There is something about late August at the Jersey Shore that feels precious. The days are still long, the ocean is still warm and the boardwalk still hums at night, but suddenly every beach day comes with the quiet realization that summer will not last forever.
Instead of mourning the season before it is over, consider this your excuse to lean all the way in.
Here are ten ways to romanticize the final moments of summer before a new season begins:
1. Browse the farm market and let what’s in season plan dinner
Skip the carefully organized grocery list for a morning and wander through a local farm market instead.
Late summer is one of the best times to shop with your eyes first, when tables are piled with tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, peppers, melons and other produce that practically plans dinner for you.
Pick whatever looks best and build a meal around it. Maybe that means thick tomato sandwiches for lunch, grilled corn alongside dinner or sliced peaches with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
Bring a canvas tote, grab an iced coffee on the way and take your time. The goal is less about checking groceries off a list and more about letting the season decide what ends up on the table.
2. Bike the boardwalk before the beach crowds arrive
There is a completely different version of the boardwalk waiting for anyone willing to visit early.
Rent a bike or bring your own and cruise alongside joggers, families and other early risers while the ocean breeze is still cool.
Stop for coffee or breakfast along the way. Pull over for a few minutes to watch the waves. Notice the smell of sunscreen beginning to mingle with funnel cakes and salt air as another beach day wakes up.
It is one of the simplest ways to experience a Shore town you may have visited dozens of times from a slightly different perspective.
3. Ride a Ferris wheel at sunset
Time a trip to the amusement pier so you are climbing into a Ferris wheel car just as the sun begins to sink. Playland’s Castaway Cove or the Wheel at Steel Pier will offer stunning panoramic views of both the coastline and sunset on the bay
Phones are optional. Looking dramatically out over the coastline as if you are in the final scene of a coming-of-age movie is encouraged.
Stay afterward as the lights flicker on and the evening crowd begins arriving. Few things capture the fleeting magic of a Jersey Shore summer quite like being suspended above it for a few minutes.
4. Pick a bouquet of sunflowers
Sunflower season conveniently arrives just when summer starts feeling like it is slipping away.
Make an afternoon of visiting a sunflower farm, wandering between rows of towering yellow blooms and cutting a bouquet to bring home.
Wear something you would not mind getting a little dusty, take too many photos and give yourself permission to fully embrace the cheerful absurdity of standing in a giant field of flowers.
Then put the bouquet somewhere you will actually see it — on the kitchen table, beside your bed or on your desk — so a little piece of late summer sticks around for another week.
5. Spend an entire day on the water
By the end of summer, it can be tempting to think you have already “done” the beach enough.
Consider swapping the beach chair for something that floats.
Rent a kayak or paddleboard. Gather friends for a boat day. Explore calmer back bays and waterways that offer an entirely different view of the Shore.
Or, if your idea of adventure involves considerably more splashing, spend the afternoon climbing, jumping and inevitably falling off obstacles at an inflatable water park.
6. Browse the end-of-season sale racks
Late summer can be one of the best times to wander through Shore boutiques because stores are often beginning to make room for fall arrivals.
Take a slow shopping afternoon and browse the sale racks for summer dresses, beachwear, accessories and vacation pieces you can either squeeze another month out of or save for next year.
Asbury Avenue in Ocean City is particularly well suited for this kind of leisurely browsing, with blocks of local shops, boutiques, cafes and places to stop for something sweet between purchases.
The trick is not to approach it like a mission. Wander. Pop into stores you normally pass. Buy the slightly impractical beachy accessory that makes you happy.
7. Spend the day at the Cape May County Zoo
Not every perfect summer day needs to involve sand.
Pack a picnic and head to the Cape May County Zoo for a slower-paced day surrounded by shady pathways, animals and greenery. It is especially nice toward the end of summer, when you may be craving an outdoor adventure that does not require hauling chairs, umbrellas and coolers across hot sand.
Take your time walking through the zoo, stop for lunch and resist the urge to rush from exhibit to exhibit. Afterward, extend the day with dinner somewhere nearby or keep driving south toward Cape May for an evening stroll.
8. Take the dog to the beach
Your dog deserves one more summer adventure, too.
Ventnor beaches allow leashed dogs in the evenings from 7-9pm, and you can bring a leashed dog on Margate beaches from 6-8 a.m. For less scheduling stress, visit Dog Beach along the Longport Bridge.
For dog owners, there are few better ways to close out summer than watching a happy pup race along the shoreline.
9. Get ice cream and eat it outside
Ice cream deserves to be an activity, not just dessert.
Pick a local ice cream shop. We recommend A la Mode on the south end of Ocean City, but feel free to visit Kohr’s Frozen Custard, Little’s Dairy Bar, the Fractured Prune, Fudgy Wudgy carts on the beach, or anywhere that offers frozen treats.
Take it to a boardwalk bench, stroll through town or sit near the bay as the sun goes down.
Bonus points for sprinkles, a waffle cone or a sundae large enough that everyone at the table immediately questions your judgment.
There will be plenty of time for pumpkin spice. Late summer still belongs to soft serve.
10. See an outdoor concert
Nothing stretches a summer night quite like live music outside.
Check the outdoor concerts listings in the Wahoo section of this publication (outlined in yellow). Bring a blanket or folding chair, grab dinner beforehand and settle in as the evening cools down.Get there early for extra time to choose the perfect spot.
There is something especially nostalgic about hearing a familiar song while the sun disappears and families, couples and groups of friends gather under an open sky.
Sarah Fertsch of Egg Harbor Township holds a Bachelors of Arts in Public Relations. She is a locally renowned poet, storyteller, and dog lover.
