5 Best Sights in Spring Lake, New Jersey Shore

A 1½-mi boardwalk lines the town's Atlantic Ocean beach. Two large beach houses stand, one on each end, with 100-foot-long by 33-foot-wide saltwater pools inside. From June through August, you need a badge to access the beach and beach houses—but use of the saltwater pools themselves is limited to residents and their guests. A beach badge is usually provided by your lodging, or you can buy one at either beach house. Much of the boardwalk had to be rebuilt in 2011 after extensive damage caused by Hurricane Irene. Dogs are allowed on the beach in the off-season, but are never allowed on the boardwalk.

Spring Lake, as the name suggests, is a spring-fed, ½-mi-long lake running northwest to southeast inside Divine Park. You can paddle along the calm water in a rented boat or kayak. By sidewalk, Divine Park's perimeter is approximately 1⅓ mi, but two picturesque wood bridges cut across the lake. The park is nicely landscaped all around, with a large, white gazebo at the far northwest end.

Built in the early 1900s as a family mansion, the community house was donated to the town in 1923. Today it hosts civic events and houses the Spring Lake Theater Company and the Children's Theater Workshop and Dance School. On the northeast side is the town library, featuring a dark, European reading room with a huge fireplace to warm by in winter, and a book-lined gallery.

The company produces six events (plays, musicals, or reviews) per year, staged from April to August, in December, and at sporadic times throughout the year. Shows ($25–$30) take place at the old, acoustically balanced, 350-seat Spring Lake Community House theater. The focus is on classic Broadway fare and family favorites.

This domed neoclassical church dominates the southwest side of Spring Lake. Inside look for the gilded vaults and the intricately painted rotunda depicting religious figures.