Ocean City, NJ Boardwalk - Good or bad place for a BF walk?

[Go Barefoot]

May get the chance to travel to the Ocean City, NJ area this summer was wondering if the boardwalk is a good or bad place for a relaxing BF walk. Anyone from there or been there? Is it BF freindly? Is it common to see people BF there since its along the shore?

 

[The Ramzev]

If a boardwalk is not barefoot friendly alert the local press immediatly. Seriously. I live in DE and around these parts; Rehoboth, OC, Maryland, etc. are all barefoot friendly.

 

[Barefoot Everett]

Great Barefooting! Alot of the old boards have been replaced with the new recycled plastic fake boards which are very smooth. Most of the older sections have been worn smooth by traffic just watch for some of the nail heads sticking up. There is smooth concrete on either side so if the boards are bad just hop on the side. Not sure about OC but I did see a sign on the Wildwood boardwalk saying No Barefoot On Boardwalk but have never been bothered. I ran a 10 mile race down there on the boardwalk and chip seal asphalt and recieved nothing but encouragement. Have fun and keep your toes up!

 

[Barefoot TJ]

No Barefoot On Boardwalk? So sad.

 

[Zetti]

... just watch for some of the nail heads sticking up.

Well that may make for an interesting run.......
Make sure you don't get all relaxed and try the "close your eyes while running" trick

 

[Go Barefoot]

People that live along the coastal areas are lucky in that those communities are often more tolerant of bfing. Here in central Nebraska does not seem to go over real well as you see few people bf unless you are near the lake or pools - but it is better than I expected. Nobody has said anything bad about my running on local trail bf yet so I cant complain. I have gotten the strange looks upon occasion though.

Several years ago while in an Oklahoma city Walmart I noticed multiple people bf whil shopping and no one thought anything of it. Highly doubt a person would get past the greeter here whithout wearing shoes.

Do the shops along the board walks usually let a person in that is not wearing shoes or will they alert the shoe police? I could see maybe if it was an eating establishment maybe they would have a posting but other trinket shops I wouldnt see a problem with it. Not sure I would have the guts to try this if I was out there unless it was a case of monkey see monkey do. Never tried shopping barefoot.

Those fake deck boards are nice as there is no chance of slivers. I always thought being able to wake up and run bf along a beach in the morning would be great exercise. Guess ill have to settle for getting up early and running through a corn field.

 

[Longboard]

Of the handfull of real laws in the world prohibiting bare feet the majority are in East Coast U.S.A. boardwalk towns.

 

[Woodsman]

I haven't been to OC in a long time, but in general, I don't see anyone bothering your for being barefoot in a beach town. I know of a few bars with dress codes, but I think OC is a dry town so no worry about bars. For the same reason it is a great family place with kids. There might be a fancy restaurant or two that will require shoes, but most the restaurants are really casual.

 

[Ahcuah]

Ocean City Ordinance. Find it here: http://clerkshq.com/default.ashx?clientsite=OceanCity-nj

CHAPTER XVIII BEACHES, BOARDWALKS AND RECREATIONAL AREAS
18-3 BOARDWALK REGULATIONS.
18-3.2 Wearing of Shoes, Sandals or Protective Devices Required.

It is unlawful to walk on the public boardwalk or on the steps or approaches thereto without shoes, sandals or other protective devices adequate to prevent injuries to the general public. (Ord. #1021, § 2; Ord. #87-24, § 1)




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[Ahcuah]

Ocean City Ordinance. Find it here: http://clerkshq.com/default.ashx?clientsite=OceanCity-nj

CHAPTER XVIII BEACHES, BOARDWALKS AND RECREATIONAL AREAS​

18-3 BOARDWALK REGULATIONS.​

18-3.2 Wearing of Shoes, Sandals or Protective Devices Required.​

It is unlawful to walk on the public boardwalk or on the steps or approaches thereto without shoes, sandals or other protective devices adequate to prevent injuries to the general public. (Ord. #1021, § 2; Ord. #87-24, § 1)​

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So make sure you are running!

 

[Zetti]

without shoes, sandals or other protective devices adequate to prevent injuries to the general public. (Ord. #1021, § 2; Ord. #87-24, § 1)

How about the soles of my feet??? Or do they not count as devices?

 

[Go Barefoot]

Darn it! Guess I will run (good idea) or wear flip flops on the boardwalk. Or maybe just ignore the policy.

Would a thin layer of super glue on the soles be a protective device? Ive heard that barefoot water skiers use this for some foot protection in hopes to avoide injury when your foot traveling at 40 knots hits that big floating log from a fallen cotton woood tree.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I would ignore the policy and go barefoot. I would plead ignorance, excuse or not. Then I would whip out a pair of Paper Shoes (remember those things?), just to show them how stupid their law is. This is a public place after all. Do they require footwear on the public sandy beaches, where lots of stuff is hidden and could cause injury just as well? What about in the ocean where a fishy could come up and bite me on the bottoms of my feet? Do I have to wear shoes in the water too?

 

[Zetti]

Do they require footwear on the public sandy beaches, where lots of stuff is hidden and could cause injury just as well? What about in the ocean where a fishy could come up and bite me on the bottoms of my feet? Do I have to wear shoes in the water too?

Dang TJ....stop giving them ideas for new shoe laws!!!

 

[JosephTree]

I've gone BF for many miles on boardwalks in various locals. Never a hassle, and rarely an injury. There are splinters and nails and even the odd dog or drunkard mess, but these are rare and relatively easy to step around....just like on sidewalks and roads, pretty much, you would do well to watch where you step.
Go out and have fun in the sun!

 

[Rusinque]

Actually I have heard of beaches that require you to have feet protection on, due to the fact of people using drug needles on the beaches.
I would say be careful on beaches cause ive seen the craziest things! Like goat heads, chicken bodies, horns and other dead animals.

 

[Zetti]

Like goat heads, chicken bodies, horns and other dead animals.

I take it these are not heavily populated urban beaches in the US????

 

[The Ramzev]

Rehoboth Beach, DE is barefoot friendly. I spend a lot of time there, I eat at the restaurants and go to the stores barefoot. I'm at the beach, I don't wear shoes.
I'm sure at some point someone got a splinter at one of those other baordwalk and sued, hence the regulation. I'm curious how strict they enforce it, or is it just a CYA ordinance?

 

[Barefoot Everett]

Most of my time at the beach has been spent on Long Beach Island NJ where it seems everyone is barefoot except in the restaurants but there are no boardwalks there. This March when I ran the 10 mile race as a part of the Ocean Drive Marathon for Cape May to Sea Isle City I saw signs along the boardwalks reading "No Barefooting on the Boardwalks". Next to these signs stood cops and firefighters working the event cheering me on and praising me for running it barefoot as if it were superhuman. I couldn't imagine recieving more than a verbal warning if some A**hole decides to enforce his BS law. I found the horrible weathered chip seal to be far more dangerous than the boards. The best part was overhearing the kids along the way asking their parents if they could take their shoes off too.

 

[Ahcuah]

I'm curious how strict they enforce it, or is it just a CYA ordinance?

Well, at least in 1984, Cape May enforced their ordinance rather strictly: http://ahcuah.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/so-whats-the-point-2/