For a taste of real Jersey Shore family fun, we visited Jenkinson’s Boardwalk in Point Pleasant, NJ. Jenkinson’s has everything from your typical boardwalk arcade games to an aquarium, as well as unbeatable people watching. The boardwalk is roughly a mile long, with the ocean on one side and all the games, rides, and cotton candy you could ever want on the other.
We came down in the evening and ate dinner on the outside patio of Jenkinson’s Pavillion Restaurant. The food was fine – typical boardwalk fare of burgers, pizza, and cheesesteaks. It was super windy but really pretty out. After eating, the boys ran around on the beach for a while. The setting sun made for a beautiful evening on the beach.
My husband grew up in the arcades of the Ocean City, MD boardwalk and our oldest son definitely inherited his penchant for arcade games. With 4 arcades to choose from, the only limitation was the number of quarters I would give him. He collected what seemed like a lot of tickets playing skee ball, basketball shooting games, and video games but inevitably was only enough to get some bouncy balls, erasers, and other trinkets. Somehow a visit to the arcade prize cabinet always ends up in disappointment no matter how many times we go.
So we headed back outside to play some of the boardwalk games, including some where everybody is a winner because apparently you can never have enough cheap plush toys shaped like hamburgers and donuts.
The boardwalk has lots more to offer, including batting cages, rides, and a fun house. Since it was starting to get late, we decided to grab some frozen custard and call it a night.
But elementary-aged boys can never seem to get enough of boardwalks and we had missed two key activities, miniature golf and the aquarium. So the next morning we headed back (with the understanding that no more money would be spent on arcades or boardwalk games).
Jenkinson’s Boardwalk has 3 mini golf courses and we played the Crow’s Nest course at Castaway Cove. There are two courses that wind through the shipwrecked boat. The holes up top were in the direct sun and hot but you got a nice break when the course wound through the inside caves. The theming was decent but the course was nothing to write home about. Since we moved to the south, our standards have been elevated from “mini golf” to “putt putt”. (If you don’t know the difference, you’ve obviously never been to Myrtle Beach, SC.) But it was perfect for the boys and they had a fun time playing the course.
After our rousing game of mini golf, we headed over to Jenkinson’s Aquarium. We have been to this small aquarium several times, including at Christmas where we saw Santa scuba diving with the fish. It is small but well done and worth an hour or so of your time. There are a few decent sized tanks downstairs with a good collection of fish. The seal and African penguin displays are always a big hit and if you time it right you can watch their feedings. (Seal feedings are at 10am, 3pm and 8pm, and penguin feedings are at noon and 7:30pm.)
While the downstairs has remained largely the same over the years, the upstairs seems to continue to grow. They have introduced monkeys and parrots, which were fun to watch. And there is a touch tank where kids can get up close and personal with sting rays, sea stars, and other animals.
Jenkinson’s Boardwalk has a variety of family fun to offer. Kids can easily spend a day or more there and still have plenty of new and fun things to do. The amount of time you spend here will depend more on parental tolerance than anything else. But if you come with a health dose of patience, a big bag of quarters (and plenty of additional money), and a sense of humor, you can feel like a kid again and have a great time.
