Stafford Township: An In-Depth Look

Stafford Little League runs baseball with spring and fall seasons at Doc Cramer, including Intermediate (50/70), Junior, and Senior divisions for older kids.

Manahawkin Mavericks Challenger League gives kids with physical and intellectual disabilities their own place on the baseball field.

Stafford Soccer Club runs a recreation program from age 3 up: Kicks 4 Kids (U4) and First Touch (U5) on Saturday mornings, Clinic (U6), SuperClinic (U7 and U8), and Intermediate levels through U13, plus travel teams.

Southern Youth Football & Cheer serves Stafford and Long Beach Island, with spring flag football and cheer on top of its fall program.

Stafford Girls Softball Association runs recreation softball, and the Stingrays Fastpitch travel program gives competitive players the next level.

Stafford Boys Lacrosse and Stafford Girls Lacrosse run separate programs for boys and girls.

Stafford Hockey League runs youth and adult divisions at the Doc Cramer rinks, with seasonal registration.

Also in town: Stafford Rec Basketball, Stafford Wrestling, Sparklers Cheer, and South Jersey NFL Flag Football.

The Picklr Manahawkin-LBI is at 205 Route 72 West in the Kohl's plaza. It opened in March 2025 in the old Bed Bath & Beyond, with seven indoor pickleball courts. The junior program has its own membership, clinics, open play, and leagues, so junior players can play year-round.

Stafford Township Recreation runs programs out of four community centers (Bay Avenue, Ocean Acres, Jennings Road, and Pine Street), with summer camp, special events, and senior programs through the year.

Best waterfront: Beach Haven West, and especially Village Harbour, its most expensive stretch. The Shapiro brothers bought the salt marsh here in 1950 and opened the first section in 1957. It grew into more than 130 saltwater lagoons and roughly 5,000 homes, built in phases through the 1970s, with Village Harbour and Colony Lakes finished by the mid-1980s. Mill Creek Road is the spine, running from Route 72 out to the bay at East Point. NeighborhoodScout puts Village Harbour's median home value above $1 million, higher than about 87% of New Jersey neighborhoods, and more than half its homes are second homes. You'll find original 1950s Cape Cods a few lots from full rebuilds, a dock behind the house, and LBI five minutes away.

Most popular inland neighborhoods: Ocean Acres and Deer Lake Park. Ocean Acres is one of the largest residential developments in the area. It was built out from the 1960s on around the Ocean Acres Country Club golf course and lake, it has no HOA, and the recent median sale price is around $594,000. Deer Lake Park is a suburban neighborhood near Manahawkin Lake, close to shopping and dining, with recent sales in the $480,000 to $730,000 range.

Most affordable: The western side of the township, including much of Ocean Acres and the Mayetta area, generally carries lower prices than the neighborhoods closer to the bay. If you're 55 or older, Fawn Lakes is the lowest-priced option (see 55+ Living below).

Colony Lakes was finished in the mid-1980s. It mixes single-family homes and attached units with an HOA, and the recent median sale price is around $658,500.

Cedar Bonnet Island sits on the Route 72 causeway between the mainland and LBI. It's one of the most unusual places to live in the township, with the bay on every side and the beach one bridge away. There's more on it below.

Manahawkin's old village center along Route 9, Stafford Avenue, and Bay Avenue holds the historic homes and Manahawkin Lake.

Warren Grove is out in the Pine Barrens on the western edge. It's rural and wooded, a good match if you want land and quiet.

Avoid a lot at the dead end of a lagoon. Debris and floating garbage collect there because they have nowhere else to go, and they end up at your bulkhead.

Check the lagoon width and the run to open water. Width decides what boat you can run and how easily you get in and out. Some homes sit a short ride from the bay, and others take longer to reach it. Confirm both for any specific property before you assume your boat will fit.

Look hard at the bulkhead. Replacing a bulkhead is a major expense on any lagoon home. Know its age and condition before you make an offer.

Long Beach Island is right across the Manahawkin Bay Bridge. Ship Bottom is about five to ten minutes from most of Stafford outside of summer weekend traffic. Living here, LBI's beaches become part of your week without you living on the island.

