As summer approaches, many people are putting final touches and arrangements on their travel plans.
And one of the places that receive a lot of tourists and visitors in the summer is Brooklyn.
When you visit this beautiful place, you will understand why many people flock to Brooklyn, one of boroughs of New York. Brooklyn is a place with many attractions, creative arts and artists, beautiful hotels, lovely restaurants, and refreshing beaches.
This place’s cultural and artistic richness has been built over the years by a diverse community with a shared passion for arts, music, and talent.
So if you are planning on visiting this vibrant and exciting part of New York over the summer, you can’t miss out on paying a visit to the beach.
Fortunately, there are so many clean, exciting, and beautiful beaches that line up in Brooklyn coastal line.
And this article will explore the best beaches you can add to your list as you plan a trip to Brooklyn.
- 1. Plumb Beach
- 2. Manhattan Beach
- 3. Breezy Point Tip Beach
- 4. Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 4 Beach
- 5. Pebble Beach
- 6. Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
- 7. Marsha P. Johnson State Park (East River State Park)
- 8. Dead Horse Bay
- 9. Fort Tilden
- 10. Brighton Beach
- 11. Kingsborough Community College Beach
- 12. Coney Island Beach
- 13. Brooklyn Beach Club
1. Plumb Beach
Location: East Bound Belt Pkwy, just east of Exit 9, Knapp St. Brooklyn, NY
Plumb Beach is one of the best beaches to run to if you want to escape the chaos of the city.
You will find this gem hidden by the Gateway Recreation Area. It is close to the Gerritsen Beach and sits along the northern shoreline of the Rockaway Inlet.
This peaceful and calm beach boasts a shoreline of low saltmarsh areas, a tidal mudflat, a dune system, a tidal lagoon, and woodland thickets.
It is a lovely spot for wind-related fun activities like kiteboarding and windsurfing, and there is also provision for a kayak launch.
There is provision for a restroom, and a parking lot, especially for those bringing their kayak trailers. You can access the beach through the Belt Parkway after exit 9.
If you use public transportation, you should take the B-4 or B-44 bus.
It will drop you by Knapp Street/shore Parkway, and then you can proceed by foot to the beach. It is good to add that the beach opens at 6 am and closes at 9 pm.
2. Manhattan Beach
- Location: Oriental Blvd. Brooklyn, NY 11235
- Contact: 311 or 212-639-9675
Manhattan Beach is one of the best beaches in Brooklyn, it was intended to be an exclusive beach for the wealthy at first, but that changed.
It is accessible by anyone, and you do not have to pay any amount to have a good time on this beach.
Manhattan Beach is very popular during the summer season; it is a family-friendly beach and the best place to go if you want many fun activities. There is never a dull moment on this beach.
There are sporting facilities like basketball, volleyball, baseball fields and two playgrounds.
Also, it is a good place for picnics because you can barbecue, and there are some provisions for seating. They also have a special path for bikes and skateboards.
If you are planning a summer outing, know that this beach has it all. You and your group can plan sports activities and then relax with some barbecue.
The beach opens from 5 am to 10 pm, and you can access it from Manhattan by using the B train.
3. Breezy Point Tip Beach
Location; Breezy Point, NY 11697
Breezy Point Tip Beach is a quiet beach community run by the Breezy Point Cooperative. This beach faces Brooklyn, and you can locate it on the Western end of the Rockaway Peninsula.
It is a residential beach area, and members who belong to the cooperative that runs the area contribute to the security and maintenance of the community.
Unfortunately, the beach does not have free access; you need to pay a nominal gate fee to access it.
It is a quiet beach compared to others, and it is home to some diverse breeding shorebirds like the endangered Common Tern, Piping Plover, Oystercatcher, and Black Skimmer.
In addition, there are some interesting places like a surf shop, beach bar, gift shop, and a candy shop.
4. Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 4 Beach
Location: Furman St at Montague, Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park offers you some of the best views of New York City. The Brooklyn Bridge Park stretches between 1.3 miles of coastline along the East River.
The park is an exciting and beautiful place filled with many infrastructure and things to do near Brooklyn Bridge Park are endless.
You will find many restaurants, parks, walking & biking paths, and piers, and one of these piers happens to be a beach.
Brooklyn Bridge Park consists of six piers, and Pier 4 is a beach where you can get some sand action.
Pier 4 beach is an artificial beach constructed from a railroad float transfer bridge abandoned by the river bed.
The architectural design of the whole area makes it beautiful, beginning from the planted native species, ECOncrete natural tidal pools, to Bird Island.
It is a lovely place to relax and enjoy the green scenery and expansive coastal shoreline.
After exploring the beach, why not have a nice tip to Brooklyn Bridge, one of the famous bridges in NYC. Walking across Brooklyn Bridge is among one of the must-do things in Brooklyn.
5. Pebble Beach
Location: Main Street Park
Pebble Beach is not your regular type of beach where you enjoy soft and succulent sand with the water.
Neither would you find beach umbrellas and swimmable water; on the contrary, you will find something spectacular and outstanding.
The water here is not very clean, so it is not advisable to start jumping into the water.
Also, the shoreline is made up of pebbles that might not be very comfortable for seating. But one thing that this beach offers you is the beautiful view.
You can view Downtown Manhattan, Manhattan Bridge, and the Brooklyn Bridge all from this single location.
In addition, you will find Pebble Beach along Main Street Park, but you can also access the beach if you walk along Brooklyn Bridge Park.
You can get to this beach by using different subways like York, High and Clark street subway stations, or you can use the ferry, Citibike.
6. Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
- Location: From Beach 9th Street, Far Rockaway, to Beach 149th Street, Neponsit
- Contact: (718) 318-4000
Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk is one of the best beaches in the area, with an expansive shoreline of 5 miles, and the Boardwalk is about 5.5 miles.
