August 27, 2026
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Strathmere will require beach tags for the first time next year between Memorial Day weekend and the end of September.
Strathmere's long tradition of free access to its beaches will end next summer with the adoption of a new beach tag program. The island's beachfront had been one of the few remaining free shore points in South Jersey.
The Upper Township Committee, which debated the beach tag measure for months, passed the ordinance in a 4-0 vote Tuesday. Starting next year, from Memorial Day weekend until the end of September, beach tags will be required for everyone 16 and older along Strathmere's Atlantic beachfront, Corson's Inlet and Whale Beach.
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Preseason tags for the whole summer will cost $30. Daily tags will be $10, weekly tags will be $20 and seasonal tags will go for $45 during the summer months. The ordinance requires all revenue from the beach tag program to support beach maintenance and operations.
Upper Township officials estimate beach tags could bring in between $200,000 and $320,000 in annual revenue. The township moved to require beach tags after borrowing $2.1 million in municipal bonds for beach replenishment projects, which also received about $21 million in federal support. The township spent another $513,000 this year for annual beach maintenance, lifeguard wages and pensions.
To enforce the new beach tags, the township plans to hire four part-time checkers who will patrol sections of the beachfront at random mostly on Fridays and Saturdays.
Some residents who attended Tuesday's meeting argued beach tags will do little to recoup the township's beach replenishment, maintenance and labor costs. Others said adopting beach tags will change the character of Strathmere, whose free beaches have set the community apart from its busier neighbors, and could lead to fewer visitors spending money at local businesses.
Upper Township owns the island that runs about 1.5 miles between Ocean City to the north and Sea Isle City to the south. The only other sizable shore communities in Cape May County that don't require beach tags are Wildwood, North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Atlantic City, in Atlantic County, also does not require beach tags.