Cedar Bonnet Island Trail is a nature trail on Bonnet Island just off the causeway, part of the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. It was regraded and resurfaced to meet accessibility standards and reopened in 2021.

Manahawkin Wildlife Management Area is 1,642 acres of preserved land run by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. It was named a National Natural Landmark in 1976 for its mature bottomland hardwood forest, which is rare in this part of the state.

Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area covers 12,597 acres of Pine Barrens and former cranberry bogs shared with Eagleswood and Little Egg Harbor. It has four ponds with good fishing for chain pickerel and other warmwater fish (electric motors only) and a 3.4-mile sand road for shore anglers. On its northern end is a pygmy pine forest, where mature pitch pines and oaks stand only four to six feet tall. Hunters also use its shotgun, archery, and 100-yard rifle ranges.

Stafford Township Arts Center, at 1000 McKinley Avenue, is home to the OceanFirst Theater. It seats more than 800 and books named entertainers, comedy, plays, dance, and community theater. You get a full stage show without the drive to Red Bank or Atlantic City.

Manahawkin Baptist Church was built in 1864 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The church's address today is 400 Beach Avenue.

Heritage Park, on West Bay Avenue, is home to historic structures and the township's December Holiday Wonderland and Christmas Market.

Manahawkin Lake Park, at Route 9 and North Lakeshore Drive, has a walking track, a bike trail, a playground, a pavilion, picnic tables, restrooms, and the lake itself. It's the center of the township's event calendar.

Lighthouse Park, on Lighthouse Drive in Ocean Acres, has a playground, a walking track, a bike trail, and a roller hockey court.

Ocean Acres Lake Park, on Buccaneer Lane, has a playground, basketball and tennis courts, picnic shelters, grills, and restrooms. Between these two parks, most of Ocean Acres is a short bike ride from a playground.

Mill Creek Park, on Mill Creek Road in Beach Haven West, has tennis, bocce, basketball, a walking track, and a playground.

Heritage Park, on West Bay Avenue, has open lawn around the historic buildings.

A. Paul King County Park, at 2 West Bay Avenue, is run by Ocean County Parks on the shore of Manahawkin Lake. It's the spot for kayak rentals and a quiet walk by the water.

Aerial course: a 50-foot wooden climbing tower with more than 40 rope elements, including a climbing net, a log bridge, and swinging ropes, plus a zip line and a climbing wall. Everyone climbs in a safety harness. It opened in 2019.

Go-karts: an electric kart track that runs more than 1,000 feet.

Arcade: indoors and open daily, so it works on a rainy day or in the middle of winter.

Kitchen + Pub: indoor and outdoor dining, with lawn games and fire pits outside, so there's room to sit and hang out between activities.

Boatyard Beer Garden: casual outdoor dining right on the water, set up for groups.

The Prop Bar: the seasonal bar on site.

The Yard Market: a seasonal "dock and shop" market with local growers, makers, and food vendors. You can get there by boat, bike, on foot, or by car, and it has run Kids Markets for young vendors.

Causeway Marina: daily boat rentals, marina memberships, safety training, and a fuel dock.

Houseboat rentals: handy when family comes to visit and wants to stay on the water.

Kayak rentals at A. Paul King County Park: since July 2024, Ocean County Parks has offered self-serve kayak rentals on Manahawkin Lake through the Rent.Fun app. You scan the QR code at the kiosk, and it runs $25 for two hours plus $15 for each extra hour. Renters have to be 18 or older, it's one person per kayak, and no pets. Anyone younger needs an adult renter to handle the booking.

Fishing: Manahawkin Lake is open for fishing, and the township's Hooked on Fishing event is held there each summer (August 31 on the 2026 calendar). Anyone 16 or older needs a New Jersey freshwater fishing license.

Holiday Lake sits beside Ocean Acres Country Club, and the course's practice green overlooks it.

Brookville Farms, 511 Route 72 in Barnegat, is listed by Ocean County Tourism for u-pick produce and pumpkins, and it has run fall pumpkin picking through Halloween.

