Welcome to Sandy Hook, NJ

Sandy Hook Bay, westward of Sandy Hook and eastward of Point Comfort is an excellent anchorage, the depths of water ranging from 30 feet just inside Sandy Hook to 15 feet near its southern part; the shoaling is gradual and the bottom is good holding ground. The best anchorage during easterly and southeasterly winds is in the eastern part of the bay.

Shallow-draft vessels can reportedly find satisfactory anchorage in Horseshoe Cove, on the east side of the bay. In 1999, the spit of land that forms Horseshoe Cove was reported visible only at extreme low water. Shoals extend an additional 200 yards southeastward from the end of the charted spit to about 40°26.7’N., 73°59.9’W. Mariners are cautioned not to navigate over this finger of land. Heavy fish traps extend out to a depth of 20 feet in places on the shoals on the southwest side of Sandy Hook Bay between Atlantic Highlands and Point Comfort.

Sandy Hook, the southern entrance point to New York Harbor, is low and sandy. A Coast Guard station and two radio towers are near the northern extremity of Sandy Hook. The towers and a large green standpipe to the southeast are the most prominent objects on the northern end of Sandy Hook. Southward of the standpipe are several houses and Sandy Hook Light (40°27’42″N., 74°00’07″W.), 88 feet above the water and shown from a white stone tower, 85 feet high. This light, established in 1764, is the oldest in continuous use in the United States.

Sandy Hook is a Government reservation, and landing is prohibited as far south, approximately, as the bridge over the mouth of Shrewsbury River. Vessels awaiting favorable weather for an outside run can anchor in Sandy Hook Bay south of a line bearing due west from Sandy Hook Light.