Coney Island
No admission feeStroll a 2.7-mile oceanfront boardwalk, ride the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, and eat a hot dog at the original Nathan's.
Transit: reachable by public transit

Photo: Szeremeta, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
Swim at ocean and bay beaches, tour a historic lighthouse and walk the old Army post of Fort Hancock.
128 South Hartshorne Dr · Highlands, NJ
Sandy Hook is a barrier spit about six miles long at the southern entrance of Lower New York Bay, run by the National Park Service as part of Gateway National Recreation Area. You can spend the day on oceanside or bayside beaches, then head to Fort Hancock, a former Army post open to visitors. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse, built in 1764, is the oldest working lighthouse in the United States and offers tours. There is no entrance fee, though beach parking carries a daily charge in summer.
The closest stops to Sandy Hook, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
Stroll a 2.7-mile oceanfront boardwalk, ride the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel, and eat a hot dog at the original Nathan's.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.7 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Ride the landmark Cyclone wooden coaster, the Thunderbolt and other rides and games beside the Coney Island boardwalk.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Walk through a 14-acre Coney Island aquarium with a shark exhibit, the Aquatheater and an invertebrate gallery called Spineless.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.9 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
A 54-acre public garden in Middletown Township, New Jersey, built to help home gardeners learn about plants.
8.2 mi awayMore like this
Walk the Gravesend Bay waterfront, watch shorebirds, or catch a ball game at a Brooklyn park built from Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge fill.
Transit: reachable by public transit
8.7 mi awayMore like this
Walk the Salt Marsh Nature Trail along Gerritsen Creek, launch a kayak or play a round of golf in Brooklyn's largest park.
Transit: reachable by public transit
11 mi awayMore like this