Keyport Beach
Keyport, NJ
Keyport Waterfront Park runs about a mile along Raritan Bay in this small Monmouth County harbor town, with light colored sand and a paved promenade lined with benches and a couple of gazebos. Lifeguards work the swimming area in season, and the view stretches across the bay to the Verrazzano Bridge and the Manhattan skyline on a clear day.
A genuinely pleasant, recently revitalized promenade with real skyline views, but it's still a working harbor town beach rather than a full day trip destination.
How we score beachesPark near the marina end of the promenade rather than the beach itself. It's a shorter walk than it looks on a map, and you'll pass several restaurants worth remembering for after.
Free lots serve the promenade near the marina, with additional street parking along the harbor. It rarely fills up the way ocean side beaches do.
A paved, wheelchair accessible path runs the length of the promenade, with accessible restrooms along the way. Getting from the path onto the sand itself still means a short crossing of loose beach.
Bay water warms into the mid to upper 70s by August, and the calmer water here stays swimmable longer into the fall than the ocean beaches nearby. Winter brings a stiff wind off the open bay, with little to block it.
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