History, Nature And Spectacular Scenery, Sandy Hook, New Jersey Has Them All

My visit to Sandy Hook, New Jersey last Friday  wasn’t planned. Once again I made a  last minute decision  late Thursday  to visit Sandy Hook, the most northern beach in New Jersey.  Two weeks ago I visited Cape May, the southernmost beach in New Jersey in search of migrating song birds. I had read  Sandy Hook is also  a great place to observe  the shore birds that migrate here in the Fall and Winter.  I also learned there is an abandoned Nike Missile base and the oldest lighthouse in the United States on this seven mile barrier island.

So, after an early appointment at my law office I was on the road again at 10 a.m,  taking the three hour drive to Sandy Hook. It was a beautiful Fall day and I enjoyed the colorful foliage as I drove through the mountains and country side of rural Pennsylvania and New Jersey .   I stopped in  Central New Jersey for a nice breakfast on I 78 at the Clinton Station Diner.  I  love to eat at diners on my travels. The food was great and it featured a 1927 “Blue Comet” railroad dining car.

I continued on my drive  arriving  at the conveniently located  Beachwalk Hotel at Bright Beach  around 1:30 p.m.  It is only a mile from the entrance to the Sandy Hook unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area.  I quickly settled into my room and was soon  on my way to explore Sandy Hook.  There  were gates at the entrance to the barrier beach pennisula . . There is a $20 parking fee for the parking on one of the three large lots at the beaches in the Summer. There is no fee after Labor Day. I can imagine it gets very crowded here in the Summer but there were only a few cars on the large parking lots and almost  no traffic on the road on the pennisula .

I drove about two miles on the road along the beach, and then through a woodland when I saw this Nike missile along the road. This was the site of an abandoned Nike missile base that protected New York City during the Cold War. I have seen these bases in the Florida Everglades and in Key Largo. They are latest in a long history of defenses that protect New York City and harbor dating back to the Revolutionary War.

I followed the road for another mile and parked across from another famous landmark  on the barrier beach pennisula , the famous  Sandy Hook Lighthouse. 

Construction of this beautiful structure was completed in June of 1764 and is still in operation today, maintained by the United States Coast Guard.

After admiring the historic building I followed a wooded trail. I didn’t do a lot of research on the pennisula  but did know there were supposed to be migratory shore bird near the beach. Migratory song birds can also be found in the woodlands on the pennisula  but it was a little late in the season to see see any on this visit.

Well one of the reasons for my visit was to photographs wildlife, nature and birds and I soon and ws able to photograph  this common year long resident, a red-bellied woodpecker,

and this bird, a dark-eyed junco,  a short distant migrant.

The path took me  to a road surrounded by  a woodland of mostly holly, cedar and maple trees . 

There were also some oriental bittersweet and

olive autumn shrubs, both invasive species

and a few winged sumac trees, tree  native to the area, along the road.

This fruits and berries provided  food for a large flock of yellow-rumped warblers, I would see dozens of these birds on my five mile hike,

a few song sparrows,

white throated sparrow and

this hermit thrush.

As I followed the road I came upon some abandoned buildings. I later learned they were part of Fort Hancock a United States army base that was built here in the 1890’s.

The road took me to a  the center of the base with many well maintained yellow brick buildings. There was once over 7000 soldiers stationed here  during World War II.  The abandoned base and the many building was open to the public and I hope to return some day and explore the base some day. 

On Friday I wanted to get to the ocean so I continued my hike and came to some  more of the military history of  Sandy Hook.  This was one of the many large gun batteries built to defend New York Harbor.  I also  learned the island was used as both a large gun testing grounds and storage of the large artillery  munitions used on the base.

I followed the road and came to the entrance to North Beach, one of the many  unprotected beaches on the barrier beach pennisula .

There was a large shower and changing facility here although it was deserted on those cool October afternoon.

There was one noisy inhabitant of the area, this northern mockingbird singing on a tree branch.

I walked out onto North Beach and got my first glimpse of the New York City skyline  and Freedom Tower across the New York Bay.  It was an amazing sight to see it form this desolate beach.

Only three other people where on the large, sandy  beach.

