Skip to content
BusinessesGrow
Governors Island, New York, NY

Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sport & OutdoorOutdoor AdventureFamily FavoriteHistory Buff

Governors Island

Ferry from Battery Maritime Building, 10 South St · New York, NY

Why you should go…

This 172-acre island sits in New York Harbor about 800 yards south of Manhattan and is reached by ferry. It was an Army post and then a Coast Guard base before opening to the public in 2005, and no personal vehicles are allowed. You can walk through star-shaped Fort Jay and round Castle Williams, climb The Hills, opened in 2016, and lie in one of the hammocks at Hammock Grove. Public art, food vendors and picnic spots are spread across the grounds.

  • #island park
  • #ferry ride
  • #historic fort
  • #car-free
  • #picnic

Good to know

General sport & outdoor guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Weather calls the shots

    Check the forecast the morning of and keep an indoor backup in your pocket for the day it turns.

  • Shoes, water, sun cover

    The three things that decide whether you last the whole outing or cut it short after an hour.

  • Parking and launches fill early

    On a nice weekend, lots and trailheads are often full by mid-morning.

  • Daylight shrinks in shoulder season

    Spring and fall visits need an earlier start than the same trip in July.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Governors Island, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Iconic

    Staten Island Ferry

    Free

    Ride the free ferry across New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline.

    0.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    The Battery

    Free

    Walk a 25-acre harborfront park at Manhattan's southern tip, with gardens, memorials and Statue of Liberty ferries.

    0.8 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Historic

    Fraunces Tavern Museum

    Under $25

    Revolutionary War museum in Manhattan's oldest surviving building, where George Washington bid farewell to his officers in the Long Room in 1783.

    0.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Charging Bull

    Free

    Pose with the 7,100-pound bronze bull on Broadway, a Financial District landmark since 1989.

    1.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Iconic

    Liberty State Park

    Free

    Walk a waterfront promenade facing the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan, and catch ferries to Liberty and Ellis Islands.

    1.9 mi awayMore like this

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Free

    Prospect Park

    Free

    Roam Olmsted and Vaux's Brooklyn park, from the 90-acre Long Meadow to a wooded ravine and the 60-acre Prospect Lake.

    3.1 mi awayMore like this