Rockaway Beach
Beach · Rockaway Beach, New York
Seven miles of Atlantic ocean beach on a barrier peninsula in Queens — ⚠ THE ONLY LEGAL SURFING BEACH IN NEW YORK CITY, and the largest urban beach in the United States. It is reachable by subway and by ferry, it was devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and rebuilt with a new concrete boardwalk and dunes, and it is where New York actually goes to swim.
Beach 90th Street at Rockaway Beach Boulevard, Rockaway Beach, New York, 11693, United States
FREE and open — seven miles of public Atlantic ocean beach with a concrete boardwalk built after Hurricane Sandy. ⚠ SWIMMING IS PERMITTED ONLY WHEN LIFEGUARDS ARE ON DUTY, roughly late May to early September during posted hours at designated beaches, and this is ENFORCED. ⚠ SURFING IS PERMITTED ONLY IN THE DESIGNATED SURF ZONES — principally Beach 67th-69th and Beach 87th-92nd Streets — and swimming is prohibited in them. These are THE ONLY LEGAL SURFING BEACHES IN NEW YORK CITY. Reachable by the A train, roughly 75-90 minutes from Midtown, and by NYC Ferry from Wall Street and Sunset Park. ⚠ SEASON DATES NOT VERIFIED — check the NYC Parks beaches page.