East Point Beach
Heislerville, NJ
East Point Beach sits beneath one of New Jersey's oldest lighthouses, still standing watch over the mouth of the Maurice River after more than a century and a half. The beach and grounds are always open and free, and volunteers with the state's horseshoe crab rescue program work this stretch of sand every spring, flipping stranded crabs back over during the spawning season.
A genuinely significant historic lighthouse paired with real conservation activity gives it more substance than most Delaware Bay beaches this size, though it's a place to visit for those reasons, not for swimming.
How we score beachesTime a visit around low tide if horseshoe crabs are the draw, and consider volunteering with the flip a crab program in May if you're around during spawning season. It's real, hands on conservation work, not just a nice thing to watch.
A small free lot serves the lighthouse and beach at 10 Lighthouse Road, with additional street parking nearby if it fills.
An ADA ramp leads to the lighthouse's first floor. The beach itself is a natural, uneven sand and marsh edge without a paved path.
Bay water warms into the mid to upper 70s by August, though the real seasonal event here is May, when horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn and shorebirds arrive to feed on their eggs.
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