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We’re not sure what it is about the Jersey Shore, but it has some of the best mini-golfing in the whole state of New Jersey. There truly are some awesome mini golf courses down the shore, so much so that it’s sometimes hard to pick. We’ve put together a list of popular + fun mini-golf courses with unique appeals, such as accessibility via public transport, food options nearby, and challenge level. Read on to find where to go mini-golfing for your next trip down the shore.

(Photo Credits: @northbeachminigolf)

(Photo Credits: @asburyparkamusements)

This spot, which features a beautiful ocean view, has a mini-golf course and a splash park. The location is unbeatable. It is directly on the Asbury Park Boardwalk and is only minutes away from many popular Asbury Park establishments. The storied Silverball Retro Arcade is right next door, and nationally acclaimed pizza restaurant Porta Asbury Park is a block away. Plus, it’s only a 20-minute walk from Asbury Park Station. This course is a little more on the simpler side with more straight-forward holes, so it’s a great spot to bringer younger children.

(Photo Credits: @bluegrass_golf)

This course is famous for being challenging but has also attracted large numbers of enthusiasts for the same reason. The ProMiniGolf Association has actually played its national championship here twice in the past ten years. There are two 18-hole courses, both landscaped with fountains, ponds, and streams. It is inside the Monmouth Park racetrack and is close to a popular Italian restaurant called Blu Grotto. A bonus point is that it is right next to the Monmouth Park train station.

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(Photo credits: Castaway Cove Mini Golf)

There are two fun and unique courses here in Point Pleasant. One, which is called the Shipwreck Bay course, takes you putting through caves and by scenic waterfalls. The other, known as the Crow’s Nest, is on top of the cove and has amazing views from above — showing off lots of greenery. The course is moderately challenging (some call it easier than others), and it’s a great spot for some family-friendly fun. Plus, it’s right next to Jenkinson’s Aquarium, and Martell’s Tiki Bar is just across the street (for some more adult fun).

(Photo Credits: @Minigolfduffers)

The 18-hole course is well-maintained and has plenty of challenging (and fun) obstacles. Its brightly-colored decorations, like castles and pirate ships, are sure to make everyone of all ages smile. But what makes the place stand out is the attached ice cream parlor. There are more than thirty flavor options (including dairy-free ones), as well as very generously portioned sundaes, banana splits, waffles, and ice cream sodas.

This LBI mini-golf course is absolutely beloved by LBI-frequenters — and it’s one of the most creative courses around. With elaborate obstacles that require both luck, timing, and skill — and the super fun golf ball designs — this is sure to be a great time for everyone. Plus, the final hole is a pinball-like machine that gives you the chance to win coupons or trophies. Flamingo even holds tournaments weekly over the summer for those looking to tap into their competitive golfer side. Flamingo is conveniently located in Shop Bottom near a ton of restaurants and shops. Woodie’s Drive-In is just steps away to grab a burger or milkshake while you count up your score. Team HG also once spotted Jon Stewart mini-golfing here.

(Photo Credits: @jenslinks)

Located on Long Beach Island, the venue overlooks Barnegat Bay. It is right next to Barnegat Lighthouse State Park and minutes away from many of the area’s beaches. There are two eighteen-hole courses. The High Tide Course features waterfalls and cliffs, and the Low Tide Course has caves and caverns. Both are adequately challenging. There are plenty of cafes, bars, and ice cream shops around — plus, Viking Village is right nearby, which is a must-visit outdoor shopping area.

(Photo Credits: @oceancityminigolf)

This mini-golf course is covered, so it is no problem to play on rainy days or scorchingly hot summer afternoons. The decorations are of a medieval fantasy theme, and some holes are played in black-lit rooms enhanced by laser and sound. Visitors can also purchase novelty balls, which are printed with cartoon characters (such as Pokemon). The course is on the Ocean City Boardwalk and is steps away from the public beach.

