seaside Heights. Wikipedia's own framing calls Seaside Park "The Family Resort," a deliberate contrast to Seaside Heights' amusement-pier, nightlife-driven identity, and that contrast shows up in everything a visitor actually does here: a rebuilt boardwalk without a rebuilt amusement pier, and a southern edge that runs straight into Island Beach State Park, one of the last undeveloped barrier-island stretches on the entire Jersey Shore. This page does not repeat Seaside Heights' Casino Pier, Star Jet, or Jersey Shore filming history, because none of that happened here. What follows is grounded in what is actually documented about Seaside Park itself: the real 2013 fire that started on its own end of the boardwalk, the boardwalk's 2014 reopening, the 2016 decision not to rebuild Funtown Pier, and the town's genuine role as a quieter gateway toward Island Beach State Park.
This Site's Twentieth New Jersey Market, and a Quieter Neighbor by Design
Seaside Park is this site's twentieth New Jersey market, and the second stop in what has become a short run of Central Jersey Shore towns built immediately after and adjacent to one another: Seaside Heights first, and now Seaside Park right beside it on the same barrier peninsula. The two towns share a boardwalk connection at one end, and it would be easy to describe them as interchangeable. They are not. Wikipedia itself frames Seaside Park as "The Family Resort," language chosen specifically to contrast it with Seaside Heights, where commercial amusement attractions developed instead of a quieter residential character.
That distinction is not marketing gloss added after the fact. It shows up in what actually happened here: Seaside Heights rebuilt Casino Pier and kept its amusement identity; Seaside Park's own Funtown Pier was never rebuilt after the 2013 fire, and its planned replacement was formally scrapped in 2016. A visitor coming from Seaside Heights expecting the same rides, arcades, and nighttime boardwalk scene will find a different pace once they cross into Seaside Park.
The Boardwalk Fire That Started Here, and the 2014 Reopening
The defining event in Seaside Park's recent history is the September 12, 2013 fire, a ten-alarm blaze believed to have started around 2:05 p.m. Eastern time beneath a building housing Kohr's Frozen Custard and Biscayne Candies on Seaside Park's own end of the boardwalk. The cause was electrical wiring under the boardwalk and subfloor that had been compromised by Hurricane Sandy floodwaters roughly a year earlier. The fire spread north from that point, destroying the Funtown Pier amusement park along with more than 50 businesses along the boardwalk, some of which had only recently been rebuilt after Sandy.
More than 400 firefighters from multiple counties fought the blaze, at one point demolishing roughly 25 feet of boardwalk near Lincoln Avenue to create a firebreak, and drawing water from Barnegat Bay through a water-cannon system after Sandy-damaged water-supply pipes hampered normal firefighting. The fire was brought under control by about 7:45 p.m. that evening. Reported cleanup and demolition costs came to $4.7 million; no single combined property-damage total beyond that figure has been documented, and none is invented here. The rebuilt boardwalk reopened for the summer 2014 season, giving Seaside Park visitors back a walkable boardwalk well within a year of the fire.
Funtown Pier: Why No Amusement Pier Was Rebuilt Here
Unlike Seaside Heights, which rebuilt and kept Casino Pier as its anchor attraction, Seaside Park never got its amusement pier back. A rebuild of Funtown Pier was planned in the years after the 2013 fire, but that plan was scrapped in July 2016 because of planning-board height restrictions. That is a real, confirmed outcome, not a gap in this research: there is no rebuilt amusement pier in Seaside Park today, and a visitor should not expect one.
That absence is part of what actually defines a visit here now. Seaside Park's boardwalk is a place to walk, not a ride destination, and the town's own character since 2016 has leaned further into its "Family Resort" identity rather than toward the amusement-park model next door.
The Southern Gateway to Island Beach State Park
Seaside Park sits on the Barnegat Peninsula, a barrier island separating Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean, and Route 35, the peninsula's paved road, runs south through the borough before dead-ending into Island Beach State Park just beyond it. That makes Seaside Park the practical southern gateway to one of the last undeveloped barrier-island stretches on the entire Jersey Shore, a real natural-area draw for hiking and undeveloped beach access that has no equivalent in Seaside Heights.
