Long Beach Island draws visitors for its beaches, but the area around it offers more than a day in the sand. For travelers planning a trip to the Jersey Shore, the stretch of mainland just off the island holds golf, dining, and a quieter pace that many visitors come to prefer over the crowds.
LBI National Golf & Resort sits at the center of that experience. Located in Little Egg Harbor, about ten minutes from the Long Beach Island causeway, the property gives visitors a place to stay, play, and dine without being directly inside the island’s summer congestion. For those looking for things to do near Long Beach Island, it is a practical base and a destination in its own right.
LBI National is home to an eighteen-hole championship golf course designed by Ray Hearn. The course plays at 6,950 yards across 155 acres of natural pinelands terrain, with open fairways, no parallel holes, and views that reach toward the Atlantic City skyline on clear days.
The course is open to the public from April through October. A practice facility with a driving range, practice bunker, and putting greens sits alongside it, along with a full pro shop featuring lululemon and other premium performance apparel. For visitors who want to build part of their trip around a round of golf, the course is one of the better public options in Ocean County.
Long Beach Island remains the anchor of any trip to the area. The island runs eighteen miles, with wide public beaches, calm bay waters on the western side, and the ocean on the east.
At the northern tip, Barnegat Lighthouse stands as the island’s most recognizable landmark, with a climb to the top that rewards visitors with a view across the inlet and the surrounding coastline. The island’s towns offer shops, casual dining, and the kind of slow summer afternoons the Jersey Shore is known for. Staying just off the island means access to all of it without the pressure of finding parking or fighting peak traffic.
The shore has no shortage of casual seafood spots, but a seasonal coastal-inspired meal is worth the short drive inland. The Wickie Room, the signature restaurant and bar at LBI National, has reopened following a full renovation with a coastal menu that leans into seafood and local flavor.
The menu includes dishes such as LBI Crab Cakes with corn and edamame succotash, Pan Roasted Atlantic Cod and Clams, and the Chicken Wickie, a Frenched chicken breast finished with jumbo shrimp and a bourbon cream sauce. The dining room overlooks the golf course, and live music plays on weekend evenings.
The Inn at LBI National offers thirty-two boutique guest rooms and suites on the resort property. Staying on the mainland, minutes from the causeway, gives visitors a quieter and more comfortable base than a room in the middle of the island’s summer rush.
Rooms include king suites and double rooms, each with modern furnishings, plush bedding, robes, and in-room coffee. With golf, dining, and accommodations all on one property, a stay at LBI National keeps the trip simple. Guests can spend the day on the island and return to a calm setting in the evening without coordinating between locations.
The advantage of LBI National is that it brings the parts of a shore trip together in one place. A round of golf in the morning, an afternoon on the island, and dinner at The Wickie Room in the evening all sit within a ten-minute radius.
The property is about 1 hour and 25 minutes from Philadelphia and just over two hours from New York, which puts it within an easy drive for much of the region. For visitors who want the Long Beach Island experience with a quieter place to return to, LBI National offers a setting that works for the entire trip.
Plan your stay, reserve a tee time, or book a table at LBI National.