Sassafras Hill Farm, 184 Route 72 West in Barnegat, is a 27.5-acre Certified Naturally Grown farm with a CSA. It's a good pick if you want local produce through the season.

Stafford Township Municipal Boat Ramp, at the end of Cedar Run Dock Road, is the township's public launch if you don't have a dock.

Causeway Marine, at 960 East Bay Avenue, has sold and serviced boats in Manahawkin since 1984.

Causeway Marina at The Boatyard, on Cedar Bonnet Island, rents boats by the day. That's a smart way to learn the bay before you commit to buying a boat. It also has a fuel dock.

Ocean Acres Country Club is an 18-hole public course in Manahawkin, open since the 1960s, straddling the Stafford and Barnegat line, with a practice green overlooking Holiday Lake. It's less than 20 minutes from LBI.

Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis, 261 Country Club Boulevard in neighboring Little Egg Harbor, is a county-owned public course: 18 holes, par 72, a George Fazio design, with a driving range and a restaurant. Asbury Park Press readers voted it the best golf course in Ocean County in 2023.

Ocean Breeze is the newest and has the most amenities. It's a gated Paramount community of about 690 homes, built from 2006 on, with homes from about 1,866 to 2,693 square feet. The 16,000-square-foot Lifestyle Pavilion has indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center with a sauna, a ballroom, tennis, bocce, and basketball, plus a full-time activities director. Listings typically run from the mid $500Ks to the high $600Ks, with HOA fees of about $185 to $261 a month.

Perry's Lake has about 450 manufactured homes on leased land, built 1999 to 2010, from about 1,320 to 1,680 square feet. There's a 6,200-square-foot clubhouse, an outdoor pool, and marina access with boat slips, which is rare in a 55+ community. Homes typically sell from the mid $200Ks to the low $300Ks, and lot rent runs about $500 to $786 a month, taxes included. It isn't gated and has no activities director.

Atlantic Hills has about 250 homes built by Roseland Property from 1988 to 2001. There's a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, an outdoor pool, and two lakes with a fountain. Homes typically sell from the low $300Ks to the low $400Ks, with HOA fees of about $90 to $193 a month.

Fawn Lakes is the oldest, with about 250 single-family and attached homes built 1978 to 1989. It has a 7,000-square-foot clubhouse and an outdoor pool. It's the most affordable of the four, with homes typically from the mid $100Ks to the high $200Ks and HOA fees of about $90 to $220 a month.

Catholic: St. Mary of the Pines, Manahawkin, with its parish center at 100 Bishop Lane

Baptist: Manahawkin Baptist Church, 400 Beach Avenue

Methodist: Manahawkin United Methodist Church, 116 Stafford Avenue

Lutheran: Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 333 North Main Street

Reformed Church in America: Ocean Community Church, 1492 Barnegat Road, with a food and clothing pantry and a long list of community outreach

Christian and Missionary Alliance: Main Street Alliance Church, 1000 North Main Street

Latter-day Saints: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Stafford Branch, 1 Mary Bell Road

Non-denominational: Bayside Chapel, 102 East Bay Avenue; His Ways Church, 489 Nautilus Drive

For New York City: the closest direct option I know of is the Academy Bus pickup in Forked River, about 20 minutes north, or the Toms River Park and Ride at Parkway Exit 81. Plan on a long day if you're commuting into the city regularly.

For Atlantic City: NJ Transit's 559 bus runs along Route 9 between Lakewood and Atlantic City.

For local trips: Ocean County's Ocean Ride service runs the OC6 and OC10 routes.

For Philadelphia: plan on driving.

The school setup. Stafford gives every stage from Pre-K through 6th grade its own building, then sends students to a regional high school Niche ranks third in Ocean County.

Convenient shopping. Groceries, big-box stores, local shops, and a full hospital are all along Route 72 and Route 9, so everyday errands stay close to home.

The beach. Long Beach Island is right across the causeway, close enough that a beach day can start after lunch.

Route 72 and the Garden State Parkway. Parkway Exit 63 and Route 72 put the rest of the shore, and the rest of the state, within easy reach.