(Photo Credits: @northbeachminigolf)

The two-level, 18-hole venue is probably the newest mini-golf course in the shore area, having opened just this year. It is connected to the boardwalk and is within walking distance to many local amenities and attractions (the Absecon Lighthouse is a block away, for example). The course features a bootlegging theme as well as various sailing elements, and offers a pleasant view of the Atlantic City skyline. Bike rentals are also available. Though this course is a little more on the simpler side, the pretty hanging lights and the little pond make for a scenic and fun time.

See More: A Guide to the Best NJ Boardwalks

(Photo Credits: @bradleybeachminigolf)

The 18-hole course is known for being clean and well-maintained. It may not be the most challenging course out there, but nevertheless has no lack of fun obstacles including windmills, water hazards, and sand traps. Families and big groups would have no problem finding enough space to play. Located on the boardwalk, it is 15 minute walk from the Bradley Beach train station and is close to the amenities in the Bradley Beach and Asbury Park area.

(Photo Credits: @smugglersquayadventuregolf)

The 36-hole multilevel course features a pirate theme and is full of fun obstacles such as shipwrecks, waterfalls, and caves. Rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy, it is relatively new and well maintained. It is part of the Casino Pier & Breakwater Beach amusement park, and visitors can access all other amenities inside, including an arcade and a water park. A plus is that the original Kohr’s Frozen Custard is right next to it and is great for dessert at all times of the day.

(Photo Credits: @capemayminigolf)

Located on the grounds of a popular local hotel, the ocean-view course has attracted players since 1938. The course features sand, waterfalls, ponds, and brooks, and is covered by over 150 species of flowers and trees. The inn is right off the Cape May beach, and is steps away from Cape May’s Victorian historic downtown. The staff members are a great resource for recommendations for local attractions and activities.

(Photo credits: Surf City Island Golf)

LBI sure has its fair share of awesome mini-golfing, and we couldn’t skip Island Golf. You can recognize Island Golf by the giant elephant with its trunk raised out front. Island Golf also runs weekly tournaments on Wednesdays with chances to win prizes. With treasure chests, pirate ships, gorillas, spiders, and more, this course is equal parts challenging, fun, and unique. There’s even a chance to win a free game if you get your ball into the treasure chest on the last hole. There’s a ton to do in Surf City as well, so this is an awesome location. The 5 and 10 is right nearby, as is Surf City Scoop for some ice cream.

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Mandatory evacuation issued for flood-prone areas.

Patch Staff

|Updated Sun, Oct 28, 2012 at 5:32 pm ET

Oceanport officials declared a state of emergency for the borough on Sunday afternoon.

A mandatory evacuation has been issued for residents on the following streets prior to the high tide at 10 p.m. Sunday through Monday:

