New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium Celebrates 2025 Favorite Beaches Award Winners at Ocean City Music Pier

[Ocean City, NJ – July 17, 2025] – New Jersey’s stunning shoreline shone brightly as the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) hosted the 2025 Favorite Beaches Awards at the Ocean City Music Pier. This exciting annual event, driven by thousands of public votes, celebrates the Garden State’s top coastal destinations and showcases the pride of its vibrant shore communities.

Launched in 2008 as “New Jersey’s Top Ten Beaches,” this beloved tradition began as a fun way to spark community pride along the coast. After Hurricane Sandy, the contest evolved into Favorite Beaches to highlight the beauty and diversity of every stretch of New Jersey’s shoreline, from hidden gems to iconic boardwalks.

Winners were selected through an open, public voting process, with thousands of New Jersey residents and visitors casting their votes online. The 2025 ceremony recognized one winning beach from each coastal county, culminating in the announcement of New Jersey’s overall favorite beach for the year.

This year’s county winners are: Asbury Park for Monmouth County, Beach Haven for Ocean County, Margate for Atlantic County, and Ocean City for Cape May County. Taking the top honor overall, Ocean City was named New Jersey’s Favorite Beach for 2025. The runner-ups for each county are: Spring Lake for Monmouth County, Point Pleasant Beach for Ocean County, and Brigantine for Atlantic County. Cape May was the runner-up for the overall category. 

The event featured remarks from NJSGC leadership, community representatives, and local officials, along with award presentations, photo opportunities, and media interviews with contest winners.

Samantha Kreisler, Director of Communications, stated at the event, “Here in New Jersey, our beaches are more than just sand and surf—they're part of our identity. They fuel our local economies, welcome millions of tourists each year, and provide a place for families, friends, and generations to come together and enjoy the beauty of our natural world. Whether it's the vibrant boardwalks or the quiet dunes, the Jersey Shore is truly a treasure worth celebrating!” 

Michael Allegretto, Aide to the Mayor of Ocean City, accepted the award, “Ocean City, we take pride in being known as a safe, clean, family town. We strive every year to prove upon that. We can't do that without the great city team, the great chamber of commerce, everything we do to promote the town, and make it an attractive place for everyone to come for the day, come for the week, and visit, and enjoy everything we do.” Though Mayor Jay Gillian was unable to attend the ceremony, he did note, “It’s great to see Ocean City achieve this honor.” 

NJSGC extends its sincere congratulations to the winning towns, and thanks everyone who voted and participated in continuing this annual tradition. The Favorite Beaches Awards remain a unique way to engage residents and visitors alike in recognizing the shared value of New Jersey’s coast.

You can access photos from yesterday’s event here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1i24fHNBFt7WNvCDiS3R5Zybec0YhR6FR?usp=sharing 

For more information about the contest and to view a full list of 2025 winners, visit njseagrant.org.