This is also the largest urban beach in the US, and there is enough space for everyone.
Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk has some of the best outdoor activities and is the only beach in the city that permits surfing.
In addition, there are places on the beach where you can rent a surfing board and ride some waves.
If you are looking for some refreshment, you will find many Italian pizza and ice cream vendors, a low tide bar, and vibrant sounds from the DJs.
You will never get a boring time here because there are action-packed activities for friends and family members.
7. Marsha P. Johnson State Park (East River State Park)
- Location: 90 Kent Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11211
- Contact: (718) 782-2731
- Visit Website
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Marsha P. Johnson State Park is a waterfront park with a size of seven acres, and it is located along the East River in Williamsburg. This beautiful park provides enough space and opportunity for relaxation and recreation.
The park has vast green space, a delightful play area, and a charming view of the Manhattan skyline.
This park is a historical site that once hosted a shipping dock, and tourists can still find historical remnants like railroad tracks and cobblestone streets.
This park was previously known as East River State Park, but it was renamed in 2020 to honour Marsha P. Johnson State Park, an activist and pioneer of the LGTBQ civil rights struggle.
The park is open to the public, and you do not need to pay a fee.
8. Dead Horse Bay
This bay gets its name from the horse rendering plants that once overpopulated the beach.
And this place was once vibrant with the presence of garbage incinerators and fish oil factories.
But, unfortunately, today, the garbage from the beach leaks into the ocean, making this place look dirty.
This beach is usually empty and quiet, and you will find thousands of broken bottles, rusty telephones, leather shoe soles, and unidentifiable pieces of plastic and metal.
However, you might visit here if you want a quiet place with a historical background.
9. Fort Tilden
Location: Center Rd, Queens, NY 11697, United States
Contact: FortTildenBeach@gmail.com
Fort Tilden Beach houses an abandoned seaside fortress, which was once America’s sea wall defence system.
This Fort was built to protect the Mainland from the threat of the 1st World War, and it has been abandoned.
At the moment, it serves as a lovely beach where people can hang out by the seaside and have fun.
You will find hiking trails, athletic fields, a theatre, an arts centre, and an observatory deck at this beach.
This observatory deck gives you a lovely view of the Manhattan skyline, New York Harbour, and Jamaica bay.
The unfortunate part about visiting this beach is that swimming is prohibited since there are no lifeguards.
So you might have to set up your camp by the sand and enjoy the view. The beach is open from 6 am to 9 pm.
10. Brighton Beach
Location; Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY
Brighton Beach, otherwise known as Little Odesa, is a residential area with many immigrants of Ukrainian and Russian descent.
This part of New York has a historical background and was once a vibrant neighbourhood that hosted the famous 19th Century Brighton Hotel, Bungalow colonies, and race tracks.
From Brighton’s Beach boardwalk, you will see a beautiful beach view.
The beach is quiet and open to the public, and it is less crowdy than Coney Island beach.
You will find a lot of families on the beach, and they have a renovated bathroom and changing facility.
Apart from sunbathing and swimming, there are many exciting things that you can do at Brighton Beach.
You can dine on incredible food, spend the day shopping, go to a Russian Bathhouse, go for a floor show, or see a concert. It is a lovely and vibrant neighbourhood.
11. Kingsborough Community College Beach
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This Beach is a private one located within the Kingsborough Community College, one of the best colleges in Brooklyn.
You will need a pass to access the beach, but it is free for college students.
Operational hours change monthly during the summer period.
There is a concrete patio outside the college cafeteria with picnic tables and chairs.
The beach is open to the public only during the summer, and students cannot swim here during the school year except in summer.
There are lifeguards on duty, alcohol is prohibited, and if you visit with children, you must have them supervised at all times. Also, it is forbidden to move any of the patio furniture to the grass or beach.
12. Coney Island Beach
When you speak of the best beaches in New York, Coney Island Beach always makes it to the list.
This famous beach stretches within a shoreline of 3 miles, and the water is clean and perfect for swimming.
Visitors are permitted to swim between 10 am and 6 pm when the lifeguard is on duty; any swimming activities outside of this timeline are prohibited.
While at this beach, you can also go for a walk on the Riegelmann Boardwalk, where you will find amazing places to eat.
Suppose you are looking for other fun activities other than swimming.
In that case, you can visit the amusement park, the New York Aquarium, Coney Island Museum, Wonder Wheel, the roller coaster, and the world-famous mermaid parade, which takes place in mid-June.
This lovely beach is always filled with local visitors and tourists, and there is enough room for everyone.
The rolling waves and the sunny skies make it the perfect respite and getaway spot during the summer.
13. Brooklyn Beach Club
- Location: 3700 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224
- Contact: 718 449- 4488
- Visit Website
Brooklyn Beach Club is one of the best beaches in Brooklyn, and it is a lovely summer spot for relaxation and pampering your family and friends.
It is also known as Sea Gate Beach, and it is a private beach; summer membership registration begins at $599 per individual for the whole summer season.
You can also pay a daily fee of between $25-$30, but if you frequent the beach during the summer, it is better to pay for the complete membership registration.
The good thing is that it is a safe place and offers you many exciting activities during the summer.
They have an Olympic-sized pool, beach chairs and umbrellas, theme nights, daily kid activities, beach cabanas, and there is always a lifeguard on duty.
So you can come here and relax without worrying about misplacing anything or the kids getting into trouble.
The beach is open from 11 am to 8 pm from Monday to Thursday and 10 am to 9 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Finally
Summer is approaching, and you must be packing up your gears and getting ready to spend most of the days in a refreshing environment.
If you are going to Brooklyn for the first time, these are some of the beach places to visit and have a good time.
