Boardwalk

This article is about walks made of boards. For entertainment venues along an oceanfront, see Boardwalk (entertainment district). For other uses, see Boardwalk (disambiguation).
Many people walking on a boardwalk at the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey
The Atlantic City, New Jersey boardwalk, as seen from Caesars Atlantic City, opened in 1870, as the first U.S. boardwalk. At 5+1⁄2 miles (9 km) long, it is also one of the world's longest, busiest, and oldest boardwalks. New Jersey is home to the world's highest concentration of boardwalks.

A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to better cross wet, muddy or marshy lands.[1] Such timber trackways have existed since at least Neolithic times.

In many seaside resort locations, boardwalks along the beach provide access to shops, hotels, and tourist attractions. The Jersey Shore in the United States is especially noted for its abundance of boardwalks.

Some wooden boardwalks have had sections replaced by concrete and even "a type of recycled plastic that looks like wood."[2]

  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary
  2. ^ Liz Robbins (February 19, 2012). "Wood May Give Way to Plastic on Coney Island Boardwalk". The New York Times.