Ocean City named New Jersey's best beach

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Besides being "America's Greatest Family Resort," Ocean City is now New Jersey's favorite beach.

The Cape May County town, known for its boardwalk and its eight-mile strand, was named winner yesterday of the 2009 Best Beach Contest, sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium/New Jersey Sea Grant and the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

"We're so excited," said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce. "It just shows how the multi-generations of visitors who keep coming back feel very connected to our town and our beaches."

The contest, in its second year, was won by party-hearty Wildwood last spring. Ocean City forbids the sale of alcohol within its limits.

The award is particularly welcome in the current economy, which has Jersey Shore towns competing hard for tourists, Gillian said.

"It was a long winter with a lot of depressing news," she said. "Something like this generates a lot of excitement and could even bring in new visitors."

Shore aficionados have cast their best-beach votes online since February. That tally and scientific data from the consortium - including the width and slope of the beaches - were used to determine a winner. Officials said the state's 127-mile coastline came through the relatively mild winter in good shape.

The other beaches in the top 10 were, in descending order, Long Beach Island (its six municipalities were considered as one), Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Asbury Park, North Wildwood, Cape May, Seaside Heights, Sea Isle City, and Avalon.