Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township,

Monmouth County, New Jersey Monmouth County () is a county located on the coast of central New Jersey. The county is part of the New York metropolitan area and is situated along the northern half of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population wa ...

, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from 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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, protecting it from the open waters of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the east. The Dutch called the area "Sant Hoek", with the English "Hook" deriving from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

"Hoek" (corner, angle), meaning "spit of land". For over three centuries mariners tasked with guiding ships across the Sandy Hook bar have been known as Sandy Hook pilots. Most of Sandy Hook is owned and managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

as the Sandy Hook Unit of

Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, bir ...

Description

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

, Sandy Hook is a large sand spit or barrier spit, the extension of a

barrier peninsula Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a f ...

along the coast of New Jersey, separated from the mainland by the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

of the

Shrewsbury River The Shrewsbury River is a short stream and navigable estuary. The stream is approximately 8 mi (13 km) long and is located in Central New Jersey. It extends east-northeast from its head of navigation at Oceanport to its confluence with ...

. On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay, a triangular arm of

Raritan Bay Raritan Bay is a bay located at the southern portion of Lower New York Bay between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey and is part of the New York Bight. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Per ...

. The peninsula was discovered by

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

, and, historically, Sandy Hook has been a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into

Upper New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

. Sandy Hook is part of Middletown Township, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township. Because the peninsula is also federal enclave, Middletown and the federal government have a Concurrent jurisdiction. The community of

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

overlooks the southern part of the hook. Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government. Most of it is managed by the

and U.S.

National Park Service ranger National Park Service rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and the President of the United States. While all employees of the ag ...

s as the Sandy Hook Unit of

. 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. 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 bring beachgoers from its various docking points including NYC. Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast. 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 closed to the public because their structural integrity in decay, and to preserve its profile for future visitors. A proposal was recently accepted to allow adaptive reuse of some of the buildings in Fort Hancock for private use. This partnership will hopefully help these historic structures to be maintained more effectively.

Military history

The defunct

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

post Fort Hancock at the north end of the peninsula is open to visitation by the National Park Service. 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 Aberdeen is a city located in Harford County, Maryland, United States, northeast of Baltimore. The population was 16,254 at the 2020 United States Census. Aberdeen is the largest municipality in Harford County. Aberdeen is part of the Baltimor ...

—and was later the site of a

Nike missile The United States Army's Nike Ajax was the world's first operational guided surface-to-air missile (SAM), entering service in 1954. Nike Ajax was designed to attack conventional bomber aircraft flying at high subsonic speeds and altitudes abov ...

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 closed 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 six-inch (152 mm) M1900 guns 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. A Civil War-era 20-inch

Rodman gun Drawing comparing Model 1844 8-inch columbiad and Model 1861 10-inch "Rodman" columbiad. The powder chamber on the older columbiad is highlighted by the red box. The Rodman gun is any of a series of American Civil War–era columbiads designed b ...

is also in the park; this was an experimental gun that was the largest type produced by either side of that war. North of Fort Hancock on the western part of the "hook" is an active station of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

. 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. This area is administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is closed to the general public.

Tourism and recreation

The beaches along the Atlantic shore of Sandy Hook—North Beach, Gunnison Beach and the Southern Beaches, A, B, C, D, E—feature parking lots, lifeguards, rest rooms and seasonal concession stands. They do not permit pets on the beaches yearly after March 15. Nude or partially nude sunbathers may be encountered at Gunnison Beach as it is clothing optional. In contrast, the western shore includes vast acres of sand and trails and a paved path without lifeguards or rest rooms. These stretches are favored by

cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

s and kite surfers, and leashed dogs are permitted. Within Sandy Hook some laws and regulations are different. Sandy Hook falls under Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as well as New Jersey State Code in instances where federal laws do not pertain. In Sandy Hook a misdemeanor could be a federal crime while outside the park it would be a minor infraction. Accommodations near Sandy Hook include

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s 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 have changed drastically since

Superstorm Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

, which destroyed the island's only eating location, the Sea Gulls' Nest Deck Restaurant. On the peninsula, various food trucks can be found and nearby is the locally known Bahr's Landing, Moby's and Something Fishy. Local activities include the Sandy Hook All Woman Lifeguard Tournament in July, boat rentals for fishing, parties and tours, and paved path for biking, rollerblading, and walking. The

Henry Hudson Trail The Henry Hudson Trail is a rail trail in western and northern Monmouth County, New Jersey. The trail is named for Henry Hudson, who explored the harbor at Atlantic Highlands and the Raritan Bayshore coastline in the early 1600s. The trail is no ...

