A popular East Coast beach town has enraged visitors with the 'extortionate' price of its seasonal beach pass this year.
The Borough of Deal in New Jersey has announced that a seasonal pass to access its beaches will cost $200.
The cost is more than double those charged by surrounding areas for summer beach passes, it has been reported.
Local authorities charge $70 in Asbury Park and $80 in Belmar for locals and visitors to access beaches during the summer months.
Last year Deal did not offer a seasonal pass, but required a daily fee of $10 to visit the beach Monday through Thursday and $12 at the weekends.
Officials have hiked those prices to $12 and $15 respectively for 2025.
The borough includes much-loved beaches such as Avon-by-the-Sea Public Beach.
Visitors love the long stretches of golden sand, local seafood available at a variety of restaurants and the accessibility from a range of East Coast cities such as New York City and Philadelphia.
The area's beaches officially open to visitors on Memorial Day, which falls on May 24 this year.
Most public beaches across the country are free to access, but in New Jersey they tend to incur a cost.
These fees go toward the coast of lifeguards to allow for safe sea swimming, and toward cleanliness and infrastructure projects.
The beaches also become extremely popular in the summer months and the fees help to manage visitor numbers.
Any leftover funds can also be a good source of revenue for local governments and beach authorities.
However, this year's cost has not gone down well with locals and visitors.
'NJ residents shouldn’t have to buy tags. No one really should have to. Without beachgoers, they have no economy,' one local resident lamented on Reddit.
'If you are paying taxes in New Jersey, you should not have to pay to use the beaches,' another agreed.
'Extortionate! 'This is out of hand,' another angry beachgoer added.
Last summer the nearby shore of Beachwood was forced to shut access to the sea after high levels of bacteria was found in the water.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's guidelines state that the water quality standard for bathing beaches is determined by the concentration of enterococci bacteria - a microbe common in the feces of humans and animals.
It can lead to illness including gastrointestinal conditions and it has been known to cause infections in the ears nose and throat, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
If the concentration exceeds 104 colonies per 100 milliliters in two consecutive samples, the beach must be closed.
