Everyone knows about Atlantic City. Very few realize that Jersey has a handful of smaller, low profile beaches that has good sand, clean water with scenic views of the NYC skyline.

I completed my overnighter driving all over New England and making stops at 4 different Amazon warehouses before arriving at the Fulfillment Center in Teterboro, NJ at 7am. The lot is small, but there’s a spot for bobtails and I managed to catch some Z’s before I headed out to Cliffwood beach.

To my surprise, there was sufficient parking, even for my rig. With COVID, every other parking spot was marked out, but been that it was late in the evening, the only people still there were people fishing.

The sand is dark brown and sturdy, and it can get pretty rocky – it’s about 3/4 of a mile long so it’s a good place to go for a run (with shoes)

If you look across the bay, you can easily see Verrazano Narrows Bridge as well as party of the Manhattan skyline. It’s ironic – NYC is in curfew right now, but across the bay in Jersey, we’re free to roam, enjoy and yes, exercise.

The water was very clear, and I could make out crabs, mullet and swarms of jelly fish looking organisms that looked harmful, but I knew was harmless to the touch.

When I first walked in, it was rather rocky, then I was greeted by mushy seaweed that got everywhere. Finally it was sand – dark brown like on the beach.

The water was cold sub-60 but it was nice and invigorating.

I returned the next day to find the beach in low tide. I could now see the rocks and the seaweed that I was walking on the day before.

I was happy to use my brand new iPhone 11 Pro Max with the ultra wide angle lens and 120 degree field of view.

Cliffwood Beach has a wide range of tide – up to 7 feet so I was happy to see both extremes.

BTW, I found a good place to park near Amboy Perth – at a CDL Training yard. I found a good place to hide between two containers and no one bothered me or even cared that I was there.