ADRIAN AVE Y; ALGONQUIN AVE P-West of Port-au-Peck Ave; ALLENHURST AVE Y; ARNOLD AVE Y; ASBURY AVE Y; AUSABLE AVE Y; AVON AVE Y; BAYVIEV PI Y; BELMAR AVE P-Milton to Myrtle; BLACKBERRY BAY DR Y; BRADLEY AVE Y; BRANHCHPORT AVE P-South of Doreen Drive; BRIDGEWATERS DR Y; BUNGALOW PL ;Y BLUE POINT COVE Y; CAYUGA AVE Y; COMANCHE DR P-North of Monmouth Blvd; COMANCHE DR P-Between Monmouth Blvd and Sagamore Ave; COMANCHE DR P-Between Shrewsbury and Fiore; DEAL AV E Y; DOREEN DR Y; DRIVEWAY Y; ELINORE CT Y; EAST MAIN ST Y; FIORE CT Y; GENESSE AVE Y; GOLD ST Y; GOOSENECK POINT RD Y; HERBERT PL Y; HIAWATHA AVE P-West of Port-au-Peck Ave; HORICON AVE Y; HORSENECK POINT RD Y; IROQUOIS AVE P-West of Port-au-Peck Ave; ITASKA PL Y; ITHACA AV Y; LAKE DR Y; LEEWARD CT Y; LONG BRANCH AVE Y; MAIN ST P-West of Oceanport Ave to Firehouse; E .MAIN ST Y; MANITTO PL Y; MAPLE PL Y; MILTON AVE P-From Spring Lake Ave. North; MOHAWK AVE Y; MOHICAN AVE Y; MONMOUTH BLVD P-West of Port-au-Peck Ave; MONMOUTH BLVD P-East of Comanche Dr; MYRTLE AVE P-North of Belmar Ave; NICHOLSON PL Y; ONEIDA AVE Y; ONONDAGA AVE Y; ORCHARD DR Y; PARK ST Y; PEMBERTON AVE P-Between Oceanport and East Main Street; POCAHONTAS AVE P-Mid-block west to Port-au-Peck; POCANO AVE Y; PORT-AU-PECK AVE P-North of Hiawatha; RELWOLF AVE Y; RIDDLE PL Y; RIVER PL Y; RIVER ST Y; RIVERSIDE AVE Y; RIVERVIEW RD Y; ROSSITER PL Y; RIVERBEND Y; SAGAMORE AVE P-From Shrewsbury to Mid-block; SEA GIRT AVE P-From Belmar North; SEAWANEKA AVE Y; SENECA PL Y; SERAND AVE Y; SHAPEN WAY Y; SHORE RD Y; SHREWSBURY AVE Y-From Colonial North; SMITH ST Y; SUMMERFIELD AVE P-South side of street; TECUMSEH AVE P-Nearest Shrewsbury Ave; TICONDEROGA AVE Y; WARDELL CI P-Southern Half; WERAH PL P-West of Itaska; WINDWARD CT Y; WINHAR PL P-South of Manitto; WOODSIDE PL Y; WYANDOTTE AV P-Both Ends of street;

Monday's high tides will occur at 10:19 a.m. and 10:40 p.m. Evacuation for Tuesday "will be determined in the next day or so, depending on the storm's position," acccording to a message issued by Oceanport OEM Coordinator Mauro V. Baldanza.

Travel should be limited to emergency personnel only, the message urged.

Find out what's happening in Little Silver-Oceanportwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Once the storm has arrived, first responders will be pulled off the road to await the storms passing," according to Baldanza. "They will not be sent out for rescue operations during that time. Those individuals who have not evacuated must remain in place and await rescue at a later time."

In: apartments, townhouses and condos. Out: McMansions.

Multifamily homes in New Jersey are making up the biggest percentage of new construction on a record that dates to 1960. And some observers think it signifies a major shift away from the sprawl that consumed open space to high-density living, where people can get around without a car.

Driving it is the giant millennial generation in their 20s and 30s, experts say, who are burdened with student debt and haven't bought into the long-standing American ideal of owning a home that has a lawn, garage and good school system. As a result, prices of single-family homes that once were viewed as the symbol of success could flatten.

For baby boomers now reaching retirement age, "our desire was to own a big house in the suburbs, a big backyard," said Peter Reinhart, director of the Kislak Real Estate Institute at Monmouth University in West Long Branch. "I don't think that's the major interest of most of the younger generation."

Four-year trend

New Jersey's residential construction industry is crawling back after the devastating recession saw the number of annual permits fall to a 50-year low. But the recovery looks different than in previous examples. For the first 10 months of 2014, a little more than 60 percent of approved permits in New Jersey were for multifamily homes, beating the previous record in 1964, according to statistics compiled by Patrick J. O'Keefe director of economic research for the CohnReznick accounting firm.

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It marks the fourth consecutive year multifamily permits have been the majority of construction, O'Keefe found.

There is no shortage of examples at the Shore: BNE Real Estate Group is building The Waverly, a collection of 272 apartments between Route 66 and Jumping Brook Road in Neptune, and Hovsons Inc. has proposed building 312 apartments nearby on Route 33 and Hovchild Boulevard; The Oceanport Village Center at Port Au Peck Avenue and East Main Street, with ground-floor retail and 36 second- and third-floor apartments; the West Side Lofts on Bridge Avenue in Red Bank, a five-story building with apartments and townhouses; and Pier Village in Long Branch, where its new owners, Kushner Cos. and Extell Development Co., plan to complete the third and final phase of the oceanfront project.

