The Enclave at Jumping Brook

Neptune Township, New Jersey, located about 37 miles west of Princeton and less than three miles from Asbury Park, is ideal for those seeking coastal living, suburban convenience, and proximity to larger cities such as Trenton, New York City, and Philadelphia. This seaside township is ideal for professionals, retirees, and first-time homebuyers seeking an active lifestyle close to the Jersey shore. D.R. Horton offers a range of new construction homes in Neptune Township and the surrounding area, which offer spacious open floorplans and smart home technology.

Why choose Neptune Township, New Jersey

Neptune Township, located in Monmouth County, offers residents a dense suburban environment that’s convenient to major urban centers and coastal attractions, all while maintaining a sense of relaxed, small-town charm. The township is also known for its public parks and diverse variety of neighborhoods, from maintained Victorian architecture, beaches, and boardwalks in the Ocean Grove neighborhood in Neptune Township to the hilly, tree-covered natural areas of the Shark River neighborhood. The township’s location, and neighborhoods within, allows residents to have a short commute so they can walk the boardwalk in the morning or when they get off work, as well as access a multitude of events and activities, shopping, restaurants and bars, and plenty of outdoor adventures.

Neptune Township is also about 60 miles from New York City, putting the city's amenities and employment opportunities within reach. The same goes for Philadelphia, which is about 70 miles away. Trenton is close at around 44 miles, and Princeton is even closer at about 35 miles. For air travel, Newark International Airport, about 45 miles from Neptune, is quite convenient.

Community life in Neptune Township, New Jersey

Neptune Township’s dense suburban environment comes with a wide variety of activities for residents. Several neighborhoods are contained within Neptune Township, including Ocean Grove, Shark River Hills, Mid-Town, Bradley Park, the Gables, Seaview Island, Neptune City, and West Neptune. This variety of neighborhoods, as well as adjacent towns like Asbury Park, creates many options for entertainment, recreation, and engagement for residents right in town.

The township hosts several annual holiday celebrations, like an annual Easter Egg Hunt at one of the Neptune Township Recreation Department’s local parks. Neptunians, as Neptune Township residents are sometimes called, can also enjoy annual Independence Day fireworks and events over several nights in the area. One 4th of July celebration is held at Bradley Beach, which is directly adjacent to and formerly a part of Neptune Township, or residents can make a quick drive to Asbury Park for a fireworks show there. For a more festival-style Independence Day event, residents can make about a 20-minute drive to Long Branch, NJ for their annual Oceanfest celebration. In wintertime, the annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the Gazebo located at Neptune’s Memorial Park features live music performances and other celebrations. Ocean Grove, one of the neighborhoods in Neptune Township, hosts a Victorian Holiday Festival that offers Victorian house tours, concerts, and holiday shopping. A quick drive to the neighboring town of Asbury Park lets residents experience the town’s Holiday Bazaar event, which includes local vendors, holiday music, and festive activities.

Events and activities go far beyond holidays in Neptune Township, too. There are opportunities for residents to get together throughout the year or seasonally, like with weekly movie nights and concerts. Residents can also attend events like the Spring Fling Arts and Crafts Festival in the Ocean Grove neighborhood of Neptune Township.

This event in early May features live music, food, and hundreds of artists and crafters displaying their work. In September, residents can enjoy Neptune Day, which is a family-friendly event that includes a variety of games and inflatables like bounce houses, vendors, demonstrations and performances, and more. Also in September, one of the biggest annual events in the area, the Sea.Hear.Now Festival, takes place just minutes down the road in Asbury Park. Sea.Hear.Now is a two-day waterfront festival featuring a collection of well-known bands on three stages, including a stage on the beach itself. While primarily a music festival, this iconically Jersey Shore event also features a unique team surfing competition, an art gallery, and a wide variety of regional food vendors, and a portion of the festival’s proceeds go toward ocean sustainability practices and organizations.

More music-related events or performances can be found in Neptune Township and the surrounding area, like classical music at the historic Great Auditorium in Neptune Township’s Ocean Grove neighborhood. Though mainly classical, the music performed at the Great Auditorium has a wide range, from the MidAtlantic Philharmonic performing iconic film scores to organ concerts to the Ocean Grove choir singing Handel’s Messiah. If you prefer rock ‘n’ roll to classical, there’s no better place than The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, where Bruce Springsteen and other famous musicians got their start. You can also head about seven miles down the road to Monmouth University in West Long Branch, which opens up many events to the public, including concerts and art exhibitions. The university also provides opportunities to watch athletic events such as basketball and track.

