Surf spot guide · NYC Tri-State, United States
Sand-bottom Jersey jetty break that fires fast, hollow rights on solid southerly swells and a westerly offshore.
Bay Head is a stretch of sand-bottom beach studded with rock jetties along the north end of the New Jersey shore, where longer groynes around Bridge Avenue corral the sand into shallow banks that shape fast, hollow rights. When a clean southerly swell lines up with the right sandbar, the wave pitches with a steep, ruler-edged wall that throws short barrel sections before fading on the inside. It handles size, holding shape into head-high and overhead pulses, and prefers a westerly offshore with the tide pushing from mid to high. Outside that window the banks tend to suck dry or shut down, and the inshore boils give the lineup a punchy, slabby feel rather than a long down-the-line ride. Access is straight off the residential streets, with free roadside parking that gets cramped in summer, badge restrictions on the beach from 10am to 5pm, and a lifeguarded but otherwise bare-bones setup with no showers or shops at the break.
Shallow groyne-built banks that pitch fast rights into short, steep barrels.
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Locals can dominate the better jetties and aren't always sharing, but the mile-long stretch spreads surfers out and only the standout banks get genuinely busy on a swell.
Punchy Jersey jetty rights
NYC Tri-State
Powerful, jetty-wedged left on the south side of Manasquan Inlet that needs NE or E swell and lower tides to fire.
NYC Tri-State
Famous north-side Manasquan Inlet jetty serving up long, hollow, board-snapping rights when a S/SE swell lights it up.
NYC Tri-State
Shifty, hollow peak on the south side of Shark River Inlet, wedged between a stone jetty and the battered fishing pier.
+6 MORE →Target a clean S to SE swell with a westerly offshore for the cleanest, most hollow rights
Surf the mid to high tide window when the banks fill in around the longer Bridge Avenue jetties
Scout multiple jetties on foot before paddling out, the best sandbar shifts week to week
Park free on the side streets but expect tight residential rules and badge enforcement on the beach in summer
Keep sessions early or late to dodge the 10am to 5pm beach-badge window
HAZARDS · KNOW BEFORE YOU PADDLE
Walk-in access from residential streets to the sand, with free roadside parking that gets crowded in summer. Metered and restricted parking zones plus beach-badge enforcement from 10am to 5pm. Lifeguarded in season; no public restrooms, showers, surf school or surf shop at the break.
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