Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook is a long peninsula of nearly 10 km that juts into the entrance of New York Bay. It is part of Gateway National Recreation Area and presents an astonishing mix of beaches, nature and military history. The peninsula was for a long time a strategic point for ships entering New York Harbor, notably because its waters allowed vessels to follow a relatively deep channel close to the shore.

Its best-known landmark is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, first lit in 1764. It is the oldest lighthouse still in operation in the United States. Further along the peninsula lies Fort Hancock, a former military installation that defended the entrance to the Port of New York for nearly a century. More than a hundred buildings and fortifications survive today, giving the site a rather particular atmosphere, somewhere between seaside resort and former military post.

Sandy Hook has several ocean-facing beaches as well as quieter areas on the bay side. The peninsula is also popular for walking, cycling, birdwatching and the views over New York Harbor. The area is particularly interesting to explore outside the high season, when the beaches are quieter and seasonal restrictions are fewer.

For boaters, Sandy Hook mainly marks the entrance into a very different environment after navigating the Hudson and the Upper Bay: here you find the wide open space of the bay, the beaches and the ocean, while remaining on New York’s doorstep. And with its lighthouse, its old batteries and its military buildings scattered among the dunes, there is much more to discover than its appearance as a simple beach suggests.