Here’s a confession that will either make you trust me or question everything: some of my favorite days on Long Beach Island have been gray ones.
Not the sun-drenched, salt-rimmed, golden-hour days that fill your camera roll. The other kind. The ones where the sky drops low over the bay and the island gets quiet enough to hear itself think. When the beach empties out and the real LBI — the one that’s been here since before the boardwalk and the beach badges — steps forward.
Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer, and if the 2026 installment decides to welcome you with a little rain, consider it a gift. Because this island has more to offer than a tan line, and a wet weekend might be the best way to prove it.
Here’s your rainy-day playbook. Not the tourist list. The other list.
Stop by the Book Signing at The Dune Market
Start your Saturday morning at The Dune Market in Beach Haven — the kind of shop that feels like someone’s beautifully curated beach cottage, because it basically is. Owner Emily Raleigh built this place around the idea of coastal living done with intention: ethically sourced home goods, self-care products, and a bookshop section that could keep you browsing for an hour.
On Saturday, May 24th, from 10am to noon, The Dune Market is hosting a book signing with New Jersey journalist Francesca Cocchi, whose debut novel, Have a Great Summer, will be released that same week. It’s a dual-timeline Jersey Shore romance — the kind of book that was practically written for reading on a screened-in porch while it pours outside. Cocchi grew up down the shore in Monmouth County, wrote for NBC’s TODAY and Food Network Magazine, and poured all of that coastal nostalgia into her first novel. If you’re looking for this summer’s beach read that takes place around the Jersey Shore, this is where you pick it up — signed, from the author, in a shop that smells like sea salt and candle wax.
And if one book isn’t enough to get you through a rainy weekend — it won’t be — we put together our picks for the season: 7 Must-Read Books for Summer 2026 (https://movemetolbi.com/161/7-must-read-books-for-summer-2026/). These are the only new releases worth sand in our spines, earning a spot in our beach bag this summer.
The Dune Market · 414 N Bay Ave, Suite D, Beach Haven · Saturday 5/24, 10am–12pm
Climb Old Barney – Yes, in the Rain
Here’s something most people don’t realize: the lighthouse climb is entirely indoors. All 217 steps of it. So while everyone else is staring at the rain from their rental, you can be standing at the top of Barnegat Lighthouse watching the storm roll across the inlet. It’s one of the most dramatic views on the island, and it’s arguably better in bad weather — the clouds stacking over Island Beach State Park, the whitecaps crashing against the jetty, the whole scene looking like something out of a maritime painting.
The lighthouse is open daily starting Memorial Day Weekend, 9am to 3pm. Admission is just a few dollars. And if the stairs aren’t your thing, the Interpretive Center at the base has live camera feeds from the top, plus exhibits on the lighthouse’s history going back to 1859.
While you’re up in Barnegat Light, walk the Maritime Forest Trail — a short loop through one of the last remaining patches of maritime forest on LBI. A little rain makes it feel ancient.
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park · Broadway & the Bay, Barnegat Light
Catch a Show at Surflight Theatre
Surflight Theatre has been putting on shows in Beach Haven since 1950, making it one of the longest-running professional theaters on the Jersey Shore. This year they’re opening their 77th season — seventy-seventh — with A Grand Night for Singing, a Rodgers & Hammerstein revue that pulls from the full catalog. It’s the kind of thing that feels like it belongs on a rainy island night: intimate, old-school, and unapologetically theatrical.
Show times over Memorial Day Weekend include Friday 5/23 at 8pm, Saturday 5/24 at 2pm and 8pm, and additional performances running through early June. Grab tickets ASAP — this place has a loyal following and a 450-seat house that fills fast.
Surflight Theatre · 201 Engleside Ave, Beach Haven · surflight.org · (609) 492-9477
Wander the Museums
LBI has a handful of small museums that punch well above their weight, and a rainy afternoon is the perfect excuse to finally walk through the door.
The LBI Historical Museum at 129 Engleside Ave in Beach Haven is housed in a former church built in 1882. (Fun fact: I got married there — so I’m a little biased, but trust me on this one.) The exhibits trace the island’s arc from its earliest inhabitants through the Gilded Age resort era, shipwrecks, and the quirky summer culture that defines this place. This season, check out their new exhibit, Celebrating Summer Fun 1950–1980 — a look back at the LBI summers your parents and grandparents knew. There’s also a restored bayman’s cottage inside, scavenger hunts for the kids, and a gift shop worth browsing. Admission is $5.
Up in Barnegat Light, the Barnegat Light Museum is small but rich — a single room packed with artifacts and photographs that chronicle LBI’s past. Pair it with the lighthouse climb and you’ve got a full morning on the north end.
And in Beach Haven, the NJ Maritime Museum is a hidden gem for anyone who’s ever wondered about the shipwrecks off this coast. Detailed exhibits on dive recoveries, the resort industry, and the maritime heritage of the Jersey Shore. The volunteers are passionate and will talk your ear off in the best way.