I would walk along the beach for about a mile without seeing another person,

enjoying the waves and the New York skyline in the distance.  It was hard to believe over 8 million  people  lived  in  the city across  the bay.

I was accompanied only by a  few shore birds along the beach. I am not sure but I believe these are lesser

or greater black backed gulls. There were  a few flocks of them wading in the waves  on my mile walk along the ocean.

I also saw this  bird, I believe this is a sanderling,

and a flock of American golden plovers.

I also saw this yellow-rumped warbler scurrying in the sand.   I  was disappointed there  weren’t more shore birds along  the beach.

As I walked in the sand along the shore I saw some of the seaside plants trying to grow in the sand, including seaside goldenrod,

and northern bayberry. I continued walking  between the ocean and the dunes on the beach. I was enjoying the isolation and seclusion of the deserted beach,

After  about a mile of trudging through the sand. I finally saw another human being, a  fisherman.

There was a trail  between the dunes

which took  area above the beach  with  reeds  and  shrubs.

The trail split  here. My AllTrail app map showed some takes or ponds along the   narrower side trail so I followed it westward through  the reed covered dunes  It  was now late afternoon and the sun was low in the west. .

 I saw dozens of more  yellow-rumped warbler in the small  trees and reeds  along the trails.

There were also some song sparrows and

golden crowned kinglets

and dark eyed juncos. Once again I was disappointed in not seeing more migrating song birds or other more exotic wildlife. 

The trail was still mostly sand and my legs sore from trudging through it for almost two miles. After a half mile the trail ended on the bay near an active Coast Guard base.  I knew this when I heard a voice over a loudspeaker warn two people walking toward the base that it was a restricted area and deadly force  could be used on trespassers. I remember those warnings from my visit to Area 51  in Neveda.

I took in my last view of the “Big Apple” skyline and hiked back to the main trail.

 I soon realized I had to trudge through the sand for another mile to get out of the sand . While walking through the dunes  on the trail I now saw a lot of  fishermen heading down to the ocean with their fishing poles and gear. 

I was glad to see the ruins of another abandoned  gun battery and,  a paved road!

The sun was now low in the southeastern sky as I walked back to my Jeep near the lighthouse. There were a lot or people  walking, running  and biking on the roads and trails and enjoying the beautiful October afternoon.

I walked along the ruins of the old gun mounts and  through the woodlands. I saw a lot of white tail deer in the woods,

including this large buck.

There were flocks of  dark eyed juncos,  yellow rumped sparrows and white throated sparrows   fluttering in the threes along the trail.

I also saw this beautiful red fox along the road,

and stopped to watch it as it was feeding on something  along the road.

It was a beautiful animal.   Here is a link  to a gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the fox, birds and deer I saw on my five mile hike. Sandy Hook New Jersey wildlife October  25 2024.

I finished my five mile hike back at the lighthouse. I enjoyed the historic buildings and beautiful scenery of the woodlands, dunes and ocean. I did see some wildlife  including the fox but I was a little disappointed I did not see more migratory song and shore birds. But I was looking forward to spending another day exploring  Sandy Hook on Saturday.  Here is a link to  gallery with some more photos from my five hike in the Sandy Hook Gateway National Recreation Area. Sandy Hook New Jersey October 25 2024.

I drove back to my hotel, quickly showered and changed and drove back to Sandy Hook to catch the sunset.  It was a beautiful way to end my day on Sandy Hook.

I was hungry and as usual on my travels I like to find a local restaurant and share photos of my meal. This time I drove to the 2nd Jetty Seafood Restaurant. located only a few block from my hotel.  It was too late for reservations so I was seated at a window in the bar but this was okay since I was served a delicious dinner started with a hearty bowel of seafood stew,

and a delicious lobster fra diavlo dish for my main course. It was a lot and I was too full for my usual dessert.  It was a great way to end my last minute visit to Sandy Hook. After editing my photos I retired early so I could get up to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean again and spend the day exploring the scenic and historic Sandy Hook National Park and trying to find some wildlife to photograph and share here on my blog.

“My life is like a stroll upon the beach, as near to the ocean’s edge as I can go.” Henry David Thoreau

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