Lanoka Harbor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Lacey Township, Ocean County, New Jersey, on the south bank of Cedar Creek where the creek meets the western side of Barnegat Bay. With roughly 8,000 residents, it is one of the township's larger sections, alongside the neighboring community of Forked River, and it functions as a bayside residential and recreational area along U.S. Route 9. The community's identity is inseparable from the water. Cedar Creek empties into Barnegat Bay at its edge, and the Lanoka Harbor Marina, bulkheaded lagoons, and creek-side streets give much of the area a marine character. Boating, fishing, crabbing, and kayaking are central to daily life, and Cedar Creek Beach provides a local bathing spot within a residential neighborhood. The protected waters of the bay and the creek make the area especially suited to small-boat recreation. Lanoka Harbor also carries historical significance. Murray Grove, a Unitarian Universalist retreat site within the community, is traditionally considered the place where Universalism in America began, making it a landmark in the town's and the region's religious history. The area's modern development has unfolded around that older core, with established single-family neighborhoods, marinas, and small commercial clusters along Route 9. For residents, Lanoka Harbor offers a quieter, water-oriented alternative to the busier oceanfront towns of the northern Jersey Shore. The Lacey Township School District serves the community through its elementary, middle, and high schools, and the nearby Garden State Parkway provides convenient access to employment and recreation throughout Ocean County and beyond.