Sandy Hook Unit Home Page

The Sandy Hook Lighthouse at Gateway National Recreation Area is typically open for guided tours year-round every half hour from 1 PM to 4:30 PM in May through October, and from 1 PM to 3:30 PM in November through April. The only exceptions are Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day when the park is closed. You must be at least 48” tall to take the tour. Sign up in the adjacent Light Keeper’s Quarters building, which also serves as the Sandy Hook Visitor Center. Times can always change, so before heading to the park for a lighthouse tour, be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s Sandy Hook web page.

If you have a large group of up to 35 people, you must make a reservation to climb the lighthouse at least three weeks in advance. Contact the park by going to the Sandy Hook web page and clicking the Email Us link located under the heading Operating Hours.

Only eight people are allowed on each tour. I signed up for a 1:30 PM tour on a Wednesday in late June shortly after the 1 PM tour left, and I was the only one on the list. However, by tour time both my tour and the 2 PM tour were completely full. The real tourist season doesn’t even start until the Fourth of July, so you can see that slots for the lighthouse climb can be hard to get. What I have always found to be true at all National Parks is that the earlier you show up, the less crowded the tours. The Visitor Center opens at 9 AM starting in May (10 AM in the winter), so I suggest coming by as early as possible.

When you get to the top of the lighthouse you’ll know why only eight people are allowed up at a time. When looking at the top of the lighthouse from outside you will see a railing and walkway around the light. Well, you won’t be going out on that walkway, which looks rather roomy, but will be stuck inside the lens house, the small glass cupola where the actual lens of the lighthouse is mounted. Inside, there’s not enough room to even squeeze past another person.

A Ranger gives a short talk on the history of the Sandy Hook Lighthouse before starting up the steps. There are 95 of them, and once at the top you must climb a 9-rung ladder to get to the lens house. Feel free to ask questions and take photos. You will be photographing through the glass, but you do get a great view of Fort Hancock.