Terrific Beaches Near New York City

You Don't Need a Car to Reach These NYC-area Beaches

These beach areas—-at Sandy Hook, Atlantic City, Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island, and Jones Beach—-make great day trips from New York City, without a car. I urge you to sample them!

1- Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook at the entrance to New York Harbor comprises the New Jersey portion of the Gateway National Recreation Area. The views on the ferry to Sandy Hook and from its beaches are outstanding.

Accessing Sandy Hook from New York City

Getting to Sandy Hook is half the fun.

The ferry to Sandy Hook brings you through the heart of New York Harbor and under the Verrazano Bridge, with great views of the Manhattan skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and more.

All summer long and sometimes extending through September, SeaStreak ferries depart from Pier 35 on the East River, south of the United Nations, and from Pier 11 in the Wall Street area. Board at the first stop, which may be either pier, in order to ensure a good seat.

SeaStreak lets you take a bike along at no extra charge. Relatively flat Sandy Hook provides a fine venue for them.

Sandy Hook beaches

The beaches at Sandy Hook were once collectively named "Best Beach" by New York Magazine, and I totally agree.

From the Sandy Hook dock, a bus, which is included in the ferry fare, transfers you to Gunnison, North, or South beaches. See this National Park Service map of Sandy Hook, which opens slowly in .pdf format. Gunnison and North beaches face the Atlantic with good surf, not the harbor. (South also does, but I haven't visited it.)

Many Seastreak passengers choose the southern, clothing-optional portion of Gunnison Beach. (The National Park Service posted signs delineating this area.) Gay men and lesbians tend to hang out south of the main clothing-optional zone.

Choose North Beach if want fewer people. Nevertheless, because both Gunnison and North beaches are far from the auto entrance to the park, you should never encounter crowds.

Some cautions when traveling to Sandy Hook

Be sure to bring along sunscreen, as SeaStreak leaves you on the beaches for hours. There is minimal shade.

You may also wish to bring food that does not spoil easily and drinks, because snack options are very limited and a bit of a trek from the shore. These beaches are wide!

Do not miss the last ferry back, as you will end up quite isolated from the city.

2- Atlantic City

I know what some of you are thinking. Atlantic City?

Well to me, Atlantic City provides a vibe like no other place. It is cheap and easy to reach from New York City, and has a nice beach, with the same surf found all along this coast.

True, the beach is narrower than other Jersey shore ones, probably because of encroachment by the boardwalk and casinos, yet for being in an urban setting, this very long beach stays reasonably clean and has less crowded sections away from the main casinos.

Because Atlantic City faces the open Atlantic, you will usually enjoy good surf, but can still walk out quite far in the water, as is typical of beaches in the region.

Perhaps best of all, if the weather turns bad or you get bored, there are always the boardwalk amusements and casinos!

The boardwalk

Although I have little interest in gambling, Atlantic City boardwalk culture fascinates me.

Unlike Las Vegas, which attracts a national and even world audience, Atlantic City brings in most of its visitors from Philadelphia (with direct trains), New York, and other cities in the region. It also seems to draw in many more families to its boardwalk than Vegas ever sees.

These factors open a window on the people who live in the area not available to the usual visitor to Manhattan.

This also makes for some very decent boardwalk food, which in my opinion starts south of the spruced up boardwalk across from the Taj Mahal casino. These repeat visitors year after year will not tolerate, for instance, the inferior pizza you find along many shores.

Reaching Atlantic City from New York City

Two of the most popular ways to access Atlantic City from New York City are Greyhound and New Jersey Transit buses.

Greyhound offers "Lucky Streak" casino packages.

With these, you pay some $35 online for the fare and upon arrival, if 21 or over, receive some $25 or more in cash or slot tokens back and possibly other perks depending on what’s on offer at each casino. (A somewhat lesser-known casino may have a better deal, and promotions may vary by time of year and day of week.) Currently, you'll find deals listed under "explore destinations" on the right side of the Lucky Streak home page.

Upon arrival, take the document Greyhound gives you to the casino’s “players” counter for your perks. You can change into swimwear in a casino washroom or use beach facilities.

Pick a departure time that takes under two and one-half hours. Also, choose a casino in the most popular portion of the Boardwalk, such as Bally’s, Caesars, or the Taj Mahal, which perhaps not surprisingly attracts many Americans of Indo descent to experience what hath The Donald wrought.

Greyhound departs from the Port Authority Bus Terminal on 8th Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets near all subway lines that stop in the Times Square area.

Your safety in Atlantic City

Essentially, the development of casinos along the boardwalk was an urban renewal project. Areas of Atlantic City remain economically stressed.

Stay with the crowds either near the beach or in the Borgata casino area.

Especially at night, do not venture more than a block or two inland from the boardwalk, unless by taxi to the Las Vegas-like Borgata, the most impressive casino and hotel in town, which offers fine entertainment.

3- Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island

Of all the places mentioned here, Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island remains the most natural, with only well-kept changing rooms, a not so fine snack bar in my opinion, and a few roads and parking lots disturbing nature near the beach. And even these structures are blocked out of view by the dunes that back the beach.

This Atlantic Ocean beach is incredible.

From where the shuttle drops you, the beach extends some three miles east within the park. As if that is not enough, you can continue along the same beach into adjacent Fire Island National Seashore for miles and miles more.

As with Sandy Hook, bring sunscreen—there is no shade—and food and drinks.

In addition, be sure to check the weather prior to traveling, as the very small-grained sand in the park blows easily in strong wind and can make you absolutely miserable. Otherwise, you will love the sand on this beach!

Reaching Robert Moses State Park from New York City

The Long Island Railway provides a special fare from Penn Station, Brooklyn, and Jamaica in Queens near JFK Airport that includes both train and transfer bus. Currently, transfers run twice as frequently on weekends.

No reservations are accepted. Allow plenty of time to buy tickets and to make your way through the maze of Penn Station, the busiest in the U.S.

4- Jones Beach State Park

In his great post about New York City beaches, Andrew Hickey featured Jones Beach on Long Island, not far from New York City, and I will add to that.

Brief history of Jones Beach

The sand for this incredibly popular beach park—by far the most crowded of any mentioned here other than perhaps the central portion of Atlantic City's beach—was actually hauled in.

For Jones Beach, Robert Moses, who set in motion so many public work projects in New York State (some excellent, some very ill advised), wanted to create a fine resort for the masses, an uplifting experience for the bulk of New York citizens who could not afford a fine cruise or a fancy resort.

Per New York City Public Television, park staff were dressed in nautical uniforms and trained to treat visitors with utter respect. Entertainment not of the usual tawdry boardwalk-type variety was brought in. We’re talking one classy beach here.

Beaches at Jones Beach

Happily, although the utter respect disappeared long ago, the fantastic beachfront and great evening entertainment remain.

At Jones Beach, you have a choice of facing the Atlantic with ocean-sized waves or much calmer water on an inlet suitable for small children. There are also swimming pools.

Crowds—and expect numbers of people far beyond what you may be used to—peak where the main road reaches the ocean and the transfer bus drops you, but you may find fewer people between the various parking lots further out.

Reaching Jones Beach from New York City

The Long Island Railway offers the same type of special fare, with bus transfer, as it does to Robert Moses State Park and other recreational spots on Long Island.

Note that in 2010 transfer buses do not operate late enough for you to enjoy evening entertainment.

Jones takes less time to access than Robert Moses, but all beaches mentioned here can be easily done in a day trip using public transportation.

Enjoy!