jacob riis park

A long ride on the "A" train but worth the effort. It has a nice beach. At one time it was "the beach" to go to. Easy to get to on the subway without all the crowds and hype of Coney Island. I liked the quiet and miles of open beach right within the city.

We were there Labor Day, 2014...As a fan of southern beaches...(Ocean City, MD, Virginia Beach, VA, Myrtle Beach, VA, the Keys -to name a few) I came to this NYC beach not expecting much but hungry for some "last-of-the-season- beach time. Well I was pleasantly surprised, despite have to pay (a toll) for entry and again for parking (-and again -a toll- for exit!).The space was ample, the parking convenient and there is even a section for picnics and grills. Definitely well used so local "flavor" abounded but all were there to relax and enjoy themselves so the occasional wafts of music were not so much intrusive but rather just part of the background.Long story short I would definitely go again. The bathrooms were not bad...but the floor of the shoreline was very rocky/"shelly" (reminiscent of Myrtle Beach)...we had food and beverages on the beach with no issue. If the occasion arose I would even do a full blown picnic/bbq (tents, tables, etc) which I would find cool with the beach only a few steps away...Yeah, we will definitely be returning, it will be nice to have a "beach-option" on our trips to NYC...

This beach is by far the best I have been to in NYc area. To get better, in my experience, you have to go further or much much further. You can get there by bus, easy, if you travel light. If you want to pack up, there are two causeways out there which are low priced. The parking is also plentiful and not a fortune. Picnic area, basketball courts, clean large ladies and men's facilities. I was there on a gorgeous summer afternoon which was jammed, yet the ocean was still the main attraction. The layers of beach umbrellas were a sight. If you want beach and you are in NYC, go.

I hadn't been to this beach in years and I had forgotten how nice it is. We had a great day. The beach is clean and there are lifeguards in attendance. Don't miss out.

Clean beach waters a lot cleaner than most beachs it's not the Caribbean but best by far in NYC soft sand . Nice playground with sand and water sprinklers . Plenty of showers clean bathrooms not many food to eat some food trucks ice cream hot dog hamburgers etc. less crowded than Coney Island . Patrolled by national park. Life guards on duty. Waves can get really high and knock you over but it's fun. Watch kids carefully. Had an awesome time with kids the q35 will get you there and back. No need to drive.

Not a lot of people seem to know how nice it is at Jacob Riis Park. A Metrocard will get you there for pocket change, and really it is another world out there, a very lush green world, almost entirely free of buildings. Admittedly the combined C subway and Q35 bus ride from the Upper East Side takes about 2 hours, and the large part of that ride is underground, although the later part of bus part is delightfully scenic. I would say it's probably best to bring your own food and water.But that being said, you arrive in beach-lined, gigantic green park that it is hard to believe is part of NYC. The whole area was hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, but is making a nice recovery. The Park is administered not by the city or state, but by the US National Parks Service, as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Clearly there is not a lot of money being lavished on this park, but if you don't mind the fact that it can appear a little desolate at a times, overall it is a really great escape from the city, an escape into nature, with lots and lots of rather fine beach. To my mind Fort Tilden is by far the most beautiful part of Jacob Riis, but FT has the disadvantages that there are no lifeguards at all, and almost no bathrooms.

Today was a spectacular day in New York- cloudless,temperatures in the high 70's, low humidity-a perfect beach day. And Jacob Riis Park, part of the Gateway National Seashore, was the perfect place to spend a beach day. The beach is clean, well-maintained, and convenient-if you have access to a car, or you are ok with a subway bus combination.The National Park Service runs the park and beach-bad part is the $10 parking fee, good part is-the $10 parking fee, which keeps the crowds down, makes for easy access from the parking lot, and supports well-maintained, well-policed, family beach with lifeguards, clean rest rooms with running water, great bike paths along a concrete boardwalk, stunning views, great bodysurfing. Great mix of people-the best of New York in making everyone welcome. The water is warmer than further out on Long Island-probably because it is more shallow, and the Hudson brings warmer water during the twice daily tides.Forget the food here-need to bring your own. The concessions and trucks make the Jersey Shore feel like Zagat territory.Best time is in the AM-less crowded, and the wind picks up in the afternoon-cooler, but makes the water choppier.

I love to bike to Riis Park. It's a great ride from the City, and you get great views of the skyline, especially on the way home. If you're not into biking, there are other travel options. You can take the A train. Take a book and a sandwich and enjoy the afternoon!There is some food in town to purchase, the closest options are food trucks/ice-cream trucks. The restrooms are pretty good (what you'd expect from a beach). The scenery could be better, a lot of the surrounding buildings are run down or vacant, I wish they'd at least tear them down, but renovation would be beautiful.

