Aberdeen * Atlantic Highlands * Hazlet * Highlands * Holmdel * Keansburg
Keyport * Matawan * Middletown Township * Union Beach

Dining * History * Fishing * Family Activities * Transportation

Dining in NJ

Whether you’re in the mood for a casual bite at a waterfront cafe, a sumptuous Sunday brunch for a family gathering or the latest four-star restaurant for that special dinner, our area offers an eclectic array of eateries to satisfy any taste.

Highlands boasts the best waterfront dining and dock 'n-dine facilities in the area and a wide range of international cuisines.

Shopping centers and malls dot the way, featuring popular national favorite eateries and local bistros.

Just south along the shoreline in nearby Long Branch, the Ocean Place Resort and Conference Center offers many delectable dining options, from the very intimate to special dinners, receptions, and specialized parties. A traditional New England clambake, beach party or theme event at one of the resort's outdoor oceanfront locations, on the beach or indoors are just some of the options that can make your next corporate event or family affair shine. An eclectic array of eateries to satisfy any taste.

Explore History

Win Northern Monmouth County, we have beautiful lighthouses to see, historical houses to learn about, and a great story behind every corner!

A great place to go - Contact the M.D. Heath Farm & Historical Exhibit at 732-671-0566 for a look at some great historical artifacts.

Since 1525, when Giovanni de Verrazano first explored the area, through the 20th century, the first land that explorers, settlers, and immigrants saw was the rugged and thickly wooded Highlands of Navesink in Northern Monmouth County. Tribes of Algonkian, Delaware and Lenni-Lenape Indians (in particular, their Turtle Clan) had inhabited the region from 10,000 years before the Common Era to the mid-1600s. Navesink is a Lenape word for "a good place to fish”.

Through the 17th and 18th century Dutch and then English settlers thought the Bayshore would be a great place to settle. They began building settlements, a process that today's homeowners continue. The region's natural beauty, access to Raritan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and its beaches, the richly layered quality of living, and New York City within view make the Bayshore region of Monmouth County one of the best places to live in New Jersey, and among the top 100 areas of the United States.

A defining moment in the modern history of Northern Monmouth County and the Bayshore came in 1954 when the Garden State Parkway opened Exit 109 to Lincroft and Red Bank. Keyport Exit 117 followed that year, then Holmdel Exit 114 in 1962. Aberdeen Exit 117A opened in 1974. The special Exit 116 in Holmdel leads directly to a cultural "mecca”, the PNC Bank Arts Center and the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial and Educational Center. Pastures, apple orchards, farms and factories gave way to residential subdivisions and corporate campuses.

In the Lincroft section of Middletown "Brookdale”, the old Thompson estate, donated to the County, became home to Brookdale Community College, one of the highest-rated community colleges in the nation. Thompson Park is also headquarters for the Monmouth County Park System, highly regarded for developing its diverse parks and preserving open spaces. High-tech corporations have built mammoth office complexes amid the rolling hills, and these campuses continue to attract a highly skilled and globally diverse workforce that wants to work near where they live. Businesses and shopping malls along Routes 35 and 36 serve their needs. Yet, preservation-minded individuals and organizations such as the Monmouth Conservation Foundation have preserved some of the rolling hills for active or passive recreation and vistas here one can contemplate the natural environment and scenic panoramas.

Fishing