Highlands is a borough in northern Monmouth County, New Jersey, on the shore of Raritan Bay at the base of the Navesink Highlands. It is a historic waterfront community with a population of roughly 4,500, and it functions as a commuter town within the New York metropolitan area. The borough's location — where the bay opens toward Sandy Hook and the Atlantic — has defined its identity as a maritime and fishing community since its earliest days, and its hillside streets rise from the waterfront toward the Navesink Twin Lights, the paired brownstone lighthouses that have guided ships into New York Harbor since the nineteenth century and now stand as a National Historic Landmark. Highlands sits at the doorstep of Gateway National Recreation Area. Just to the north, Sandy Hook — the park's New Jersey unit — preserves roughly 1,665 acres of barrier beach, including miles of ocean shoreline, bayside coves, and the decommissioned Fort Hancock military reservation. That national parkland gives Highlands residents and visitors direct access to beaches, trails, and waterfront recreation that would otherwise be scarce in the densely developed New York region. The borough's economy and culture have long turned on the water. Commercial and recreational fishing, marinas, and seafood restaurants line the bay, and the community retains a working-waterfront character alongside its residential hillsides. Students in seventh through twelfth grade attend Henry Hudson Regional School, located in the borough and shared with neighboring Atlantic Highlands. For commuters, Highlands offers a ferry-connected, highway-linked route toward New York City, about an hour away. The result is a small, scenic Monmouth County borough that pairs maritime heritage and national parkland with genuine access to the region's job centers. It is a place defined by the bay, the lighthouses, and the beach at its edge.