Stone Harbor is one of two nostalgic South Shore boroughs on Seven Mile Island
Stone Harbor makes up the southern tip of southern New Jersey’s Seven Mile Island, just a bicycle ride away from the other borough on the barrier island, Avalon. While Avalon has developed a name-brand shopping district on the blocks between the Atlantic Ocean and the back bays, Stone Harbor has retained a more eclectic mix of small businesses and art galleries, as well as plenty of preserved natural areas. The boroughs bolster one another rather than butt heads, offering tens of thousands of summer visitors and a fractional year-round population the practical perks of strong real estate appreciation trends and robust flood resiliency planning as well as the more warm-and-fuzzy factors that have long brought families down the shore. “Stone Harbor and Avalon are on one of the least dense barrier islands on the Jersey Shore. There’s more open space here, which is very appealing,” says Steve Frame, a broker at Diller & Fisher Realtors who has specialized in Stone Harbor and Avalon for more than 33 years. “They've both got walking downtowns with all the little boutique shops and restaurants – it's kind of like a step back in time.”
Beach tags, back bay recreation and community parks across the island
Stone Harbor famously brought paid beach tags into fashion on the South Shore more than half a century ago. Tags are still beach bag staples for those heading to swim, surf or look for shells in the Atlantic Ocean. “You go 20 feet out in the water somewhere like Long Beach Island, and the ground drops off like a cliff. Our beaches have a gradual slope. You’re 50 feet out and it’s waist deep – it’s very child-friendly,” Frame says. Backyard docks, municipal launches and larger marinas at watersports hubs like the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor pocket the other side of the barrier island, launching boaters and anglers into bays connected by marshland. The salt marshes are also home to The Wetlands Institute, an indoor education center set among elevated walkways primed for birders and other wildlife observers. Parks like the 82nd Street Complex sprinkle the borough with busy athletic courts and playgrounds, while the local history museum and Harbor Square Theatre are more popular on rainy days.
Blocks of single-family homes, condos and a robust summer rental market
Sidewalks take residents on a walking tour of Stone Harbor’s shore town architecture. Within the few blocks that stretch between the bayfront and the beach, single-family homes surrounded by tidy landscaping alternate between a few small bungalows and cottages built through the midcentury, and the many larger, contemporary beach houses that have been built in more recent decades. Condos in scattered complexes offer units that range widely in square footage, luxury interiors and cost. While especially small condos can go in the $300,000s and enormous new construction can go for over $10 million, the borough’s median single-family home price is about $4.1 million, roughly 10 times the national median of $403,700 given by the National Association of Realtors. When second-home owners aren’t down the shore, they often participate in Stone Harbor’s robust weekly rental industry.
Community events and family tradition from the on-season to the off-season
Stone Harbor is awash with community events between Memorial Day and Labor Day, from the annual Festival of Lights boat parade through the back bays to weekly Sunday morning farmers markets. Both organized borough events and family traditions also bring people back for weekends and holidays through the quieter, colder months. “During Thanksgiving weekend, there’s a parade and hospitality night. Our office gives out thousands of hotdogs and hot chocolates – it's very quaint,” Frame says. “A lot of families will gather here for the holidays, I’ve noticed. When adult children get spread all along the coast for work, it’s more convenient to have everybody meet at the beach house.”
Shopping and dining at Stone Harbor’s seasonal businesses
Downtown Stone Harbor spreads along walkable blocks centered on the intersection of 96th Street and Third Avenue. Fred’s Tavern has long been a staple for bar fare and drinks, serving guests in the on- and off-seasons. Lines wrap around the block during peak evening hours for Springer’s Homemade Ice Cream. Boutique shops sell everything from Christmas ornaments to beachy art and home goods. Many Stone Harbor businesses are seasonal, including small grocery stores like Bud’s Fresh Market. ACME Markets is open year-round, about 4 miles away on the mainland. A few houses of worship like Saint Paul Church hold different services from season to season. Religion has long gone hand-in-hand with Stone Harbor’s shoreline; Nuns’ Beach is named for the neighboring Villa Maria By-the-Sea, a retreat for nuns set just beyond the dunes.
Biking and walking on the island, driving to the mainland
“There’s more traffic with people walking, jogging and biking than with cars in the summer,” Frame says. Jitney buses are another popular island transportation option through the warmer months. Cooper University Hospital Cape Regional is within 5 miles of home on the mainland. Philadelphia is about 85 miles away taking the Garden State Parkway to the Atlantic City Expressway. Atlantic City International Airport is more than 35 miles away. The borough has limited NJ Transit bus service to New York City, Philadelphia and closer shore towns like Wildwood and Cape May.
Transitioning from Avalon Stone Harbor Schools to Middle Township High
The Stone Harbor School serves kindergarten through fourth grade and the Avalon School serves prekindergarten as well as fifth through eighth grades. Both Avalon Stone Harbor Schools earn an A from Niche. Kids are sent from the joint elementary district to Middle Township High School, which earns a B-plus. At Middle Township High, older students can enroll in dual credit courses through both Atlantic Cape Community College and Stockton University.
Mitigating flood risk along the borough’s bayside
Much of Stone Harbor’s oceanside sits at a higher elevation, putting those blocks at lower flood risk relative to many other barrier island communities. The bayside is lower and at higher risk of flooding after coastal storms or a combination of unusually heavy rain and high tides. Buyers may require flood insurance. The borough helps out by maintaining infrastructure like pump stations and natural marshland resiliency projects.
Written By
Julia Szymanski
Photography Contributed By
Vincent Mauriello
