Yes, Ocean City NJ Is a Dry Town — Here’s Why That Makes It Special

For some visitors, that’s a surprise. For many others — particularly the families who return to Ocean City summer after summer, generation after generation — it’s one of the primary reasons they come.

Where the Dry Town Policy Comes From

Ocean City’s alcohol-free status isn’t the result of a zoning ordinance or a recent community vote. It goes back to the very beginning.

In 1879, four Methodist ministers — Reverends Ezra B. Lake, James Lake, S. Wesley Lake, and William Burrell — purchased a barrier island called Peck’s Beach with a specific vision: to create a Christian seaside resort. A place where families could enjoy the beauty of the shore while staying grounded in faith, community, and wholesome recreation.

Prohibiting alcohol was part of that vision from day one. It wasn’t a restriction layered onto the city later — it was baked into the founding charter of the Ocean City Association, which mapped and built the entire town. As Reverend Burrell wrote in 1881, they sought to create a place “where a Christian family may pleasantly and profitably spend the heated term.”

Nearly 150 years later, Ocean City remains a dry town — by choice, by community consensus, and by the ongoing commitment of its residents and institutions.

What This Means for Visitors

In practice, a dry town policy means:

• No alcohol is sold in any restaurant, shop, or establishment on the island — you cannot purchase alcohol anywhere in Ocean City
• No alcohol is permitted on the beach, boardwalk, or in any public space
• A small number of private membership clubs (such as the Flanders Hotel and Port O’Call) allow members to bring their own alcohol on-premises — this is the one narrow exception to the island’s dry town status
• Private rentals are governed by the terms of individual rental agreements — check with your rental company

What the policy doesn’t mean: Ocean City is not a sleepy or restrictive place. The boardwalk is vibrant, the dining scene is excellent, the events calendar is full, and the beach itself is as lively as anywhere on the Jersey Shore. The dry town policy simply shapes the kind of atmosphere you’ll find — one that tends to attract families, faith communities, and visitors who appreciate a calmer, more intentional environment.

Why So Many Families Choose Ocean City for This Reason

Ask families who make Ocean City their annual summer destination what keeps them coming back, and you’ll often hear a version of the same answer: it’s the right kind of place for us.

The dry town policy is part of that — but it’s also something more. Ocean City has a character. It has history. It has the Tabernacle, which has anchored the island’s spiritual life since 1879 and continues to offer free Sunday morning services throughout the summer. It has a community that has, for nearly 150 years, chosen to be something specific: a family resort that takes its founding values seriously.

For faith-based families in particular, that specificity matters. It’s not easy to find a summer destination that is simultaneously world-class for kids, beautiful, fun, affordable, and grounded in Christian values. Ocean City is one of very few places in the country that genuinely fits that description — and it didn’t happen by accident.

The Tabernacle and the Dry Town: Two Sides of the Same Commitment

The Ocean City Tabernacle and the dry town policy both trace back to the same four founders and the same founding vision. They are not coincidentally related — they are expressions of the same commitment.

Today, the Tabernacle continues to serve as the spiritual center of that commitment. Every Sunday morning from June through August, both services are free and open to all — no membership, no affiliation, no ticket required. If you’ve never been, a summer Sunday at OCT is one of the most distinctively Ocean City experiences you can have.