Perth Amboy Beach (La Playita)
Perth Amboy, NJ
La Playita, Perth Amboy's name for its stretch of free public beach, runs along the waterfront from the end of 2nd Street to High Street, with no admission fee and no parking charge either. The city has leaned into it in recent years, hosting bonfires and movie nights right on the sand as part of an effort to make the waterfront feel like a real neighborhood destination again.
A genuinely free, increasingly programmed waterfront that the city is visibly trying to build into a real destination, though it's still a working harbor beach without the polish of the shore towns further south.
How we score beachesCheck the city's recreation calendar before a summer evening visit. The bonfire and movie nights draw a real crowd and are worth planning around rather than stumbling into.
Parking is free along the waterfront, with no badge or fee system in place.
A waterfront walk and run path with exercise stops runs along much of the beach, paved and flat, extending about a mile from 2nd Street.
Animals other than certified service animals aren't permitted on the beach, per the city's beach regulations.
Bay water here runs calmer than the ocean beaches further down the shore, warming into the mid to upper 70s by August. Water quality testing has improved in recent years as the city has invested in the waterfront.
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