Governors Island

Ride a short ferry to a car-free harbor island with two old forts, lawns, hammocks, public art and skyline views.

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

About Governors Island

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

Printable maps

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
No admission fee
Ride the free ferry across New York Harbor past the Statue of Liberty and the Lower Manhattan skyline.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours
Sports & Outdoors
Iconic
The Battery
No admission fee
Walk a 25-acre harborfront park at Manhattan's southern tip, with gardens, memorials and Statue of Liberty ferries.
Transit: reachable by public transit
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.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Stay
Family Favorite
DoubleTree by Hilton New York Downtown
$50+
A 399-room hotel on historic Stone Street in Lower Manhattan, a short walk from Wall Street and Battery Park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay
Sports & Outdoors
Local Gem
Cadman Plaza Park
No admission fee
Stroll the tree-lined lawns of Brooklyn's civic park between Borough Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, past the Brooklyn War Memorial.
Transit: reachable by public transit
1.4 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Local Gem
Red Hook Park
No admission fee
Swim in a landmark 1936 WPA pool in summer or catch a soccer or softball game on the fields of this Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
1.4 mi awayMore like this