Another short drive from Neptune Township will take you to a number of additional activities and festivals in the area. The Allaire Arts Festival at The Historic Village at Allaire, about eight miles away, takes place in June and highlights local artists and their work. Also at The Historic Village at Allaire, The Fall Harvest Festival celebrates the season with crafts, food, and family activities. Though a bit longer of a drive, another area favorite is the Highlands Oktoberfest, around 15 miles away. This event is championed for its food, music, and beer, and features traditional German food and a whole lot of fun. More delicious food can be found in the same town each summer at the Highlands Clam Fest, which offers seafood, live music, and activities for all ages. Of course, Neptune Township residents can partake in a similar seafood festival right outside their own town at the Bradley Beach Lobster Fest.

The area’s appreciation for food and drinks doesn’t stop with Oktoberfest or seafood festivals, either. Residents can also visit a number of breweries, vineyards, or farmers markets in the area. Bradley Brew Project, in Bradley Beach just outside Neptune Township, is a microbrewery specializing in ales and lagers that make perfect summer brews. If you’re more of a wine enthusiast, you can visit Fox Hollow Vineyards in Holmdel, about a 15-mile drive from Neptune Township, for wine tastings and events on their 94-acre property. The vineyard is operated by the Casola family, who are sixth-generation farmers dedicated to making wine. Residents can also access local products at Joe’s Farm Market and Garden Center in Neptune Township, which has been a community staple for over 40 years with its seasonal fruits and vegetables, flowers, and plants. In the Shark River Hills neighborhoods of Neptune Township, you can visit the SRHPOA Farmers Market, which operates seasonally. Other options include the nearby Asbury Park Sunset Farmers’ Market and the Asbury Park Carousel Farmers’ Market, which both operate seasonally and provide fresh produce and artisanal goods.

If all of these events and activities aren’t more than enough to engage already, Neptune Township also offers several programs that help bring residents together through regular shared activities. In addition to organizing seasonal events, the Neptune Township Recreation Department organizes sports leagues and community outings for all age groups. In Monmouth County, more broadly, groups like the Jersey Shore Running Club host races and social events across the region, including in Neptune Township, promoting wellness and community involvement in a relaxed setting.

Outdoor adventures in Neptune Township, New Jersey

Neptune Township and its neighboring areas offer residents a wide variety of parks and recreational sites to enjoy the outdoors, from relaxing on the beach to road biking on the nearby Belmar Greenway to hiking or fishing along a river. Shark River Park, a nearly 1,000 acre park that covers parts of Neptune Township, Wall Township, and Tinton Falls, features multi-use trails with more than ten suitable for mountain biking, picnic areas with grills, outdoor game areas, and playgrounds, and many residents enjoy hiking, biking, or fishing for bass, catfish, crappie, trout, bluefish, weakfish, and more at the park in the warmer months. The park’s forests, meadows, and wetlands are great places to observe nature, offering an interesting and peaceful place to relax or get active. When it gets cold out, Shark River Park transforms into a hub for winter activities, offering opportunities for cross-country skiing and ice skating. Shark River Park is Monmouth County Park System’s first ever park, opened in 1961, and the Park System continues to make updates and acquire more land.

More shore-focused outdoor activity is also readily available in Neptune Township, with beaches and boardwalks right in town. Ocean Grove Beach, located in the Ocean Grove neighborhood of Neptune Township, is known for its family-friendly atmosphere and historic charm, offering a boardwalk and designated swimming areas. The beach also has activities aside from simply enjoying the sun, waves, and sand, with summer events like sandcastle contests and movie nights, and opportunities for fishing. Bradley Beach, adjacent to Ocean Grove, provides a scenic shoreline with a boardwalk, various events, and recreational facilities. Fishing is also available on multiple jetties, local weather and regulations permitting. Both Bradley Beach and Ocean Grove are known to be great spots for catching striped bass and bluefish.

