The LBI offseason guide

Everyone knows LBI in the summer. But ask people who spend real time here and plenty will tell you the offseason is just as good, only different. Less traffic, empty beaches, easier reservations and a much slower pace. This is the guide we'd send a friend coming down after summer: what's still open, where we'd eat, and what we'd actually do while they're here.

Many of this year's Best of LBI winners, voted by more than 5,000 locals in our annual contest, keep their doors open right through the offseason. Here they are, along with a few personal picks that round out the winter table. For the full results across all 21 categories, see the Best of LBI 2026 winners.

Delaware Ave Oyster House

One of our favorite rooms on the island and one of the best offseason dinner spots. It's much more than oysters: pizza, tacos, burgers and wings all make the menu. Start with the crab fried rice, one of our Best of LBI picks Best of LBI, then add the whipped ricotta or grilled octopus. Happy hour runs daily from 4 to 6.

Black Eyed SusansBest Cocktails

One of the north end's best offseason dinner options. We usually lean toward the apps and pizza, whipped ricotta, calamari, meatballs and sourdough, then a traditional or margherita pie. If you're doing a full dinner, the tilefish is our pick.

Black WhaleBest Seafood

The only Tide Table restaurant on the island that stays open year round. It's small, busy and especially good in the offseason. We come here for the seafood, but also because the Whale has something LBI could use more of: legitimately good salads.

Wally'sBest Family Restaurant

Wally's is the easy answer when everyone wants something different, with some of the most hospitable vibes on the island. Breakfast through dinner, seven days a week, with full vegan and gluten-free menus alongside the regular menu. It won Best Family Restaurant in our Best of LBI awards for a reason: it's one of the easiest places on the island to bring a whole group.

LBI TableBest Breakfast

Our Best Breakfast winner, and the homemade biscuits and famous pancakes are a big reason why. Breakfast is the draw, but the sandwiches and dinner menu are worth knowing too. On an island where a good grilled chicken sandwich is somehow hard to find, LBI Table delivers one of the best. They're open for breakfast daily from 7:30 in Ship Bottom, with offseason dinner Thursday through Saturday.

Flour ChildBest New Restaurant 2026

Our Best New Restaurant of 2026, at 8201 Long Beach Blvd and absolutely worth the stop. We have tried just about everything on the menu, and you legit can't go wrong here. Leave room for gelato.

Burger 25Best Burger

Our Best Burger winner stays open daily all year in Ship Bottom, delivering consistently delicious burgers and chicken sandwiches alongside boardwalk fries and milkshakes. With 25+ burger options and a rotating burger of the month to keep an eye out for, this place never gets old. P.S. don't sleep on their salads.

Russo'sRunner Up, Best Italian

Runner up for Best Italian in our contest, and a Ship Bottom staple: good Italian comfort food that matches well with the offseason months, from family recipes that haven't changed for a reason. They run winter hours, Thursday through Monday from 4, exactly the kind of trimmed offseason schedule worth planning around.

The Old Causeway Steak & Oyster HouseOur Off-Island Choice

Our off-island choice. Just over the bridge in Mud City, the Old Causeway is one of the most reliable offseason options around. It's open seven days a week, has late-night food, weekend brunch and live music Thursday through Sunday. We've eaten here more times than we can count. Our usual order: the Black Eye, Bonsai oysters, Spanish fries, quesadilla and Steak House burger.

Pro tip: ask for the bread, they don't bring it automatically, but it's free and worth it. The Mud Shuttle also runs free rides to and from the restaurant at (609) 713-0451.

And the rest of the winter table

The map has the full list, including Kubel's and Daymark in Barnegat Light, Azzurri in Harvey Cedars, the Arlington, Zen Sushi and Joy & Salt in Ship Bottom, Scojo's, Northside and Kyuramen in Surf City, Nardi's, Dockside Diner, and Beach Haven staples like Tucker's, Buckalew's, the Marlin, Uncle Will's and the Gables. For coffee or a place to work, How You Brewin in Surf City is the go-to, with Bohdy, The Local and Andy's Coffee Shack also open year round. And if you don't mind crossing the bridge, our dining over the bridge guide has the mainland spots we think are worth the drive.

The local hangouts

If your idea of a good bar is a smaller room, a cold drink and something to play, there are two obvious stops. Baker's Port Hole is the island's only year round dive bar, an iconic gathering spot for islanders and mainlanders alike, and from early October to mid May there's an active pool table (it comes out in summer to free up space). Try the famous roast beef sandwich, or our pick, the chipotle chicken cheesesteak. Hudson House is one of the last true old school dives on the island: cold beers in mugs, pool, darts, shuffleboard, and a jukebox that still gets a workout. Known for packing elbow to elbow in the summer, the Hud's offseason crowd is far more manageable, which is exactly when we like it. Both are plastic free, so bring cash. There's an ATM on site at each.

Football season is a big part of the offseason here, too. Every bar and takeout spot showing the games is in our where to watch football on LBI guide, and the Watch football filter on the map pulls them up.

Take your car on the beach

Full disclosure: that's the first video we ever made, and it shows. We've learned a lot since then, including that automatic tire deflators are a thing. The takeaway still holds up though, taking your car onto the beach is awesome.

