Barnegat Peninsula

The Barnegat Peninsula, also known as the Island Beach Peninsula or Barnegat Bay Island and colloquially as "the barrier island", is a 20-mile (32 km) long, narrow barrier peninsula located on the Jersey Shore in Ocean County, New Jersey, that divides the Barnegat Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. It is a vacation destination and summer colony area and is heavily dependent on tourism, real estate and fishing. Notable communities on the peninsula include Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking, Lavallette, Ortley Beach, Seaside Heights, Seaside Park and the South Seaside Park section of Berkeley Township. The southern 10 miles (16 km) of the barrier island are preserved in their natural state as Island Beach State Park, New Jersey's longest stretch of undeveloped coastline.

The peninsula divides the Atlantic Ocean from Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, New Jersey. It stretches approximately 20 miles from Manasquan Inlet in Point Pleasant Beach in the north to Island Beach State Park in the south. It is separated from Long Beach Island to the south by the treacherous Barnegat Inlet.