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The marketing slogan for Long Branch's newest members-only beach club—the Soho House–style Le Club at 23 Ocean Avenue—is "Access the Unaccessible." But the jetty-protected cove right in front of the quintessential North Jersey resort is about as accessible as they come. Just pay $5 at one of the public beach-entry points along Ocean Avenue, and you can share the same pristine sand and softly curling surf as Le Club's $5,000-a-year members. (You can't use le fenced-off daybeds or take a dip in le rooftop pool, but c'est la vie.) The newly glam north end of Long Branch, with its 30-store Pier Village shopping center, is all the rage among the resident Wall Streeters and Euro jet-setters who swoop around town in gleaming sedans and Italian sports cars. But the leafier West End neighborhood, several blocks south puts on far fewer airs. — Jon Steinberg

Lifeguard is on duty from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Swimming at all other times is at your own risk.

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• A Guide to Beaches Near Here (7/2/07)