Gateway National Recreation Area
Spanning 27,000 acres from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to Breezy Point in New York City, the park is both the gateway from the ocean into New York Harbor, and the gateway to the National Park Service for millions of visitors every year. Gateway offers green spaces and beaches alongside historic structures and cultural landscapes. Every day, Gateway is open for you to explore, envision, and enjoy!
About under an hour from New York and 2 hours from Philadelphia by car.
Alerts
- ClosureNPS ↗Jacob Riis Park Access Restrictions
Due to extremely hazardous conditions Gateway National Recreation Area has restricted access to sections of Jacob Riis Park. Erosion has created unsafe conditions from Bays 1-5, and portions of the eastern beach are closed.
- ClosureDead Horse Bay (Brooklyn) Remains Closed to the Public
The entire southern area of Dead Horse Bay, including Glass Bottle Beach, is closed to the public. Dead Horse Bay is located in Brooklyn, NYC.
- ClosureNPS ↗Spring Creek (Queens) Closed to the Public
Spring Creek is closed to the public at this time. The NPS is conducting field investigations as part of a Remedial Investigation at the site. Spring Creek is located in Queens, NYC.
- InformationRyan Visitor Center Phone Line Out of Service
The Floyd Bennett Field Ryan Visitor Center phone line (718-338-3799) is out of service. For information on ranger programs in the Jamaica Bay Unit, call the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center at 718-318-4340. For questions about permits, events, or other park information, call the general park information line at 718-354-4606.
- InformationNPS ↗Dogs Not allowed on ocean beaches in Jamaica Bay and Sandy Hook March 15- Sept. 15
Dogs are not allowed on ocean beaches at Sandy Hook between March 15 through September 15. Dogs are not allowed on the ocean beaches at Jacob Riis Park, Fort Tilden, Breezy Point Tip and at the bayside of Breezy Point between March 15 through September 15
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
There are no entrance fees for Gateway National Recreation Area. However, there is a charge for beach parking from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day at Jacob Riis Park in Queens, N.Y. and at Sandy Hook, N.J. America the Beautiful Access Pass and America the Beautiful Senior Passes holders receive a 50% discount.
Parking: There are no entrance fees for Gateway National Recreation Area. However, there is a charge for beach parking from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day at Jacob Riis Park in Queens, N.Y. and at Sandy Hook, N.J.
Hours
| Jamaica Bay Unit hours | Daily · 6:00AM - 9:00PM |
| Sandy Hook hours | Daily · 6:00AM - 9:00PM |
| Staten Island hours | Daily · 6:00AM - 9:00PM |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and February the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Sandy Hook Camp Ground | 21 sites | |
| $30 a night · Sandy Hook Campground is open from May 1 - September 27, 2026 Check-in time starts at noon. Check out is at 10 am. | ||
| Fort Wadsworth Campsite | 7 sites | |
| $30 a night · Fort Wadsworth is currently closed. · 7 reservable | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor CenterPassport stamp
The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is the gateway to this 900-acre preserve, home to salt marshes, uplands, open bay and beach areas, and two man-made ponds, all supporting hundreds of species of plant and wildlife.
- Ryan Visitor CenterPassport stamp
The Visitors Center, once New York City's first airport terminal, now houses a ranger desk, a bookstore, bathrooms, and many exhibits on the history of aviation, particularly here at Floyd Bennett Field, as well as exhibits about the ecosystems and flora and fauna of the New York Harbor area.
- Sandy Hook Visitors Center- Lighthouse Keepers QuartersPassport stamp
Discover information about the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the U.S. at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse Keepers Quarters
- Fort Wadsworth Visitor CenterPassport stamp
Learn about one of the oldest military installations in the nation on the northeastern shore of Staten Island.
Explore
Things to do
- Fishing at Gateway1-8 Hours
Visitors are able to fish at many sites throughout Gateway. A fishing/parking permit is required after hours throughout the park. There are also some sites that require permits at all time.
Opens on the Park Service site - Sandy Hook Multi Use Path1-2 Hours
See the breathtaking natural scenery and historic military buildings of Sandy Hook's peninsula by bike. Sandy Hook's multi use path is open year-round.
