Jessica Norton The Jersey Shore isn’t just a summer destination; it’s a way of life. For locals who call it home year-round, the rhythm of boardwalks, dive bars, and sun-soaked beaches comes with a set of unspoken rules that keep the summer chaos from tipping over into pure mayhem. Outsiders, famously called “Bennies” – a nickname for tourists from North Jersey and New York – often trip over these local customs, from the subtleties of beach blanket etiquette to feeding seagulls and going on the dunes. Navigating our small seashore communities smoothly means respecting personal space, supporting the towns that rely on seasonal tourism, cleaning up after oneself, and embracing the slightly wild, endlessly charming energy that defines the summer scene. Read on to learn more about what locals wish Bennies knew before visiting the Jersey Shore.
Know Beach Blanket Etiquette
When it comes to beach setups, personal space is sacred. If there are 200 yards of open sand, please do not plant your umbrella directly 14 inches from someone else’s towel. No matter how juicy the story is, I can confidently guarantee that no one outside of your circle wants to overhear your entire group chat thread drama or feel your beach chair tapping their cooler. Spread out. The beach is truly SO big. And besides the dunes, you are free to set up anywhere.
JSG pro-tip: If an umbrella is a must, make sure it’s secured properly. On windy days, it might be smarter and more considerate to skip it altogether.
Respect the Lifeguards and the Flags
Even if some of the lifeguards look like they’re simply catching rays, they aren’t just there to tan and hang out; they’re there to keep you alive. If they blow the whistle, call you in, or post a red flag, it’s for a reason. No swimming past the flags, no ignoring the warnings, no pretending you know the ocean better than them. Trust us, it’s way less embarrassing to stay put than to have that awkward walk back to your towel in front of a beach full of people after a guard had to rescue you for ignoring the rip current.
Keep Your Volume Respectful
A little background soundtrack can make a beach day feel cinematic. But there’s a big difference between subtle summer vibes and turning your setup into a full-on nightclub set. The goal is for your group to enjoy it, not to DJ for the entire beach. A lot of people will probably enjoy your college frat party throwback playlist, and if so, maybe they’ll move closer to join the fun. But the beach is one of the few places left where people can actually hear the ocean, nap, read, or just zone out. Blasting music takes that choice away from everyone around you. Keep it low enough that it blends into the natural ambiance and doesn’t compete with it.
Pay for Beach Badges
Beach badges aren’t optional. They’re how the Jersey Shore stays clean, safe, and staffed. Shore towns rely on badge revenue to pay for lifeguards, maintenance crews, trash pickup, bathrooms, dune protection, and safety equipment. Someone will check for your badge. And yes, they’ll nudge you even if you’re pretending to nap. We aren’t going to pretend that we don’t know that there are tricks to beat the system… but honestly, just buy one. It keeps the beaches beautiful, the lifeguards paid, and summer functioning smoothly. It’s a small price to pay for a great day by the ocean.
Parking: Don’t Be a Jerk
Summer parking at the Jersey Shore requires patience, strategy, and basic decency. Accept that you may end up having to walk a little farther. It’s good for you. It’s summer. Lean in. And also accept that you may have to pay. And that it’ll probably be more expensive on the weekends.
Do not attempt to “hold” a space with a folding chair, a traffic cone, a cooler, or your little cousin and his boogie board. That’s not how it works, unfortunately. It’s the right place, right time. Do a few laps, and someone will inevitably be leaving.
Also: read the signs. They mean exactly what they say. If it says permit only, it means permit only. If it says no parking between certain hours, they mean those hours. The parking enforcement people work SO fast, and you will get a ticket. Even locals test their luck with it sometimes, and trust us, it’s just not worth it.
Do not block driveways. Do not park in crosswalks. Do not double park “just for a second.” That second is always longer than you think, and now someone can’t get out to go to work, pick up their kid, or escape the very traffic you probably just contributed to.
And if you park badly or act aggressively, especially if you’re in a car with a New York license plate, some choice fingers and words may be thrown in your direction. Don’t be that guy.
Know the Flow of Foot Traffic (Stay to the Right)
Boardwalks operate like highways. Stay to the right. Pass on the left. It’s not complicated, but every summer there are people who forget. If you need to stop suddenly to debate funnel cake versus soft serve – we get it and we’ve been there. Pull off to an open spot or bench to discuss. Abruptly halting in the middle causes a human traffic jam no one asked for.
