A beach tag (also beach badge or beach token) is an admission pass that must be purchased to access a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

. It is commonly associated with the Jersey Shore in the U.S. state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, where many communities restrict summer beach access to residents and visitors who pay a fee for a daily, weekly, or seasonal pass. Beaches with a beach-tag program use the proceeds to offset the maintenance and staffing costs associated with running a beach, such as funding lifeguards,

restrooms A public toilet, restroom, public bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils ...

, and trash removal.

History

Beach tags for New Jersey beaches can be traced back to 1937 when some towns in the northern portion of the Jersey Shore such as

Seaside Heights Seaside Heights is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 2,887,Surf City on Long Beach Island started requiring beach tags in 1967. Stone Harbor became the first municipality in the southern portion of the Jersey Shore to require beach tags in 1971, and

Sea Isle City Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's year-round population was 2,104, a decrease of 10 (−0.5 ...

followed suit in 1972. In Ocean City, beach tags were implemented in 1976, although discussions for beach fees in the city date back to the 1930s. Long Beach Township on Long Beach Island approved beach tags on November 5, 1976. In 2021, the

Cape May County Cape May County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Much of the county is located on Cape May bound by Delaware Bay to its west and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and east. Adjacent to the Atlantic coastline are f ...

municipalities of Wildwood,

North Wildwood North Wildwood is a city located on the Jersey Shore in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,621, a decre ...

Wildwood Crest Wildwood Crest is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area in the South Jersey region of the state. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,101, a decrease ...

, and Upper Township - four of the five municipalities in New Jersey which do not have beach tags - were considering implementing beach tags.

Pricing

Daily, weekly, and seasonal tags can usually be purchased at participating beaches, and each municipality sets its own rates and policies. Beaches typically do not charge for children under the age of 12 and may offer discounts to seniors. In certain municipalities, discounts are given for seasonal passes purchased before a specific date (e.g., May 15 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey). The beach tag offered by one municipality may not grant access to beaches in other municipalities. For example, Long Beach Island, which is about twenty miles long, comprises six municipalities, each with its own beach tags, and beach-goers cannot purchase a tag in one Long Beach Island municipality and use it in another.

Criticism

The goals of beach tags, or tokens, are to either restrict the beach to only community members, or to generate user fees for lifeguards and maintenance (e.g., trash removal). On the Jersey Shore, beach tags are controversial because the

public trust doctrine The public trust doctrine is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some resources such as shoreline between the high and low tide lines, regardless of private property ownership. Origins The ancient laws of the Byzanti ...

generally gives the public the right to access the intertidal zone, and guests may feel that a beach with beach tags should offer a superior service to free beaches. Additionally, detractors debate whether beach tags are actually to restrict beach use to people who are paying visitors of hotels, beach house rentals, and local residents. Proponents of beach tags suggest that they improve the cleanliness and safety of the beaches, making the tag fees akin to

user fee A user fee is a fee, tax, or impost payment paid to a facility owner or operator by a facility user as a necessary condition for using the facility. People pay user fees for the use of many public services and facilities. At the federal level in ...

s that prevent freeloading. In addition, proponents note that the beaches which require beach tags are those located in smaller municipalities, which because of beach tags are permitted to offer a similar product to the larger municipalities.

New Jersey municipalities that do not enforce beach tags

The following municipalities did not require beach tags as of the 2015 beach season: * Atlantic City *

* Strathmere ( Upper Township) * Wildwood *

Other places

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

, "beach tokens" may be required for entrance to the beach for people and even pets. The beach tokens are often made of metal or other durable material, to enable them to withstand swimming. The bearer may either carry them, or wear them around their neck or on their swimsuit. The Village of Island Park and the city of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Isl ...

issue beach tags for the use of their beaches.

References

External links

* * {{cite web, url=https://archive.today/20130121014222/http://www.brigantinebeachnj.com/beach_tags.html , website=brigantinebeachnj.com, title=Brigantine, NJ: Beach Tags Government of New Jersey Identification Jersey Shore Tourism in New Jersey