Sandy Hook

Coordinates: 40°27′10″N 73°59′43″W / 40.452891°N 73.995237°W / 40.452891; -73.995237

Sandy Hook, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area

Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township,^[1][2][3] Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) in length and varying from 0.1 to 1.0 mile (0.16 to 1.61 km) wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City, protecting it from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The Dutch called the area "Sant Hoek", with the English "Hook" deriving from the Dutch "Hoek" (corner, angle), meaning "spit of land".^[4] Most of Sandy Hook is currently owned and managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area.

Description

Sandy Hook as seen from the top of Navesink Twin Lights, Highlands, New Jersey

Sandy Hook seen from an airplane (looking west) on its approach to JFK

Geologically, Sandy Hook is a large sand spit or barrier spit, the extension of a barrier peninsula along the coast of New Jersey, separated from the mainland by the estuary of the Shrewsbury River. On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay, a triangular arm of Raritan Bay. The 1,665-acre (6.74 km²) peninsula was discovered by Henry Hudson,^[5] and, historically, Sandy Hook has been a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into Upper New York Harbor.

Sandy Hook is part of Middletown Township, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township. Because the peninsula is a federal reservation, this technicality is essentially moot. The community of Highlands overlooks the southern part of the hook.

Sandy Hook Light Lightship #51 at Sandy Hook as it appeared in the 1890s. Sandy Hook artillery

Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government. Most of it is managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The eastern shoreline consists of public beaches: North Beach, Gunnison Beach, and South Beach. The southern part of the spit consists of public beaches, fishing areas, and the SeaGull's Nest, a seafood restaurant operated by a concessionaire. The peninsula's ocean-facing beaches are considered among the finest in New Jersey and are a popular destination for recreation in summer when seasonal ferries^[6] bring beachgoers. Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast.^[7][8]

There is a vocational school that was located at the tip of Sandy Hook called M.A.S.T. or The Marine Academy of Science and Technology. The school was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and rebuilt the subsequent year.

The defunct U.S. Army post Fort Hancock at the north end of the peninsula is open to the public. The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was used by for many years—beginning after the Civil War until 1919, when the facility was moved to Aberdeen, Maryland—and was later the site of a Nike missile defense installation. The Sandy Hook Nike station is one of a very few stations that are still intact. Almost all of the fort's gun batteries are off limits to the public due to their hazardous condition. The exceptions to this are Battery Potter and Battery Gunnison. Battery Potter is open frequently for tours on the weekends, as well as Battery Gunnison which is being restored by volunteers and has two M-1900 six-inch (152 mm) cannon installed; the weapons were placed there in 1976. Guided tours show visitors a Nike missile, the missile firing platforms, and a radar station with 1960s-era computers.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse is located within the fort grounds, as is the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST), a magnet high school, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District. At the entrance to Fort Hancock is Guardian Park, a plaza dominated by two Nike missiles. Some of the buildings of Fort Hancock are off-limits because their structural integrity is dubious. A controversial proposal was recently accepted to allow adaptive reuse of some of the buildings in Fort Hancock for private profit, but the developer was unable to obtain financing.

North of Fort Hancock on the western part of the "hook" is an active station of the United States Coast Guard. This is one of the original Life Saving Stations built in 1848 at a site "on bay side, one-half mile south of point of Hook." The site was changed several times through the years due to a change in land or at the request of the War Department, which owned the land.^[9] This area is administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is off-limits to the general public.

Tourism and recreation

Among the many beaches on Sandy Hook, Gunnison Beach is clothing optional.

Abandoned gun platforms of the Sandy Hook Proving Ground

Part of a mortar battery installation near Sandy Hook Light

The beaches along the Atlantic shore of Sandy Hook—North Beach, Gunnison Beach and South Beach—feature parking lots, life guards, rest rooms and snack bars, and do not permit animals until after Labor Day. Gunnison is clothing optional.^[5] In contrast the western shore includes vast acres of sand and trails without life guards or rest rooms. These stretches are favored by cyclists and kite surfers, and leashed dogs are permitted.

Accommodations near Sandy Hook include bed and breakfasts such as the Sandy Hook Cottage and Seascape Manor, as well as Grand Lady by the Sea, and Nauvoo at Sandy Hook, which are all located in Highlands. Dining options include Sea Gulls' Nest Deck Restaurant inside the park, as well as the landmark Bahr's Landing, Moby's and Something Fishy, which are all located outside the park.^[5]

Local activities include the Sandy Hook All Woman Lifeguard Tournament in July, boat rentals for fishing, parties and tours, and trails for biking, rollerblading, and walking. The Henry Hudson Trail, which stretches nine miles (14 km) from Aberdeen to Atlantic Highlands and is wheelchair accessible.^[5]

Transportation

The only road that connects to Sandy Hook is Route 36. A road through the peninsula branches from Route 36 at the northern end of Sea Bright. The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge crosses the Shrewsbury River and carries the road traffic of Route 36 from Highlands in the west to Sea Bright in the east, at the entrance to Sandy Hook.

