Rockaway Peninsula
Traverse the city’s "Atlantic Shield," an exposed seven-mile barrier of surf culture, broad sand beaches, and the ruins of military defense batteries that absorbs the ocean’s energy to protect the interior harbor.
The Rockaways
In 1776 the Rockaway Peninsula was a sparsely settled chain of dunes and maritime farms, exposed on the ocean side and bordered by the tidal flats of Jamaica Bay on the other. After Washington's defeat at the Battle of Long Island in August of that year, the peninsula passed under British occupation along with the rest of Long Island, which was placed under martial law. The British established a local outpost on Hog Island — a mile-long barrier island a short distance off the Rockaway coast — and maintained a pragmatic working relationship with the local population, paying high prices for American goods to secure cooperation. The outer waters were less peaceful: British and American naval forces skirmished along the Atlantic coast and inside Jamaica Bay throughout the war.
At a Glance
- Route
- Beach 86th St boardwalk west through Jacob Riis Park, Fort Tilden, and Breezy Point; bay-side detours optional
- Distance
- Approximately 7–12 miles depending on detours and bay-side exploration
- Duration
- Half-day (boardwalk focus) to full day (Riis Park, Fort Tilden, bay overlooks)
- Difficulty
- Easy — flat, paved boardwalk and beach paths; unpaved sections at Fort Tilden
- Best Season
- Late spring through early fall for beaches and surf culture; fall for surfcasting and migratory birds
- Greenway
- Bicycle lanes run the full boardwalk length
The Rockaway Peninsula forms an 11-mile-long barrier that absorbs Atlantic storm energy before it reaches the protected marshes and interior harbor. This geography gives the Rockaways a dual identity: a premier recreational coastline and vital protective infrastructure. Walking here means traversing one of the city's most exposed and environmentally dynamic landscapes.
Giovanni da Verrazzano, exploring the shores of Long Island and New York Bay in 1524, noted a wampum station crowded with natives at present-day Rockaway. Henry Hudson passed Rockaway when he sailed into New York Harbor in 1609. In 1640 the Mohawk sold some of the land to the Dutch; in 1685 the Canarsee sold it to the English. Broad Channel, connected by Cross Bay Boulevard, this is the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay, featuring many homes built on wooden stilts. It was a Canarsee and Jameco Indian fishing village, later populated by homesteaders and fishermen when the railroad was built in 1879.
Rockaway Beach & Boardwalk
Rockaway Beach & Boardwalk
Rockaway is the country's largest urban beach and the only beach in New York City where surfing is legal. The public beach area stretches from Beach 9th Street to Beach 149th Street — a 5.5-mile boardwalk intersects with the commercial center. Striped bass surfcasting during migration seasons in autumn. Whaleamena, at Beach 95, is a 13-foot-high, 19-foot-long stucco whale that marks the main entrance; it was relocated from the Central Park Children's Zoo. Surfing zones are located at Beach 66 to Beach 70 Street, Beach 87 to Beach 92 Street, and Beach 110 to Beach 111 Street; Beach 90 is the most popular. Over two decades, surf culture has reshaped the peninsula, bringing cafés, taco stands, surf schools, and board shops that give it an atmosphere unlike anywhere else in the city.
Jamaica Bay Preserves
Jamaica Bay, formed by the Rockaway Peninsula, covers 22.5 square miles, opens to the west on Lower New York Bay through Rockaway Inlet at Breezy Point.
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
This 155-acre preserve within Gateway National Recreation Area is a critical stop for more than 300 bird species. Open year-round, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Christmas and New Year's Day.
718-318-4340
A 15-acre wildlife preserve with a half-mile paved perimeter walkway leading to a sand beach with commanding views and to tennis courts once home to tennis star Vitas Gerulaitis.
Idlewild Park Preserve
346 acres on the northwest border of JFK Airport, offering pristine wetland of sandy grasslands, dunes, and freshwater tributaries of Hook Creek, with a designated Forever Wild area including a kayak/canoe launch and Hook Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.
Brant Point & Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuaries
Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary occupies a quiet bayfront section near Edgemere. Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary — named for environmentalist René Dubos — preserves tidal marsh and shoreline habitat.
Vernam Barbadoes Preserve & Bayswater Point State Park
The Vernam Barbadoes Preserve contains restored dune and grassland habitat. At the eastern edge of the peninsula, Bayswater Point State Park preserves one of the quietest waterfront landscapes in Queens.
Jacob Riis Park & Fort Tilden
Jacob Riis Park
Named for the social reformer, the park features an enormous 1930s bathhouse complex built in Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco styles. The park developed during the Progressive Era as part of a broader effort to provide public bathing and recreation for working-class New Yorkers. The surrounding parking lots and roads reflect Robert Moses-era beach planning designed for automobile access on a massive scale.
Riis Landing (Gateway NRA)
A former Coast Guard facility on the south side of Rockaway Inlet comprises a boat basin, ferry dock, and parking lot that is used for fishing, ecology cruises, and seasonal ferry operations.
Fort Tilden
Originally a coastal defense site established in 1917, the area is now a "partially abandoned" landscape where concrete bunkers and Nike missile silos emerge from the dunes. The Battery Harris East platform offers one of the city's finest outer harbor overlooks. Portions of the dunes are protected nesting zones for piping plovers and other shorebirds during warmer months.
Breezy Point Lighthouse
Beach 210th StA camouflaged World War II military relic, built by the U.S. Army in 1943 to spot enemy vessels and direct the coastal guns at Fort Tilden, but deliberately disguised with a decorative wooden top to trick German U-boats into misidentifying it as a harmless civilian beacon.
Getting Here
| Stop / Location | Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Beach 90 St–Rockaway Beach (A train)* * | Subway | Main entry point to the boardwalk; year-round service |
| Far Rockaway–Mott Ave (A train)* * | Subway | Eastern end of the peninsula |
| Broad Channel (A train)* * | Subway | Access to Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge |
| Howard Beach (A train)* * | Subway | Connection to Cross Bay Blvd and Jamaica Bay shoreline |
| Rockaway Ferry | Ferry | Seasonal service from lower Manhattan and Brooklyn; check ferry schedule at ferry.nyc |
| Beach 108th St area | Walk | Rockaway Hotel and midpeninsula commercial corridor |
| Jacob Riis Park | Drive/Bike | Q35 bus from Flatbush Av–Brooklyn College or drive via Marine Pkwy Bridge |
| Fort Tilden & Breezy Point | Walk/Bike | Continue west from Jacob Riis Park on foot or bicycle |
Community Logs
Photos, ratings, and quick tips from people who've made the trip.
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