One of the best offseason perks is being able to drive right onto the beach. From late September into May, permitted 4x4s can access the sand in five of LBI's six towns. September and October can still give you legitimate beach weather, only now you can pull up, pop the trunk and set up without carrying half your house across the sand. Permits run $25 to $50 depending on the town, and every entrance is in our vehicle beach access guide.

Go to the arcade

Fantasy Island's arcade stays open on offseason weekends and is an easy rainy-day or cold-night option. It's 12,000 square feet of games, and yes, two guys in their mid-30s have spent way more time here than we'd like to admit. Skee-Ball, cranes, cornhole, beer pong, good for kids, a date, or a group that needs something to do.

Spend a morning at Reynolds

Reynolds on E Bay Ave in Manahawkin is one of our favorite mainland stops once fall hits. Grab a coffee, walk through the greenhouses and holiday displays, and kill an hour without really trying. Simple, local and especially good around Christmas.

Hit up a show

Surflight Theatre is one of those places that's easy to overlook in summer but fits the offseason perfectly. The Beach Haven theater has been here for more than 75 years and keeps shows going into the holidays and New Year's Eve.

Attend an event

The offseason has its own calendar, and it's a good one. The Beach Haven Chowder Cook-Off (October 3 and 4 this year, at the Taylor Ave waterfront) brings a crowd that matches summer, with the free Merchant Mart on Saturday and the ticketed cook-off on Sunday. The LBI FLY Kite Festival follows the next weekend, October 9 and 10, filling the sky over Ship Bottom's beaches from 18th to 27th, and people come from all over the world for it. Late October brings the Ship Bottom Trunk or Treat at the Municipal Ramp on W 10th, run by the borough and the police department, one of the island's best family nights of the fall (the date gets announced each season). And the Ship Bottom Christmas Parade rolls down the Boulevard the first Saturday of December, floats, marching bands, and of course Santa.

Join a running club

There are plenty of ways to stay active once summer ends. LBI Athletic Club and Yellow Dog Run Club keep group runs going, and the LBI Athletic Club is hosting a run this December. If you want to compete, the St. Francis 18 Mile Run is the big one. Follow these groups on social media for offseason run updates, and find more in our running guide.

Join a studio

Black Sheep Studios, Elite Fitness, the Lyceum, Hot or Not Yoga and Yoga Bohemia all stay active through the winter. They're marked with blue pins on the map, and they're also an easy way to plug into the local community.

Go surfing

Fall is arguably LBI's best surf season: warm water, better swell and far fewer people. People surf all over the island, with the Wooden Jetty at the south end being one of the more popular spots, park at the Holgate lot and walk over. Farias in Ship Bottom and Ron Jon stay open all year for boards, wetsuits and local conditions.

Go fishing

The fall striper run is the island's worst kept secret, action builds through October and peaks in November, and with badges done for the season, the whole oceanfront is open water. The Barnegat Inlet South Jetty is the most famous fishing structure in the state, the Holgate surf gives you the remote version, and the LBI Surf Fishing Classic runs all fall with weekly prizes. For bait, gear, and honest advice, Fisherman's Headquarters in Ship Bottom is the island's fishing institution, and Jingles and Surf City Bait & Tackle round out the shops, all open daily at 6 and all navy pins on the map. For the full breakdown of spots, our LBI fishing guide, written with the crew at Fisherman's Headquarters, covers the island end to end.

This is where the offseason is hard to beat: empty beaches, cooler trail weather and a lot more room to yourself.

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Three miles of protected coastline at the southern tip of the island and more than 800 acres of habitat. It's one of our favorite places on LBI to disappear for a couple of hours, walk, fish, sit in a chair, or just do nothing and soak in the sounds of the waves and birds. Access is by foot or permitted vehicle from the Holgate lot.

Barnegat Lighthouse State Park

Old Barney is an LBI staple and tied to some of our earliest memories here. Climb to the top for views of Island Beach, Barnegat Bay and LBI stretching south. The surrounding 4th Street beach is worth the stop on its own, with one of the island's best dune landscapes and the Dune Trail running through it.

And the trails

Cedar Bonnet Island's bayside loop right off the causeway, the Hideaway Bay Nature Trail mid island, and the Barnegat Branch Trail on the mainland when you want real miles. All green pins on the map, and all covered in our walking and hiking guide.

Chase the sunset

The sunsets hit just as hard once the air cools off, and every part of the island has a good place to watch one. Sunset Park in Harvey Cedars is the namesake, with Bay Breeze Park in Barnegat Light, the gazebos at Surf City's bay beach, Ship Bottom's W 10th St pier, and Bayview Park at 68th, down to the Taylor Ave bay beach in Beach Haven. All of them are the orange pins on the map. Bring a chair and a thermos.

The island, to yourself

More than anything, the offseason just makes LBI easier. The traffic lights start blinking, the bridge clears out and getting from one end of the island to the other stops feeling like a project. The beaches are quiet, restaurants are easier, and you actually have time to notice the place again. It's why plenty of locals will tell you fall is their favorite time of year here.

Come down, slow it down a little, and enjoy the version of LBI most summer visitors never really get to see.