his
northernmost ocean beach on the Jersey Shore has always been popular with
travelers from northern New Jersey and New York. Students with a limited
budget, anxious to conserve gas and avoid the quarter tolls on the Parkway,
have naturally migrated to "The Hook" for years. Now that the Parkway tolls
are up to thirty-five cents (and rising anytime now) and gas is hovering
around $1.50 a gallon - the popularity shows no signs of waning anytime
soon.
Unlike most Jersey Shore
beaches with their access fees enforced via beach badges, Sandy Hook is
free for all with a slight catch: parking fees that rise to $10 per car on
the weekend. Lone travelers may want to consider traveling further down
the coast to find a more palatable access cost. However, if you like beaches without boardwalks and limited hustle bustle
competing with your sun worshipping, Sandy Hook is the right spot! A
friendly reminder too, even at $10 per car, the parking lots often fill up
long before Noon on nice weekends.
It's advisable to bring a
cooler full of food and refreshments to keep you going throughout the day.
Interestingly, even thinking of breaking out a can of beer and drinking it
on the beach will get you steep fines and possible jail time in almost
every Jersey Shore town, but not Sandy Hook. Because it is a Federal Park
there are no regulations against bringing your own beer, but be sure to
adhere to the ban on glass containers - for both alcoholic and soft
drinks. If you're just not a picnic type of person, the concessionaire
operates hamburger and hotdog outlets at various locations up and down
Sandy Hook with a full service bar and grill, The Seagull's Nest, located
at parking area "D."
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Gunnison Beach
The more adventurous, curious,
or voyeuristic will want to investigate the nude beach. Like the
beer, this (benefit?) is possible because of the Federal status of
the area.
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Parking areas run from
"A" to "G" along with North Beach and fill up in order.
On those busiest days, unless you arrive quite early, you'll certainly be
parking in the North Beach overflow lots. Even at that, after a relatively
short walk you'll still be able to find plenty of space on the beach. Regardless of the beach area you choose, or find space
at on the weekend, you'll find good fishing, surfing, swimming and sun
bathing throughout the more than six miles of ocean beach front on Sandy
Hook with a similar amount of bay front access on the western shores.
If sun bathing doesn't appeal to
you, or you've had too much for the day, you may be interested in touring
Fort Hancock with a stop at the museum (open on weekend afternoons from one
to five) or visiting the Sandy Hook Lighthouse in the same general area.
Bird watchers will find Osprey nests and a
wide variety of other species to keep them busy all day long. Be sure to
check in at the visitor center (just beyond parking area "D") for other
activities as they're scheduled.
f you enjoy the Outer
Banks or Cape Cod, you'll feel right
at home on Sandy Hook.
