Egg Harbor Township’s Dog Beach is Closing This Week

The popular dog beach at the foot of the Ocean City-Longport Bridge is closed this week for repairs to the parking area.

The NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife, which oversees wildlife management areas throughout the state, posted on Facebook about the closure.

The Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area will be CLOSED temporarily from Monday, March 24, through Friday, March 28, while parking area repairs are completed.

They didn't say what they planned to do to the parking lot, but it needs to be leveled, paved, and expanded if possible.

5 Things To Know About South Jersey's Dog Beach

1- The beach has several names. Locals mostly call the beach facing the Great Egg Harbor Inlet “Dog Beach”, but you'll also hear Ocean City Dog Beach,  Somers Point Dog Beach, or Longport Dog Beach.

There's even a Facebook page with the Longport Dog Beach name.

But, the mile-long dog beach isn't in Longport, Somers Point, or Ocean City, it’s actually part of Egg Harbor Township, which is a 15-minute drive away.

The beach is part of the Malibu Beach Wildlife Management Area.

2- The 95.7-acre site hosts a variety of migratory and nesting birds, including endangered and protected birds.

Most summers, a roped-off section at the end of the beach is home to one of the largest nesting areas in South Jersey for black skimmers, a dramatic black and white bird that flies close to the surface of still water, skimming its lower jaw along the surface for food.

3- Although you will see it publicized as an off-leash dog beach, dogs are required to be leashed from May 1st to August 31st. 

4- The EHT Dog Beach is the only full-time dog beach in New Jersey that allows dogs in the summer.

Because there are so few like it, people have been known to travel from distances as far as Philadelphia to use the beach with their dogs.

5- Parking can be a real premium in the small Dog Beach parking lot.

Egg Harbor Township Police have made it known they will ticket or even possibly tow your vehicle if you park along Ocean Drive.

We will see if this week's work in the parking area expands that available parking.