It will include condominiums, retail space and a boutique hotel, the developers said last month.

The rise in multifamily development is a response to millennials, a generation that was raised in the digital age and now is ready to strike out on its own. But for many, a home isn't an option. The economy, particularly in New Jersey, is recovering slowly from the recession. Wages have been stagnant. And consumers during the third quarter had $1.13 trillion in student loan debt, $99 billion more than a year ago, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Millennials aren't deluded

Meanwhile, they watched in 2008 as the housing bubble collapsed, foreclosures rose and credit was ruined. "They're not deluded into thinking that housing prices can only go up," O'Keefe said.

Millennials said they wouldn't shy away from owning a home, but they sound less interested in the status that comes from owning a giant home that might be featured on, for example, MTV's "Cribs."

Felicity Baker and Britni Pirog go to Brookdale Community College in Middletown, where they study nursing. Growing up in Neptune City, Baker, 19, said she came to appreciate being able to simply walk from her home around the corner to the pizza place, where she met with her friends.

Pirog, 20, of Wall, agreed.

"I don't picture myself in a mansion," Pirog said. "I picture an eco-friendly home. I picture a more comfortable-sized home."

If the trend sticks, it would mark quite a turnaround for New Jersey, long noted – and often ridiculed – for its suburbs, malls and traffic. What exit do you live on became a calling card, and for good reason. The state's development in the 1980s, '90s and 2000s slowly shifted from high-density dwellings served by mass transit to sprawl, where home owners needed a car, said John Hasse, chairman of the department of geography and environment at Rowan University in Glassboro.

What's the definition of sprawl? Hasse looks at it this way: If you have to get in your car and drive your children to go trick-or-treating, your development is considered sprawl.

"I see that with students who are interested in moving to Philadelphia and funky old towns," he said. "I really see a change in perception and attitude and culture that's related to this bigger question: How do we live? What do we consider a community?"

Dangers for McMansions

It bodes poorly for the McMansion market. Baby boomers who owned those homes and have become empty-nesters might need to lower their prices to find a buyer. But not everyone agrees the trend is here to stay.

"Bigger, better, more is still a fundamental theme of human nature," said Kira Sterling, chief marketing officer for Toll Brothers, a Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company that specializes in luxury homes. "You can't conclude based on an average of what's offered that smaller is in and bigger is out. It's not consistent with what we're seeing."

Still, Toll Brothers is ramping up its apartment division to give the company more product diversity, Sterling said.

Reinhart at Monmouth University also was skeptical that the surge in multifamily development will last. Rising rent might convince some consumers it is wiser to own. And millennials will get older, have families and, perhaps, search for more room to move, much like generations before them.

"The demographics will shift back to homeownership demand," Reinhart said. "But it's going to take a while."

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@app.com

MORE MULTIFAMILY HOMES

Below is a list showing the total numbers of residential building permits issued annually in New Jersey and the percentage of those that were dedicated to multifamily units, such as apartments, townhouses and condominiums.

2000

Permits: 34,585

Multifamily: 27 percent

2001

Permits: 28,267

Multifamily: 23.9 percent

2002

Permits: 30,441

Multifamily: 26.5 percent

2003

Permits: 32,984

Multifamily: 32.8 percent

2004

Permits: 35,936

Multifamily: 37.6 percent

2005

Permits: 38,588

Multifamily: 42.3 percent

2006

Permits: 34,323

Multifamily: 50.1 percent

2007

Permits: 25,389

Multifamily: 48.5 percent

2008

Permits: 18,363

Multifamily: 50.1 percent

2009

Permits: 12,421

Multifamily: 42 percent

2010

Permits: 13,535

Multifamily: 45.5 percent

2011

Permits: 12,952

Multifamily: 50 percent

2012

Permits: 17,939

Multifamily: 59.4 percent

2013

Permits: 24,209

Multifamily: 57.1 percent

2014*

Permits: 23,738

Multifamily: 60.7 percent

*January-October

Source: Patrick J. O'Keefe, CohnReznick.