Sandy Hook Launches Guided Canoe Tours Of The National Park

HIGHLANDS, NJ — As if summer 2021 couldn't get any better, Gateway National Recreation Area - Sandy Hook Unit is now launching guided canoe tours around the Sandy Hook peninsula.

This is the first year the National Park Service has done kayak/canoe tours at Sandy Hook.

The tours will run in the mornings only, every Tuesday and Thursday from June 15 - Aug. 26. The tours will be from 9:15 a.m. to 12 noon.

This is a two-mile guided canoe paddle in Sandy Hook Bay to explore Sandy Hook, which is a peninsula park run by the U.S. National Park Service. Park rangers will guide kayakers on a two-and-a-half hour tour of Sandy Hook Bay and Skeleton Island, which is where harbor seals often haul out of the water and rest during the winter.

The National Park Service is offering this entirely for free. There is a kayak rental business on Sandy Hook, where you can pay to take ocean kayaks out by yourself in the bay. That is an entirely separate business.

You must make a reservation. Go to www.recreation.gov or call 1-877-444-6777 to make a reservation. Canoes, life jackets and paddles provided; just bring yourself, a sun hat and sunscreen and clothes than can get wet!

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