Opens on the Park Service site - Cross Country Skiing at Floyd Bennett Field2-4 Hours
After a snow fall visitors can cross country ski in Floyd Bennett Field's North Forty Natural Area. Park rangers will cut a trail through the snow for visitors to follow.
Opens on the Park Service site - Birdwatching at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge1-3 Hours
The Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is well known as a great place to bird watch, for both the beginner and experienced birdwatchers.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
Camera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
Events
- Sandy Hook History House10/1601:00 PM · runs through Oct 31 · freeSandy Hook History House, Building 1
- Sandy Hook Lighthouse Tours10/1601:00 PM · runs through Oct 31 · freeSandy Hook Lighthouse
- Fort Tilden Hawk Watch10/1602:30 PM · freeBattery Harris East, Fort Tilden
- Radio and the Homefront at Sandy Hook10/1605:30 PM · free · registration requiredSandy Hook History House, Building 1
- Fort Tompkins Tour10/1710:30 AM · runs through Oct 25 · free · registration requiredMeet at the Fort Wadsworth Visitor Center
- Spermaceti Cove No. 2 Life-Saving Service Station10/1710:00 AM · runs through Oct 31 · freeSpermaceti Cove No. 2 Life Saving Service Station
Show all 10Hide
- Hangar B Open House10/1710:00 AM · runs through Oct 24 · freeHangar B, Floyd Bennett Field
- Fort Hancock Museum10/1701:00 PM · runs through Oct 31 · freeBuilding 28, Sandy Hook
- Astronomy Night at Great Kills Park10/1707:30 PM · freeGreat Kills Park, Parking Lot A
- 08:00 AM · runs through Oct 18 · freeSandy Hook Lighthouse
News
- Opening Reception for Sandy Hook’s Artist in Residence Heather Heckel ↗2026-06-08
Middletown, N.J. –The public is invited to the opening reception of Heather Heckel’s exhibit: Ten Summers and 250 Years: Advocating for Our Public Lands through 30 Artists Residences, on June 14 at 1 p.m. at the Fort…
- Gateway National Recreation Area Open House ↗2026-04-21
The National Park Service (NPS) invites you to attend a public open house to learn more about a proposed White-tailed Deer Management Plan for the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
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Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for the Mid-Atlantic
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthBarred Owl 33× · Mute Swan 28× · Osprey 22× · Bald Eagle 9×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 361 birds, 36 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Black Vulture · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Mississippi Kite · Northern Harrier · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Snowy Owl · Swallow-tailed Kite · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Bittern · American Black Duck · American Coot · American Green-winged Teal · American Wigeon · Black Rail · Black-bellied Whistling-Duck · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Brown Pelican · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cattle Egret · Cinnamon Teal · Clapper Rail · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Eurasian Wigeon · Fulvous Whistling-Duck · Glossy Ibis · Great Blue Heron · Great Cormorant · Great Egret · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Harlequin Duck · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · King Rail · Least Bittern · Lesser Scaup · Little Blue Heron · Long-tailed Duck · Mute Swan · Northern Pintail · Pacific Loon · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Red-throated Loon · Reddish Egret · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Tufted Duck · Tundra Swan · Virginia Rail · White Pelican · White-faced Ibis · Wood Duck · Wood Stork · Yellow Rail · Yellow-crowned Night-Heron · clapper rail
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Golden-Plover · American Oystercatcher · American Woodcock · Arctic Tern · Baird's Sandpiper · Black Skimmer · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Black-headed Gull · Bonaparte's Gull · Buff-breasted Sandpiper · Caspian Tern · Common Tern · Curlew Sandpiper · Dunlin · Forster's Tern · Glaucous Gull · Great Black-backed Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Gull-billed Tern · Herring Gull · Hudsonian Godwit · Iceland Gull · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Least Sandpiper · Least Tern · Lesser Black-backed Gull · Lesser Yellowlegs · Little Gull · Long-billed Dowitcher · Magnificent Frigatebird · Marbled Godwit · Parasitic Jaeger · Pectoral Sandpiper · Piping Plover · Pomarine Jaeger · Purple Sandpiper · Red Phalarope · Red-necked Phalarope · Ring-billed Gull · Roseate Tern · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Sharp-tailed Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Sooty Shearwater · Sooty Tern · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Thick-billed Murre · Upland Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · White-rumped Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope · Wilson's Plover
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Ring-necked Pheasant · Rock Dove