, accessible from Highlands, New Jersey, stretches nine miles (14 km) from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

to Atlantic Highlands and is wheelchair accessible. The northern tip of Sandy Hook is the traditional finish of the 16.1 mile Ederle-Burke Swim, which runs from the Battery at the tip of Manhattan Island through the Narrows and into Lower New York Bay. The first successful swim occurred in 1913, when New York lifeguard Alfred Brown came ashore in 13 hours, 38 minutes. As a prelude to her English Channel triumph,

Gertrude Ederle Gertrude Caroline Ederle (October 23, 1906 – November 30, 2003) was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. ...

swam the same course in 1925, finishing in 7 hours, 11 minutes.

Transportation

The road that connects to Sandy Hook is Route 36. The road to the peninsula branches from Route 36 at the northern end of Sea Bright becoming Hartshorne Drive within the park. The Highlands-Sea Bright Bridge crosses the

and carries the road traffic of Route 36 from

in the west to Sea Bright in the east, near the entrance to Sandy Hook. A bicycle path parallels the motor road. The SeaStreak ferry serves Sandy Hook from

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in summertime.

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Sandy Hook has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa''). ''Cfa'' climates are characterized by all months having an average temperature > , at least four months with an average temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days feature slight-to-moderate humidity and a cooling afternoon sea breeze in Sandy Hook, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with heat index values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on August 9, 2001, and the highest daily average mean dew point was on July 19, 2019. The average wettest month is July which correlates with the peak in thunderstorm activity. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on August 27, 2011. During the winter months, the average annual extreme minimum air temperature is . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on January 21, 1985. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average seasonal (Nov-Apr) snowfall total is between and , and the average snowiest month is February which corresponds with the annual peak in nor'easter activity.

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Sandy Hook would have a dominant vegetation type of Northern

Cordgrass ''Spartina'' is a taxon of plants in the grass family, frequently found in coastal salt marshes. Its species are commonly known as cordgrass or cord-grass, and are native to the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean in western and southern Europe, north ...

(''73'') with a dominant vegetation form of

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

(''20''). The

plant hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

is 7b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . The average date of first spring leaf-out is March 23 and fall color typically peaks in early-November.

Gallery

File:Sandy Hook lighthouse.jpg, Sandy Hook Light File:Jsj-380-Light Ship Sandy Hook.jpg, Lightship #51 at Sandy Hook as it appeared in the 1890s. File:Aiming 14 gun, Sandy Hook, Bain News Service.jpg, Aiming a 14-inch gun at the Sandy Hook Proving Ground File:Historic Gun, Sandy Hook, NJ - panoramio.jpg, 20-inch

with shells File:Sandy Hook gun platforms 3.jpg, Abandoned gun platforms of the Sandy Hook Proving Ground File:Abandoned mortar battery Sandy Hook 2.jpg, Part of a mortar battery installation near Sandy Hook Light File:Sponge Bob No Pants (200768094).jpg, Among the many beaches on Sandy Hook, Gunnison Beach is clothing optional.

References

External links

Sandy Hook Visitor Information

National Park Service Gateway National Recreation Area

{{authority control Barrier islands of New Jersey Sandy Hook, New Jersey Middletown Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Monmouth County, New Jersey Peninsulas of New Jersey Spits of the United States Raritan Bayshore Gateway National Recreation Area Landforms of Monmouth County, New Jersey Beaches of Monmouth County, New Jersey Beaches of New Jersey