Allenhurst, NJ

Allenhurst is a small Jersey Shore borough on the Atlantic, tucked between Deal Lake and the ocean in Monmouth County. The borough grew from a 120-acre farm owned by Abner Allen, then took shape as a railroad-accessible resort in the late nineteenth century. It incorporated on April 26, 1897, and the 2020 census counted 472 residents. Grand homes from that resort era still define the streets, and the Allenhurst Residential Historic District was added to the National Register in 2010.

The beach and lake give Allenhurst two distinct edges. The borough operates the Allenhurst Beach Club, with an ocean-fed saltwater pool, while a lakefront park and playground sit at the western end of town. A small downtown business district fills in the middle. Summer brings the beach club into focus, while the lakefront park gives the western side its own everyday gathering place. Allenhurst is compact, architectural, and unmistakably shore-oriented, with the railroad, ocean, lake, and preserved houses all part of the same short walk.