Sandy Hook, NJ, a 9-mile, 1,665-acre barrier peninsula, is part of the National Gateway Recreation Area that includes ocean and bay beaches, excellent surf fishing, miles of bike and nature trails, a spectacular holly forest, Fort Hancock (a former military base) and Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest working lighthouse in the country, which is now a National Historic Landmark.

The active Sandy Hook Coast Guard complex dominates the narrow peninsula inside the northern tip of the hook. From there the sandy dunes stretch several miles south before rejoining the mainland in Sea Bright, NJ.