You can get there by train to bus, bus only, car, cab, or NYC Beach Bus http://www.nycbeachbus.com . Short walk to Tilden Beach, which is completely empty. The beach has BB court, children park, BBQ pits and more. I've been going here for over 15 years. Always a great time.

Took a bike ride from sheepshead bay via the belt parkway all the way across the gil hodges bridge and then to fort tilden and finally Riss Beach.It was a beautiful sunny day. The beach is clean, paths are wide- enough from for bikers and walkers. It was weekday so there were not much people. Some beach tanners, few joggers and bikers.They have a huge parking log. Playground close to the beach. Plenty of BBQ stands.Highly recommended.Car tolls for the Gil Hodges bridge I think was $3.50Bikers can go on the side walkway for free!

Coming from the world of Virginia Beach, Ocean City, and Rehoboth this place is a sanctuary. Very nice beach on the far West end of Rockaway Beach. We came here on a Friday and spent the day here. Found the beach to be very clean, with plenty of people but ample room to be able to spread out, it is indeed a super wide beach. Some reviewers mentioned it seeming isolated or "not safe" not sure at all how you could get that impression as there are lifeguards on duty, patrols by security, and just an overall feeling of safety in numbers. Didn't see any "sketchy characters" or anything to lead me to believe the contrary. Plenty of families with kids there as well as adult couples. Saw a few gay couples and I think it gets more gay friendly toward the East end of the beach where it meets the far end of Rockaway. Parking is easier here than at Rockaway to me pay $10 for all-day parking in an enormous lot. Ample bathroom changing stalls. I didn't see a ton of places to buy food or rent stuff but we brought our cooler and picnicked on the beach. Discreetly enjoyed some adult beverages and didn't seem to raise the ire of anyone. The sea bottom is a little rocky close to shore but not too bad. Its NYC so don't expect super blue, pristine water, but it certainly enabled me to get my beach fill in before Labor Day. Traffic was awful leaving around 5:00pm on a Friday but go figure it was Labor Day weekend and rush hour to boot. Took about 55 minutes to traverse the 15 miles back to Flushing.

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It took me 1.5 hours from Penn Station using Subway #2 and Q35 bus on Saturday, it felt like a bit long and tiring.I did like that the water is deep: 60 feet into the ocean and you are up to the head in the water. Beach is much wider than Long Beach. There are showers and restrooms at each end of the beach and in the middle, a water fountain on the west end. I did not like that volleyball is on Wednesdays only. No volleyball courts per se: bring your own poles, net, ball.I saw one run-down tennis court on the west end. I doubt it would be fun playing there: cracks are all over the surface.It was somewhat boring picture: a few people were playing paddle tennis, a few Frisbee, but most were playing with the phone. There are quite a few basketball courts in good shape, looks like recently renovated. Bike rentals, food and ice cream trucks were on both ends. Beach was clean in the morning, but by the end of the day, there was trash all over.Trashcans are on a walkway, far away from the sunbathing public. That might be another reason why people don’t clean after themselves. East end meets Rockaway Beach, which is much narrower then Jacob Riis Beach.

This is our go-to city beach when we don't have a whole day or weekend to spare to fight the traffic out of town. It is very convenient by car to most of Brooklyn and Queens, with $10 all-day parking. I've never been there by public transportation but it sees like a long ride. It is much less crowded than any of the Brooklyn beaches, probably because it doesn't have all the amusement park stuff, and very clean. The end by the picnic area and playground is much more crowded than the Ft. Tilden end (the far end of the parking lot). As other posters have noted, there are not a lot of boardwalk amenities, so people come here solely to enjoy the beach, which is totally pleasant.TIPS:1. Sandy trashed the snack bar at the Ft. Tilden end, it has been temporarily replaced by food trucks. There is also a pop-up bike rental which seems popular. 2. Take note of the red flags at the Ft. Tilden end - the lifeguarded area stops considerably before the end of the beach. Families with kids should especially be aware of that. 3. If you plan on actually swimming (rather than splashing at the shoreline), make sure you know how to escape a rip tide, they are common in the Rockaways!

Jacob Riis appears to be a highly regarded NYC beach, but to me it is a real optimistic statement.First let's talk about the trip to get to the beach. I went to Jacob Riis by public transportation and let me say the Q35 bus (round)trip was one of the worst I've ever had. It was crowded with extremely loud high schoolers not afraid of playing their music loud, I almost ended up with a massive migraine.Then the beach itself. The sand is clean, the water seems okay though not very engaging.But the main problem I think with this beach is that it has a run-down, abandoned, isolated — but not in the positive in-the-middle-of-nature kind of way — feeling to it. It seems there hasn't been any kind of investment for years and there is absolutely nothing around, no shops or eating options whatsoever.It might be a decent beach by NYC standards but in absolute terms, it's pretty average.