WoodpeckersCommon Flicker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · Alder Flycatcher · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · Baltimore Oriole · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Belted Kingfisher · Belted Kingfisher · Black Guillemot · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Black-capped Chickadee · Black-legged Kittiwake · Black-necked Stilt · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Blue-winged Warbler · Boat-tailed Grackle · Bobolink · Brant · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Canada Warbler · Canvasback · Cape May Warbler · Cape May Warbler · Carolina Wren · Cave Swallow · Cedar Waxwing · Cerulean Warbler · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Cliff Swallow · Common Eider · Common Gallinule · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Redpoll · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Crows · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Wood Pewee · European Goldfinch · European Starling · Evening Grosbeak · Field Sparrow · Fish Crow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Goshawk · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Gyrfalcon · Henslow's Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Warbler · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Ipswich Sparrow · Kentucky Warbler · King Eider · Lapland Longspur · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Little Stint · Loggerhead Shrike · Louisiana Waterthrush · Magnolia Warbler · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Mangrove Warbler · Marsh Wren · Monk Parakeet · Mourning Warbler · Myrtle Warbler · Nashville Warbler · Northern Cardinal · Northern Gannett · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Shrike · Northern Waterthrush · Northern Waterthrush · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Ovenbird · Palm Warbler · Palm Warbler · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Grosbeak · Pine Siskin · Pine Warbler · Pine Warbler · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Gallinule · Purple Martin · Razorbill · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Grosbeak · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-necked Stint · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Redwing · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Ruff · Rusty Blackbird · Sage Thrasher · Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow · Savannah Sparrow · Scarlet Tanager · Seaside Sparrow · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted Redshank · Stints · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's Warbler · Tree Swallow · Tufted Titmouse · Veery · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Tanager · Whimbrel · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged Crossbill · White-winged Scoter · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-headed Blackbird · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · Yellow-throated Warbler
Small mammalsBlack-tailed Jackrabbit · Brown Rat · Cinereus shrew · Common Muskrat · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern gray squirrel · House Mouse · Meadow Vole · Northern short-tailed shrew · White-footed Deermouse
Marine mammalsBottlenose Dolphin · Common Minke Whale · Fin whale · Gray Seal · Harbor Seal · Harbor porpoise · Harp seal · Humpback whale · Long-finned Pilot Whale · Ringed seal · Sei whale · Sperm Whale
PredatorsRaccoon · Red Fox
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Eastern Red Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Myotis · Silver-haired Bat
Also on the checklistDomestic Cat · Domestic dog · Virginia Opossum · Wild cat · Woodchuck
Activities
Activity guides for this park Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks
Weather & climate
Gateway National Recreation Area includes several separate land areas spread throughout the New York metropolitan area. The New York area experiences four distinct seasons. Temperatures are moderate in the spring and fall, but range from the high 90's during the summer to snow and sleet in winter.
Questions people ask
Does Gateway charge an entrance fee?
No. Gateway is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Gateway?
Standard hours are 6:00AM - 9:00PM, every day.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Gateway?
Yes. The Park Service lists 2 campgrounds in Gateway: Sandy Hook Camp Ground and Fort Wadsworth Campsite. 2 take reservations through Recreation.gov.
Which Gateway campgrounds have showers, hookups, or a dump station?
Showers: Fort Wadsworth Campsite.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Gateway right now?
5 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Ryan Visitor Center Phone Line Out of Service; Jacob Riis Park Access Restrictions; and more.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Gateway?
7,696,939 recreation visits in 2025, number 6 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Gateway?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Gateway established?
1972. It covers about 42 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Gateway?
Gateway National Recreation Area includes several separate land areas spread throughout the New York metropolitan area. The New York area experiences four distinct seasons.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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