With a history rich in pirate lore, Brigantine may be the perfect place to stay while trying your luck at the casinos. If things don’t work out at the roulette table, you can always try searching for a treasure chest on the beach.

Both Blackbeard and Captain Kidd are said to have buried treasure on the island. Nothing has ever been found, but it’s a romantic notion nonetheless. And if digging for an elusive cache isn’t your idea of a good time, Brigantine has a lot of other entertainment options.

You can head to the 42nd Street Recreation Complex for its eight tennis courts, skateboard park, hockey rinks, basketball, and bocce courts. Or play a few rounds of golf at the Brigantine Golf Course, Roosevelt Boulevard & East Shore Drive, a par-72 links course.

Brigantine has 6 miles of beaches for sunning, surfing and fishing. It’s also one of the few Jersey Shore towns that allows four-wheel drive vehicles to drive on certain beaches. The season permit is $100, but if the idea of driving onto a beach with all your gear appeals to you, it might be worth it.

One of Brigantine’s more unusual attractions is the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, 3625 Brigantine Boulevard. The center treats and rehabilitates dolphins, seals and other marine mammals that are rescued along the New Jersey coastline. Visitors are welcome daily 11 to 5. There are no resident animals, so if there are no “patients,” you won’t see any live animals. However, in the adjacent marine museum, you can view life-size fiberglass models of the mammals, sharks and fish that live in the waters off of New Jersey.

Brigantine is accessible only by a bridge from Atlantic City’s marina district. It's a great place to bury treasure or just escape from the mayhem of the neighboring “America’s Favorite Playground.”