The Gables — at the center of it all, right on Centre Street in historic Beach Haven — makes the perfect home base for exploring Long Beach Island during your Jersey Shore vacation.

Beach Haven, NJ is a bustling community that offers visitors a cornucopia of attractions, from pristine sugar sand beaches on the Atlantic Ocean to antiques shops, art galleries, boutiques and romantic restaurants. The adventurous can enjoy the Thundering Surf Waterslide, with water rides and interactive 'squirt works', play miniature golf, charter a boat for deep sea fishing, or rent a bike, trolley, kayak, surf board or scuba gear. Try a boat tour of the scenic bays and inlets along the Jersey shore, or step back in time and take a walking tour of charming Victorian and Seashore Colonial houses constructed before 1900. For a change of pace, board one of the ships at the wharf for a cruise to Atlantic City and a day of gaming. These activities are all within a short walking distance, with ice cream parlors dotted along the way for summer sustenance.

Beach Haven’s Surflight Theatre, just steps away from The Gables, is an invaluable asset to the whole area. Featuring Actors Equity live musical theatre, the season runs from Memorial Day weekend until mid-October, resuming for two weeks in December for a holiday-themed show. A typical season consists of eight or nine musicals and three or four plays. From late June until early September, they also produce 12 weeks of Children's Theatre. For current information, go to www.Surflight.org.
Following a delightful evening of entertainment, be sure to return to The Gables Restaurant for a light and delicious After-Theatre Supper.

The nearby community of Loveladies is home to the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, established in 1948 as a non-profit institution by artist Boris Blai to provided arts and educational opportunities for the quiet island community. Today, this vibrant island resource provides arts, science and recreational programs to its members, residents, and visitors to the area, including an Artists Residency and Retreat Program for New Jersey Artists, and Visiting Artists in Ceramics during the summer season. (www.lbifoundation.org)

At the other end of the island, don’t miss the old Barnegat Bay Lighthouse. First built in 1834 (and deemed useless by mariners of the day), its redesign was assigned to West Point graduate and army engineer Lt. George G. Meade in 1855. He not only did a better job of it, but in time rose to be a Brigadier General and defeated General Lee at Gettysburg.

A short drive away, New Jersey’s Bay Shore, from Waretown to Atlantic City, is studded with weathered little coastal towns that beg to be explored. The 40-acre Tuckerton Seaport Museum preserves aspects of the old seafaring way of life; further along the coast, the 44,000-acre Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for nature lovers.

There’s just no end of things to do and see when you stay at The Gables Inn in southern New Jersey.