No single sourced figure establishes an exact shared-border distance between Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park, so this should be understood as general, well-known geographic context rather than a precise boundary claim. What is well established is the practical reality: a visitor heading south out of Seaside Park on Route 35 is heading directly toward that undeveloped stretch, a different kind of Jersey Shore experience than the boardwalk itself offers.
A Family Resort, Not an Amusement Boardwalk
With total area of just 0.81 square miles, 0.66 of it land, Seaside Park is a small, walkable borough, and its 2020 census population of 1,436 (down 9.1% from 1,579 in 2010) reflects a compact, largely residential community rather than a high-traffic entertainment district. Its own name became one word, "Seaside Park," in 1914, when a newly appointed municipal clerk wrote it that way in the council minutes; before that it had been written as two words. That is a small detail, but it fits a town whose identity has always been more about the ocean setting than about a built attraction.
The things to do here are consistent with that character: the rebuilt boardwalk itself, the beach it fronts, and the short drive south to Island Beach State Park for hiking and undeveloped shoreline. None of that is Seaside Heights' amusement-pier experience, and this page does not present it as such.
Planning a Visit Honestly: What We Confirmed, and What to Check Yourself
What is confirmed and real here: the September 12, 2013 fire originated on Seaside Park's own end of the boardwalk, destroyed the Funtown Pier amusement park and more than 50 boardwalk businesses, and was brought under control the same evening after a firefighting effort that drew water from Barnegat Bay; the boardwalk reopened for summer 2014; Funtown Pier's planned rebuild was scrapped in July 2016 due to planning-board height restrictions, so no amusement pier operates in Seaside Park today; and the borough sits at the practical southern gateway to Island Beach State Park's undeveloped barrier-island terrain. Seaside Park is this site's twentieth New Jersey market, and its quieter, "Family Resort" character is a real, documented contrast with Seaside Heights next door, not an assumption.
What we could not find, and will not invent: an exact shared-border distance to Island Beach State Park, a combined property-damage dollar total for the 2013 fire beyond the $4.7 million cleanup and demolition figure, or any current 2026 boardwalk business directory. Confirm current hours, parking, and any seasonal boardwalk activity directly with the Borough of Seaside Park, and check Island Beach State Park's own entrance fees and hours with the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry before planning a visit around either.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data drawn from research on Seaside Park, New Jersey, including its incorporation as an independent borough on March 3, 1898, carved from portions of Berkeley Township, and the 1914 clerical change that made "Seaside Park" one word; its location on the Barnegat Peninsula bordering Berkeley Township and Seaside Heights, with a total area of 0.81 square miles (0.66 land, 0.16 water); Wikipedia's framing of the town as "The Family Resort," a deliberate contrast to Seaside Heights' commercial-amusement identity; the September 12, 2013 ten-alarm boardwalk fire that originated beneath a building housing Kohr's Frozen Custard and Biscayne Candies on Seaside Park's own end of the boardwalk, caused by Sandy-compromised electrical wiring, destroying the Funtown Pier amusement park and more than 50 businesses, fought by over 400 firefighters who demolished roughly 25 feet of boardwalk near Lincoln Avenue and drew water from Barnegat Bay, brought under control by about 7:45 p.m. that evening, with reported cleanup and demolition costs of $4.7 million; the boardwalk's reopening for summer 2014 and the scrapping of Funtown Pier's planned rebuild in July 2016 due to planning-board height restrictions; the borough's position at the practical southern gateway to Island Beach State Park via Route 35; and 2020 census population of 1,436, down 9.1% from 1,579 in 2010. Seaside Park is this site's twentieth 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, Barnegat Light, and Seaside Heights, and it is distinct from Seaside Heights, covered separately, which retains the amusement piers, nightlife, and Jersey Shore filming history that Seaside Park does not share. No exact Island Beach State Park border distance, no combined 2013 fire property-damage total beyond the $4.7 million cleanup figure, and no current 2026 boardwalk business or attraction lineup were independently confirmed this research pass, and none is invented here. Confirm current details directly with the Borough of Seaside Park and the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is legal, tax, or financial advice.