Also, be aware of your surroundings. Runners are getting their miles, parents are pushing strollers, teens are weaving toward the rides, and cyclists who are very much hoping you don’t drift into their lane. Boardwalk flow works beautifully when everyone treats it like shared space.
Yield to Bikers and People Crossing
Beach towns are full of bikers, walkers, runners, strollers, and often barefoot kids sprinting toward ice cream. If someone is crossing, slow down. If you’re walking, be aware of bike lanes. Everyone’s just trying to get to the beach (or home from it) safely. And if you’re biking, a bell or a quick “on your left” goes a long way.
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Tip Well
Your bartender, server, rideshare driver, ice cream scooper, and the kid carrying six plates of boardwalk fries are in full marathon mode all season. Doubles, back-to-back shifts, sunburns, and nonstop crowds are just part of the job from May through September. For many, summer income carries them through the slower off-season. Tip well and be kind.
Also, patience counts as part of the tip. Kitchens get slammed. Uber takes longer when beach towns have traffic. Getting snappy with someone who’s been on their feet for ten hours doesn’t speed anything up. Summer weekends are long, and a little generosity goes a long way.
Shop Local
The Shore is packed with small businesses that survive on summer. Grab coffee from the small shop on the main drag, buy a cozy crewneck from the local boutique, and get ice cream from the family-owned spot instead of defaulting to a chain. Shopping locally keeps the towns you love actually lovable. The quirky bookstore, the surf shop that’s been there for decades, and the pizza place with the sun-stained menus and the perfectly greasy slices have personalities that don’t exist in big box stores. If you fall in love with a town while you’re down at the Jersey Shore, supporting its small businesses is the best way to make sure it still feels that way the next time you visit.
Don’t Litter
This should go without saying, but here we are. If you brought it onto the beach, it leaves with you. Cups, cans, wrappers, broken umbrellas, empty sunscreen bottles, half-eaten sandwiches, everything. Beaches are shared spaces, and no one wants to spend their day navigating empty soda cans and snack wrappers while trying to relax. Local maintenance crews do their best, but they’re stretched thin during peak season. Your small act of responsibility actually makes a huge difference.
Littering isn’t just ugly, it’s also dangerous. Sharp plastics or broken glass can injure barefoot kids, dogs, and even adults. Trash left on the sand often blows into the water, harming marine life, seagulls, and the delicate ecosystem that keeps the beach healthy year after year.
Keeping the beach clean is part of the unwritten Jersey Shore beach code. Respect the sand, respect the water, respect your fellow beachgoers, and leave it better than you found it. It’s not just etiquette, it’s preserving the magic that brought you here in the first place.
Stay Off the Dunes
The dunes are tempting. Gorgeous and untouched. They’re perfectly sloped so you can lie down or run and roll down them. But don’t ever do that. Literally don’t even think about it. Out-of-towners don’t usually know that every footstep on the dunes crushes fragile plants and destabilizes the sand. Damage accumulates quickly, and before long, the dunes can’t do their job as natural barriers against storms. Once they erode, rebuilding them is expensive, labor-intensive, and slow.
Stay on designated walkways. Respect the fencing and signage. Think of the dunes as the beach’s silent bodyguards. They work hard to protect the shore. Appreciating them from a distance is part of being a responsible beachgoer and it keeps the coastline beautiful for years to come.
Don’t Feed the Seagulls
Keep your food to yourself. Feeding seagulls disrupts their natural foraging habits. Human food isn’t healthy for them, and regular feeding makes them aggressive, territorial, and dependent on handouts. That means more squawking, more swooping, and more conflicts with people who just want to enjoy their beach day in peace. Once they get comfortable with people feeding them, they stick around and dive bomb anyone they can. It totally kills the vibe.
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Be Patient in Long Lines
Long lines are a sign that the Shore is alive, buzzing, and full of people who love the summer just as much as you do. Lean into it, savor the anticipation, and know that your slice, scoop, amusement ride, or nightclub is worth the wait. Also remember that every person working those lines is juggling dozens of orders at once, often under the blazing sun. Rushing, complaining, or cutting in doesn’t help anyone — and trust us, locals will call you out.
A smile, a kind word, or even a simple “thanks” goes a long way and might even speed things along in subtle ways. Embrace the pace.
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