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Spring Lake By Nancy and Richard Woodworth Among the seaside towns strung out along the Jersey shore is one that stands apart. No boardwalk bric-a-brac. No honky-tonk. No video arcades. No hangouts for young singles. Spring Lake planned it that way. A century of tight zoning regulations and community resolve has produced a genteel enclave of substantial homes, manicured lawns, a tree-lined shopping district, a pristine boardwalk and not one but three lakes a stone's throw from the sea. All this within a long hour’s drive of New York City or Philadelphia. Enterprising developers launched Spring Lake in the late 19th century. They planned four neighboring towns, each having its own railroad station and a lavish hotel catering to a wealthy clientele from Philadelphia, northern New Jersey and New York. Additional hotels, large guesthouses and elegant estates followed. The four communities united to become Spring Lake, which celebrated its centennial in 1992. The town retains the elegance of its past. The Warren Hotel clings to its summer social season. The stately Spring Lake Community House accommodates a library and theater groups in manorial surroundings. The recreation commission sponsors summer concerts at the park gazebo and model-boat regattas on Spring Lake. The 1992 Centennial Clock, with benches and colorful flowers at its base, would be at home in a European town square. This is an eminently livable community for those who can afford houses starting at $300,000 and oceanfront properties of $1 million or more. The two-mile shoreline is pristine, its boardwalk uncluttered by anything more than a few covered benches and pavilions containing swimming pools at either end. Weeping willows frame and wooden footbridges cross Spring Lake, the meandering, natural spring lake in the center of town. It and two other lakes at either end of town yield a landscape rare for a seaside community. No chain motels are among the 26 lodging establishments, ranging from old hotels to B&Bs, and no more can be licensed. The number of rooms has declined recently from 1,000 to 500, so the population of 5,000 year-round increases only to about 6,000 in summer. “The town consciously chose to stay a community rather than become a resort,” says Michael Robertson, former executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “For a quiet, romantic getaway, this is the place – only an hour away from everything, but an island of tranquility.”
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