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Places to Bird
Staten Island
Great Kills Park
Other Places to Bird
Brooklyn
The Bronx
Manhattan
Queens
Great Kills Park
Great Kills Park, Gateway National Recreation Area and City of New
York/Parks and Recreation Great Kills Park, part of the Staten
Island unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, covers 1,200 acres
of woods, marshlands, dunes, and beaches. There is a marina, public
beaches, boat launch, fishing area, model airplane field, nature
trails and numerous ball fields. The Beach Center, with restrooms
and food concessions, is open in the warm months, and a ranger
station, with visitor information, is open year-round. The Blue Dot
and Orange Trails are clearly marked and you might find Common snipe
along the stream. The grassy areas around Parking Area A, the
harbor’s edge, and the ocean front, particularly at the mudflats
(northern end) offer wonderful birdng opportunities. The mudflats
are excellent for waterfowl and shorebirds-bring a scope and time
your visit to low tide. The beach and jetty at Crooke’s Point offer
extraordinary views of Lower New York Bay, and a good place to set
up your scope.
Two hundred and fifty acres are still managed by City of New
York/Parks and Recreation, entered by turning east off Hylan Blvd.
at Tysens Lane.
Tide schedules from:
Sandy Hook, Phone: (718) 448-3900
Jamaica Bay, Phone: (718) 318-4340
Web Site: www.opsd.nos.noaa.gov/tides/nyneWP
Directions:
Ferry to Bus: From Manhattan, Staten Island Ferry to St. George
Terminal. Take Tottenville-bound S78 NYC Transit bus (D ramp) along
Hylan Blvd. (Call (718) 979-0600 for schedule). Get off at the Great
Kills Park entrance. From the entrance, it is a two mile walk to
Crooke’s Point.
Bus: From Manhattan, take the 1X Express bus from Carnegie Hall at
57th Street and 7th Avenue. This bus follows Hylan Avenue. Ask to be
let off near the entrance to Gateway’s Great Kills Park.
Car: From Manhattan, take the Brooklyn Bridge and follow signs to
Brooklyn/Queens Expressway (Route 278) to Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
($7.00 toll). Follow 278/Staten Island Expressway, exit at Hylan
Boulevard and go south (left) on Hylan Boulevard for 5 miles to the
park entrance, which is east of (opposite) Buffalo Street. Follow
Park Drive 1.5 miles to Parking Area A, where parking is free.
Parking at Crooke’s Point is by permit only.
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