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Sandy Hook Vacations, Experiential Tours and Sandy Hook Travel Packages


Sandy Hook NPS Photo
 

Sandy Hook from the top of Navesink Twin Lights, Highlands, New Jersey
Sandy Hook is highlighted on this mapSandy Hook is a barrier spit, approximately 9.7 kilometers (between 6 and 7 miles) in length and 800 meters (0.5 miles) (varying between 0.10 and 1 miles) wide, in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, along the Atlantic Ocean coast of eastern New Jersey in the United States. The barrier spit encloses the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay south of New York City. The Dutch called the area "Sant Hoek;" with the English "Hook" deriving from the Dutch "Hoek," meaning "spit of land".

Sandy Hook History

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

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[4] bring beachgoers. Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast.

Throughout history, Sandy Hook has formed a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into Upper New York Harbor. The now-defunct Fort Hancock is located at the north end of the peninsula. It is now open to the public. The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was used by the United States Army 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 exception to this is Battery Gunnison which is being restored by volunteers and also has two M-1900 six-inch cannon installed; the weapons were placed there in 1976. Guided tours give visitors a look at an actual Nike missile, the missile firing platforms, and a radar station (complete with 1960's-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.

North of Fort Hancock is an outpost of the United States Coast Guard. This area is administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is off-limits to the general public.

Sandy Hook is open year-round, but there is a parking fee during the summer months. As of 2008, there is no accommodation available on the hook itself, but there are hotels and bed in breakfasts in the area such as the Blue Bay Inn Boutique Hotel in Atlantic Highlands.

www.wikipedia.com
www.nps.gov

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