See Art in Loveladies
The Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences sits on 22 acres in Loveladies, and it’s one of the most quietly special places on the island. Founded in 1948 by Boris Blai — a sculptor who studied under Rodin and went on to found the Tyler School of Art at Temple — the LBIF has been fostering creativity on this sandbar for nearly eight decades.
Over Memorial Day Weekend, the Works on Paper national juried exhibition will be on view in the gallery. This year’s juror is Joanna Sheers Seidenstein, a curator at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The gallery space itself is worth the trip — a mid-century modern building with vaulted ceilings and natural light, the kind of room that makes you slow down.
The LBIF also hosts art classes, yoga sessions, and community programs throughout the season. Check their calendar before you go — you might stumble into something unexpected.
LBIF · 120 Long Beach Blvd, Loveladies · lbifoundation.org
Drink Local
When the sky is gray and you’ve got nowhere to be, a brewery is exactly where you want to end up.
Ship Bottom Brewery in Beach Haven brews everything on-site and keeps a rotating tap list that ranges from classic IPAs to some genuinely creative experiments. Their indoor taproom is a solid rainy-day landing spot, and this Memorial Day Weekend they’ve got live music every day from Friday through Monday — so even if you can’t sit on the beach, you can still have the soundtrack. Keep an eye on their socials for the lineup.
If you’re willing to hop off the island, Manafirkin Brewing Company is just across the causeway with a dog-friendly taproom and a solid rotation of stouts and sours. Grab a pretzel platter from next door and settle in.
And if you’re more of a coffee person, grab a pour-over and park yourself somewhere cozy. LBI has more good coffee than it gets credit for — we ranked our favorites in Our Top 9 Coffee Spots on LBI for Summer 2026 (https://movemetolbi.com/103/our-top-9-coffee-spots-on-lbi-for-summer-2026/).
Shop the Rain Away
Beach Haven’s shopping district doesn’t shut down when it rains — it gets better. Bay Village and Schooner’s Wharf are connected by covered walkways, which means you can bounce between boutiques, gift shops, and candy stores without getting soaked.
Beyond Bay Village, the island is dotted with independent shops worth a slow browse: Surf City 5 & 10 has been a fixture since 1952, Island Gypsy has the kind of effortless beach style that makes you rethink your entire closet, and if you’ve got kids in tow, Sugar Kingdom’s 2,500 candy varieties will buy you at least an hour of peace.
Play Like a Kid
Rain on a family vacation doesn’t have to mean cabin fever. LBI’s arcades have been saving rainy days for decades.
Fantasy Island in Beach Haven has a massive indoor arcade alongside its amusement rides. Our Endless Summer in Ship Bottom is a classic — skee-ball, claw machines, and the satisfying chaos of ticket redemption. And if your crew is competitive, Escape LBI offers three themed escape rooms that’ll keep everyone too focused to notice the weather.
For the bowlers: Thunderbird Lanes is just off the island, it’s BYOB, and it’s the kind of low-key, high-fun activity that turns a washout into the best night of the trip.
Stay In and Slow Down
Or maybe the best rainy-day move is the simplest one: stay in. Pull out a board game, open a bottle of wine, and let the rain on the roof do the rest. If you need something to read, we’ve got you — our 7 Must-Read Books for Summer 2026 (https://movemetolbi.com/161/7-must-read-books-for-summer-2026/) list was made for exactly this kind of afternoon.
Sometimes the island is trying to tell you something. Slow down. You’re already here.
The Bigger Picture
There’s a version of Memorial Day Weekend that’s all about the beach — and when the sun’s out, that version is glorious. But there’s another version. The one where you slow down, duck into places you’ve driven past a hundred times, and discover that this island has layers you didn’t know about.
Rain doesn’t ruin a weekend on LBI. It just shows you a different island. A quieter one. A deeper one. The one the regulars know.
So if the forecast says rain this Memorial Day Weekend, don’t change your plans. Just change your expectations. You might find that the island you love has a whole other side — and it’s been waiting for a gray sky to introduce itself.
See you over the bridge.
Sources & Further Reading
The Dune Market: https://thedunemarket.com
Francesca Cocchi, Have a Great Summer (Kensington Books, May 2026): https://www.francescacocchi.com
SOBAR: 7 Must-Read Books for Summer 2026
SOBAR: Our Top 9 Coffee Spots on LBI for Summer 2026
Barnegat Lighthouse State Park
Surflight Theatre, 77th Season https://surflight.org
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences https://lbifoundation.org
LBI Historical Museum: 129 Engleside Ave, Beach Haven https://www.lbihistoricalmuseum.org/
NJ Maritime Museum, Beach Haven: 528 Dock Rd, Beach Haven https://njmaritimemuseum.org/
Ship Bottom Brewery: https://shipbottombrewery.com
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