A bicycle path parallels the motor road, SeaStreak and American Princess Cruises ferries serve Sandy Hook from Manhattan in summertime.^[5][10][11]

See also

• Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey
• Fort Hancock, New Jersey
• Gateway National Recreation Area
• Sandy Hook Light
• Sandy Hook Pilots
• Sandy Hook Proving Ground

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

• Sandy Hook Visitor Information
• National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area
• Nike Missile Site NY-56

Municipalities and communities of Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States County seat: Freehold Borough Cities Asbury Park Long Branch Boroughs Allenhurst Allentown Atlantic Highlands Avon-by-the-Sea Belmar Bradley Beach Brielle Deal Eatontown Englishtown Fair Haven Farmingdale Freehold Borough Highlands Interlaken Keansburg Keyport Lake Como Little Silver Manasquan Matawan Monmouth Beach Neptune City Oceanport Red Bank Roosevelt Rumson Sea Bright Sea Girt Shrewsbury Spring Lake Spring Lake Heights Tinton Falls Union Beach West Long Branch Townships Aberdeen Colts Neck Freehold Hazlet Holmdel Howell Manalapan Marlboro Middletown Millstone Neptune Ocean Shrewsbury Upper Freehold Wall Village Loch Arbour CDPs Allenwood Belford Cliffwood Beach East Freehold Fairview Leonardo Lincroft Morganville Navesink North Middletown Oakhurst Ocean Grove Port Monmouth Ramtown Robertsville Shark River Hills Strathmore Wanamassa West Belmar West Freehold Yorketown Other unincorporated communities Adelphia Algers Mills Allaire Ardena Ardmore Estates Arneytown Baileys Corner Bairdsville Beacon Hill Bergen Mills Bergerville Blansingburg Bradevelt Bradley Park Branchport Bucks Mill Burlington Heights Candlewood Carmerville Carrs Corner Carrs Tavern Centerville Chapel Hill Charleston Springs Clarks Mills Clarksburg Claytons Corner Cliffwood Cold Indian Springs Collingwood Park Cooks Mills Cooleys Corner Coxs Corner Crawford Corners Cream Ridge Deal Park Dogs Corners East Keansburg East Long Branch Elberon Elberon Park Ellisdale Elton Ely Elys Corner Emleys Hill Everett Fair Play Fairfield Fort Plains Freewood Acres Freneau Galilee Georgia Glendola Gordons Corner Green Grove Hamilton Harmony Hendrickson Corners Henningers Mills Herberts Corner Hillsdale Hilton Hockhockson Holland Holmeson Homes Mills Hornerstown Imlaystown Jerseyville Kirbys Mills Lafayette Mills Lake Club Land of Pines Larrabees Leonardville Little Silver Point Locust Low Moor Lower Squankum Macedonia Manasquan Park Marlboro Matthews Maxim Mechanicsville Millhurst Monmouth Heights at Manalapan Monmouth Heights at Marlboro Monmouth Hills Montrose Morrells Corner Mount Pleasant Natco Navesink Beach Nelsonville New Bedford New Canton New Monmouth New Sharon Normandie North Centerville North Long Branch North Spring Lake Oak Glen Oak Hill Oakhurst Manor Oakland Mills Oceanic Orchard Estates Osbornes Mills Parkway Pines Perrineville Phalanx Philips Mills Pine Brook Pleasant Valley Pleasant Valley Crossroads Polhemustown Port-au-peck Prospertown Pullentown Red Hill Red Valley Reevytown Remsen Mills River Plaza Robinsville Salem Hill Sands Point Scobeyville Shacks Corner Sharon Shrewsbury (Upper Freehold) Siloam Smithburg Smocks Corner Southard Spring Mill Spring Valley Squankum Sterling Woods Stone Church Stone Tavern Stonehurst East Stonehurst West Sweetman Taylors Mills Tennent Tiltons Corner Town Brook Van Marters Corner Vanderburg Villa Park Walnford Waterloo Waterwitch Wayside Wertheins Corner West Allenhurst West Deal West End West Farms West Grove West Keansburg West Shrewsbury Whitesville Whittier Oaks Wickatunk Wileys Corner Winston Park Wyckoff Mills