As with almost all of New Jersey’s wonderful seashore resort towns, Ocean City is located on a barrier island off the coast of Cape May County, New Jersey. The Travel Channel proclaimed Ocean City as the “Best Family Beach of  2005,” and it is seen as a particularly family-friendly place since it’s a dry town because a group of Methodist ministers intended it to be that way. The story begins long ago…

   Seven miles long, this barrier island was made up of sand dunes, cedar swamps and meadows, and it served as a summer fishing camp for local Native Americans who would come to the island and enjoy the warm weather. In 1692 when Cape May County was organized, John Peck, a whaler who used the northernmost beach along the county’s coast to render blubber from whales, had the distinction of having the island named Peck’s Beach in his honor.

   Just prior to the Civil War in 1864, a man named Parker Miller built a house where Wards Pastry show now stands in Ocean City, New Jersey. Miller was an agent for marine insurance companies, and he lived on Peck’s Beach so that he could report shipwrecks, keep away scavengers, and do his best to insure that the marine merchants were kept happy.

   Twenty years later a group of Methodist ministers left the town of Pleasantville and sailed to Peck’s Beach to examine the property they intended to purchase for a Christian retreat. The Reverends S. Wesley Lake, Ezra B. Lake, James E. Lake and William H. Burrell went ashore in the area that would become Second Street to kneel and pray for God’s blessing beneath a cedar tree on September 10, 1879. On October 20^th of that year the Honorable Simon Lake and William B. Wood joined with the other four to celebrate the incorporation of their association.

   Peck’s Beach was renamed Ocean City one month later, and five years later in 1884 Ocean City officially became a borough, and in 1897 the Borough of Ocean City became the city of Ocean City.

   The first boardwalk in Ocean City was built around 1890, running
through the intersection of 9^th Street and Ocean. After this first attempt the community wanted to get closer to the ocean, and the boardwalk was rebuilt several times over the years. The last major reconstruction followed a disastrous fire that destroyed a portion of the boardwalk and a number of businesses in 1927.

   Following the fire the city moved the boardwalk 300 feet closer to the water in 1928 and businesses moved along the boards. The 1928 boardwalk was built on cement pilings, and maintenance since then usually involves re-decking from time to time as the weather, years and foot traffic take their toll.

   In the 1920s many movie/stage show theaters lined the Ocean City boardwalk. Shriver’s Saltwater Taffy and other retail establishments took up occupancy to serve the crowds of summer visitors. Today’s boardwalk covers 2.5 miles of the eight-mile-long Ocean City beach, and strollers pass amusement rides, miniature golf, restaurants and food courts, all sorts of shops offering beach wear, tee-shirts, hats, knickknacks, and retail goods running from A to Z. The Music Pier offers entertainment, you can go to the movies, or simply sit on a bench and people watch.

   The 2000 Census reported 15,378 persons in Ocean City during the winter months, and the summer population is estimated to reach between 115,000 and 130,000 people – filling the 20,000+ private homes, twins, quads, motels and hotels.

   But enough of history and statistics…It’s Time for a Wonderful Vacation…
…and there is no more wonderful place to have that vacation than in America’s Greatest Year-Round Family Resort: Ocean City, New Jersey! To say that memories are made here is to understate the facts: Ocean City is the place for fun day and night all season long.

   We have the beach, our fantastic boardwalk, the Music Pier, the rides, amusements, a fantastic water park, food, shops, golf – both miniature and the regulation kind – our own airport, a real downtown with lots to do, fantastic restaurants, fishing, boating, sailing, volleyball, ice cream, water ice, our world-famous saltwater taffy, movie theaters, concerts, craft shows, art shows, dancing, people-watching, dolphin-watching, whale-watching and more things to do than we can mention in this space, there’s so much to see and do it could be overwhelming.  However, it’s great fun to have so many choices for fun!

   Ocean City is a family place where the emphasis has always been on good times for everyone in the family, from the youngest to the oldest, and your time here can be filled to the brim with activities, or you can simply lie on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world and gaze out to sea.

   Please note also that the incredible casino/hotels and entertainment of Atlantic City, New Jersey are just minutes away from Ocean City.

   A truly great vacation begins with planning, and this guide will help you find the fun and interesting things to do while you’re here. Even if you’re a “regular” each year in Ocean City, you’ll still discover things you didn’t know about, and if this is your first time here, we say, “Welcome! We’re really glad you could come and stay!”

   You’ve come to one of the most exciting, beautiful and fun vacation destinations on earth: Ocean City, New Jersey, America’s “ Greatest Family Resort!”