If it’s specifically freshwater fishing you seek, residents can check out Lake Como, only about three miles south, for largemouth bass and channel catfish. You can also head to Spring Lake, about five miles away, where typical catches include largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, channel catfish, and yellow perch. The 770-acre Manasquan Reservoir, about a 15-mile drive, is a favorite for bass, muskie, bullhead catfish, and panfish species like bluegill and sunfish. Manasquan Reservoir also encompasses almost another 700 acres of parkland to enjoy if fishing isn’t your thing, coming in at a total of nearly 1,400 acres of water and land. Other than opportunities for fishing and boating, the park offers hiking, walking, and biking with a five-mile perimeter trail, a one-mile nature trail, and a bike pump and repair station. You can also stop by the visitor center to rent a kayak or rowboat, or take the kids to the park’s playground. In the winter, you can bundle up and visit the reservoir to go ice skating.

For more outdoor activity, a short drive down Route 18 will take you to Allaire State Park, which houses Allaire Village, a historic 19th-century iron-making town that is preserved as a living history museum today. The park offers miles of multi-use trails, both marked and unmarked, that are suitable for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. You can also camp in the park in a tent, RV, or by renting a cabin-like shelter, and the park offers a restroom and shower facility on the campgrounds. Similar activities can be found at Thompson Park, about a 12-mile drive from Neptune Township. Thompson Park is centered around a restored 1896 colonial farm house belonging to the Thompson family. The home and 215 acres of land were donated for the park by Geraldine Livingston Thompson’s estate in the 1960s and are now the Brookdale Farm Historic District at Thompson Park. The entire park spans over 600 acres and features more than 14 miles of trails, five miles of which are paved, that can be used for hiking or biking. The Thompson family’s farm was dedicated to breeding and training race horses, so of course, horseback riding is also welcome. Visitors can also enjoy numerous activities and organizations operated out of the historic farm buildings, like a Creative Arts Center, as well as a fishing lake that allows for boating and kayaking, a playground, tennis and pickleball courts, and trails for cross-country skiing in the winter.

There are numerous other parks, gardens, and beaches in and around Neptune Township to enjoy, but there are also multiple golf courses in the area. Golfers in Neptune Township and nearby areas have several courses to choose from that offer different experiences. Shark River Golf Course in Neptune features tight, narrow fairways and deep-faced bunkers, creating a challenging game. Also in Neptune, Jumping Brook Country Club offers an 18-hole course that’s known for its well-maintained greens and fairways. Less than three miles away in Ocean Township, the William F. Larkin Golf Course at Colonial Terrace provides a 9-hole course suitable for golfers of all abilities. Even more courses can be found less than 10 miles from Neptune Township, ensuring you always have options to play.

Neptune Township’s local parks, recreation areas, and beaches enable residents to enjoy outdoor recreation all year long, stay active, and connect with nature.

Businesses and economics in Neptune Township, New Jersey

Neptune Township’s location allows for easy commutes to a wide variety of employment opportunities. The largest employer in the area is the Jersey Shore University Medical Center, which is affiliated with Hackensack Meridian Health. Proximity to the Jersey Shore also creates a wide range of jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry. In the retail sector, national chains such as Walmart, The Home Depot, and Target hire people in sales, customer service, and management. Neptune Township's municipal government, the Neptune Township School District, and Monmouth University are also major employers, hiring people with a wide range of skills.

Neptune Township’s location also enables residents to commute to larger job markets in Red Bank, only about 14 miles away, and Asbury Park, which is immediately adjacent to Neptune Township. Additional larger job markets are within reach, as well, with Princeton 35 miles away and Trenton 44 miles away. For those willing to make a longer commute, New York City is 60 miles away, and Philadelphia is 70 miles away, expanding employment opportunities in other sectors.

What makes Neptune Township a great place to live

Neptune Township offers a relaxed coastal setting with access to beaches, parks, and everyday conveniences. Residents enjoy being close to the ocean and lots of activities, with spots like Ocean Grove Beach and Bradley Beach very close to home. Families appreciate the schools and places to enjoy the outdoors, like the beaches and nearby parks with trails, fishing spots, picnic areas, and playgrounds. Commuters benefit from Neptune’s location in Monmouth County, with nearby highways and train service offering connections to larger job markets. For older adults and retirees, the area offers healthcare access through Jersey Shore University Medical Center and easy ways to stay active through community centers and outdoor spaces.

New construction homes in Neptune Township

D.R. Horton's new homes in Neptune Township are great for people at any stage of life. With access to job opportunities, good schools, and many activities and conveniences, D.R. Horton homes in the township offer something for everyone. Browse our homes for sale in Neptune Township listings, or get in touch with us today.