Sandy Hook - Description

Description

Geologically, Sandy Hook is a large sand spit or barrier spit, the extension of a barrier peninsula along the coast of New Jersey, separated from the mainland by the estuary of the Shrewsbury River. On its western side, the peninsula encloses Sandy Hook Bay, a triangular arm of Raritan Bay. The 1,665-acre (6.74 km2) peninsula was discovered by Henry Hudson, and, historically, Sandy Hook has been a convenient anchorage for ships before proceeding into Upper New York Harbor.

Sandy Hook is part of Middletown Township, New Jersey, although not contiguous with the rest of the Township. Because the peninsula is a federal reservation, this technicality is essentially moot. The community of Highlands overlooks the southern part of the hook.

Sandy Hook is owned by the federal government. Most of it is managed by the National Park Service as the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. The eastern shoreline consists of public beaches: North Beach, Gunnison Beach, and South Beach. The southern part of the spit consists of public beaches, fishing areas, and the SeaGull's Nest, a seafood restaurant operated by a concessionaire. The peninsula's ocean-facing beaches are considered among the finest in New Jersey and are a popular destination for recreation in summer when seasonal ferries bring beachgoers. Gunnison Beach is one of the largest clothing optional beaches on the East Coast.

The defunct U.S. Army post Fort Hancock at the north end of the peninsula is open to the public. The Sandy Hook Proving Ground was used by for many years – beginning after the Civil War until 1919, when the facility was moved to Aberdeen, Maryland – and was later the site of a Nike missile defense installation. The Sandy Hook Nike station is one of a very few stations that are still intact. Almost all of the fort's gun batteries are off limits to the public due to their hazardous condition. The exception to this is Battery Gunnison which is being restored by volunteers and has two M-1900 six-inch (152 mm) cannon installed; the weapons were placed there in 1976. Guided tours give visitors a look at an actual Nike missile, the missile firing platforms, and a radar station, complete with 1960's-era computers.

Sandy Hook Lighthouse is located within the fort grounds, as is the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST), a magnet high school, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District. At the entrance to Fort Hancock is Guardian Park, a plaza dominated by two Nike missiles. Some of the buildings of Fort Hancock are off-limits because their structural integrity is dubious. A controversial proposal was recently accepted to allow adaptive reuse of some of the buildings in Fort Hancock for private profit, however the developer was removed for inability to obtain financing.

North of Fort Hancock on the western part of the "hook" is an active station of the United States Coast Guard. This is one of the original Life Saving Stations built in 1848 at a site "on bay side, one-half mile south of point of Hook." The site was changed several times through the years due to a change in land or at the request of the War Department, which owned the land. This area is administered by the Department of Homeland Security and is off-limits to the general public.