3 Charming, Hidden Gem Seaside Villages in New Jersey to Visit

When it comes to fantastic seaside villages we have our fair share of them here along the Jersey Shore. How do you choose which are the best to visit this summer? Well, Cheapism did an article featuring the most "Charming, Hidden-Gem Seaside Villages for a Low-Key Getaway" in America. So they picked out Jersey's best, but it wasn't just one, but three great towns here in the Garden State.

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So as mentioned Cheapism chose some of the best seaside towns in America and three of these top towns (villages) are right here in New Jersey. Let's take a look at their three selections for New Jersey.

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North Wildwood, New Jersey

"North Wildwood is not short of its own attractions. These include a stretch of the famed Wildwood boardwalk, a panoramic beach and surf fishing access, free summer "Concerts Under the Stars," a coastal path popular for strolling and jogging and the historic Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, which features elaborate gardens and a gazebo and also hosts special events."

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Spring Lake, New Jersey

"It's a quieter coastal destination that drips vintage charm. Elegant boutiques and galleries line Third Avenue, its main thoroughfare, with fine and casual dining, a theater, stunning historic homes and a scenic lake with an evocative wooden bridge rounding things out. Oh, the beach? Another charming element that's lined with a 2-mile noncommercial boardwalk (how refreshing!) dotted with gazebos and pavilions, harkening back to an earlier era."

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Stone Harbor, New Jersey

"Stone Harbor sits on the southern portion of Seven Mile Beach, an Atlantic Ocean barrier island. It's a quietly sophisticated destination with a vibrant shopping district of boutiques, art galleries and charming eateries. The panoramic beach stretches some 40 blocks, offering plenty of ocean access."

So there you go, the three towns selected by Cheapism for great seaside villages included North Wildwood, Spring Lake, and Stone Harbor. Do you agree with their choices? What other towns would you have added? Post your comments below.

LOOK: Here are the best lake towns to live in

Many of the included towns jump out at the casual observer as popular summer-rental spots--the Ozarks' Branson, Missouri, or Arizona's Lake Havasu--it might surprise you to dive deeper into some quality-of-life offerings beyond the beach and vacation homes. You'll likely pick up some knowledge from a wide range of Americana: one of the last remaining 1950s-style drive-ins in the Midwest; a Florida town that started as a Civil War veteran retirement area; an island boasting some of the country's top public schools and wealth-earners right in the middle of a lake between Seattle and Bellevue; and even a California town containing much more than Johnny Cash's prison blues.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.