Two humpback whales, plenty of dolphins, and absolutely PERFECT weather. What a Monday! 🐋☀️
About 50 people joined us aboard Jersey Girl, and we were treated to one of the most active feeding whales we’ve seen all season off Island Beach State Park!
This whale might’ve had too much coffee that morning. 😂 He was moving so quickly that if you didn’t know better, you would’ve sworn there were two whales! Fish scattered across the surface, giving us a hint of where he might come up next—then that huge mouth appeared as he lunged through another meal.
And the setting? A humpback lunge-feeding with the beach and dunes behind him, while six people rode horseback along the shoreline. You couldn’t ask for a more memorable Jersey Shore scene.
📸 These photos were taken by our frequent passenger Alec, who even captured the horses on the beach! Thank you, Alec, for sharing these memories with us.
If you’ve never visited Island Beach State Park, put it on your short list. With those wide-open beaches and beautiful dunes, you might have a hard time believing you’re still in New Jersey.
And don’t miss the Judge’s Shack—look it up! This little fishing shack is believed to date to around 1911. Judge Richard Hartshorne purchased it in 1942, and his family moved it six miles south to its present location in 1952. It’s an incredible subject for photographers and a little piece of the old Jersey Shore that has somehow held on through generations of coastal storms. Volunteers work to preserve it, but in a place this exposed, you appreciate just how fragile that history is. (thejudgesshack.org)
You can admire and photograph it from the beach between parking lots 12 and 13. Just stay off the dunes and enjoy it from a distance—the shack itself isn’t open to the public. (thejudgesshack.org)
On our way home, we saw plenty of dolphins and a second humpback just south of the Manasquan Inlet jetty, so close to the beach you’d think he was getting ready to join the surfers! What a perfect finish.
A big thank-you to Captain Eddie for giving us extra time to enjoy it all. We might’ve burned a few extra gallons getting down to Island Beach State Park, but a day like this was worth the ride!
No Tuesday trip, but we’re back out Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The whales are here, and “local summer” is still giving us some beautiful days.
Come make some memories with Jersey Shore Whale Watch! 🐋
