Plan Your Visit
Sandy Hook hours and activities change seasonally.
Contact the National Park Service Sandy Hook Visitor Center at 732-872-5970 or visit nps.gov/gate for the latest information.
Year-Round Activities
Visitor Center
Start your visit to Sandy Hook at the Visitor Center, located inside the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters. Ask rangers about the park, and learn which activities are currently available. Stop here for maps and brochures, restrooms, and the gift shop. The Foundation restored this building in 2006.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse tours are on a first-come, first-served. Be sure to call the Visitor Center before planning your visit to check open hours of operation. Children must be 48 inches tall to climb the tower. Tour sign-ups start at 12 PM in the Keepers’ Quarters. You can also explore exhibits on the significance of lighthouses — invaluable, but often-lonely sentinels of the sea. A video lighthouse tour is often available in the small barn behind the Keepers’ Quarters.
History House
Step back in time to the 1940s, the busiest time in Fort Hancock’s history. Learn about life on the home front during World War II with a visit to this U.S. Army lieutenant’s quarters on Officers Row, overlooking Sandy Hook Bay. Check nps.gov/gate for special events and seasonal celebrations.
Battery Gunnison
The Army Ground Forces Association (AGFA) is a volunteer group that conducts living history demonstrations and historic preservation work at Battery Gunnison. Visitors are invited to stop by during AGFA workdays to learn more about the battery, the soldiers who manned it, and AGFA’s ongoing historic preservation efforts.
Muti-Use Path
The Multi-Use Path (MUP) is a seven mile paved trail that starts at the park entrance (Lot B) and loops through Fort Hancock. It is shared by runners, bicyclists, hikers, and in-line skaters. Along the trail you will find bike repair stations and exercise equipment funded by The Foundation.
Hiking
Hikers can enjoy the Old Dune Trail that begins at the Spermaceti Cove Life Saving Station (known locally as the old Visitor Center, located between Lots D and E) and ends north of Beach E. The South Beach Dune Trail that winds to the north end of the park begins at Lot F, and eventually crosses Atlantic Drive, ending in Lot L. Click here to download the Sandy Hook hiking map.
Birding
Sandy Hook welcomes over 325 species of birds throughout the year as many migrate along the Atlantic Flyway. Some species are endangered or threatened, such as the piping plover, least tern, and black skimmer. Popular birding spots include the Battery Peck Observation Deck, North Pond, Horseshoe Cove, and along the Multi-Use Path (MUP).
Self-Guided Fort Tour
Explore Fort Hancock on your own! The National Park Service has created a 39-stop self-guided waking tour of the historic post area of the fort. Click here to download the map and begin exploring.
Beach
A seven-mile of barrier beach spit, Sandy Hook’s pristine, undeveloped shorelines provide an opportunity to explore and enjoy a natural beach habitat for shorebirds and unique plant life. Visitors can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, fishing, surfing, and other traditional beach activities with unmatched views of New York City’s skyline.
Interpretive Programs
The National Park Service at Sandy Hook offers a variety of guided programs led by rangers, volunteers, and park partner organizations. Programs are offered year-round. Visit nps.gov/gate for seasonal calendars and special events.
Eat
Refreshments including soups, sandwiches, and ice cream are available from McFly’s On the Hook, located at Building 53. Additionally, food trucks are located at select beach plazas during the summer months.
Stay
Since 2016, Sandy Hook Rentals has provided opportunities to vacation in an historic home on Officers Row. Stay in this unique setting, surrounded by miles of sandy beach, nature trails, and the history of Fort Hancock at your doorstep.
Summer Seasonal Activities
Fort Hancock Museum
From the Revolutionary War to the Cold War, Sandy Hook boasts a rich military history. Stop by the museum to learn more about Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground— from coast artillery guns to Nike nuclear missiles, and hear stories about soldiers who served there.
Battery Potter
Tour and explore the first concrete disappearing gun battery ever built in the United States. Completed in 1895, Battery Potter’s experimental design proved revolutionary in the future development of coast defense fortifications.
Mortar Battery
Join a ranger-guided tour of the Mortar Battery to learn about the first Endicott era concrete gun battery built on Sandy Hook, as well as the World War II Harbor Defense Command Post that later occupied this “bombproof” fortification.
Nike Missile Radar Site
Visit the Nike Integrated Fire Control (IFC) Area for a firsthand look at the final chapter of Fort Hancock’s long coast defense history. Cold War veterans lead guided tours of this formerly secret Nike missile site. For more information, visit the Fort Hancock Nike Site NY-56 Volunteers Association.
Canoe Tours
Enjoy a morning paddle and explore Sandy Hook Bay from an ideal vantage point— the water itself. Rangers guide you on a two and a half hour tour of bayside Sandy Hook, with a stop at Skeleton Hill Island. Visit recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777 to make your reservations. Nominal fee to participate.
Camping
20 tent campsites are available to visitors in the Horseshoe Cove area of Sandy Hook during the summer months. Visit recreation.gov or call 877-444-6777 to make your reservations.