Monmouth Discovery

Beaches & Boardwalks · Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook Beaches (Gateway National Recreation Area)

Bayside and oceanside beaches on the Sandy Hook peninsula in Gateway NRA, with seasonal per-vehicle parking fees and seasonal dog rules.

Beachgoers wading and sunbathing on a Sandy Hook beach as gulls fly overhead, with a faint skyline on the horizon.
Photo: Didier Moïse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sandy Hook is a long sandy spit at the northern tip of Monmouth County, managed by the National Park Service as part of Gateway National Recreation Area. It has beaches on both the bay side and the ocean side. The park is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the lots close at 9 p.m.

Beach parking fees apply from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, collected from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The toll booths are cashless and take credit, debit or contactless payment. Arrivals before 8 a.m. can use a designated fee lot free until 8 a.m. Parking at Fort Hancock is always free, although that lot is not at the beaches.

The park service lists lifeguards at Beach C and Beach D through Labor Day weekend, with Gunnison Beach and North Beach unguarded. Dogs are allowed on bayside beaches year-round and on oceanside beaches only from September 15 to March 15, because threatened piping plovers nest there. Leashes must be six feet or shorter, and the park follows a carry-in, carry-out policy.

Good for

  • Waterfront
  • Dog-friendly

Last checked 2026-10-24. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit

Nearby in Middletown

A grass-roofed concrete bunker of Battery Lewis set into a hillside at Hartshorne Woods Park.

Parks & Trails · Locust

Hartshorne Woods Park

An 831-acre Monmouth County park above the Navesink River with about 16 miles of hilly trails, a WWII gun battery and historic Portland Place.

The Tudor-style Environmental Center at Huber Woods Park, set back across a lawn.

Parks & Trails · Locust

Huber Woods Park

A 390-acre Monmouth County park with 8.5 miles of multi-use trails, meadows, river views, an environmental center and a reptile house.

The white Sandy Hook Lighthouse tower and keeper's house under a sky of scattered clouds.

History & Lighthouses · Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook Lighthouse

Completed in 1764, the oldest operating lighthouse in the United States, with ranger-led tower tours at Gateway National Recreation Area.