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Rockaway Beach
2 reviews
Neighborhood: Arverne
Category: Beaches
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Manhattan Beach
6 reviewsNeighborhood: Manhattan Beach
Category: Beaches
Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
13 reviews for Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
If you can't make it out east, this is literally the next best thing. If you're taking the train, take the S train all the way to B-116 and walk down even further. Get there early and set up for the day, you'll appreciate this advice as you see the beach gradually fill up as the day goes on.
If you surfboard, you already know what makes this beach so freaking great - the huuuuuge waves! I love letting the ocean toss me around, kick my ass, and remind me of its wondrous power. If you're brave, swim far out and let the waves bob you up and down as they crash into the shore.
The sand is a cross between Coney Island's dirt like gross-ness and the Hampton's beautiful white grains. There are tons of great shells, beach glass, and smooth beach stones and, unlike Coney Island, you will notttt step on a broken beer bottle or used syringe.
I recently went here over Labor Day weekend, though, and there were insurmountable numbers of dead jellyfish washing up on shore and dissolving in the hot end-of-summer sun. At first, I had no idea as to whether I should be nervous of the jelly fish stinging me or not, but then I realized that none of them were alive...and it was sort of sad.
Bring lunch, the boardwalk options are mostly junk food and it's expensive. Which brings me to my next point...the boardwalk. I never really understood what the appeal of the "boardwalk" is...but it makes me wish I had a bike, or a lover to walk down it with at sunset. Cheesy, right?
Take out what you bring in, there's no reason to leave your gar-gar behind...don't let this beach turn into the trash-fest that Coney Island is.
J and I aren't usually very adventurous on the weekends. Our Sundays normally consist of sleeping in, Bloody Marys, and baseball, but when our activity over-achieving friends organized a trip to Rockaway Beach, we agreed that maybe it would be a good idea to branch out a bit. To get pumped up for our big adventure, we (OK, I) played the Ramones' "Rockaway Beach" and did a happy punk rock dance around the living room. No, this was not recorded on video.
The A train often runs local on the weekend, which meant that we had a pretty long ride, but not as long as members of our group who came from Inwood. Inwood! You almost can't go further on a single subway line than going from Inwood to Rockaway. We stopped whining when we heard this, but we also shared a look that said "in no possible universe would we ever come here from Inwood."
The beach itself is actually very clean and nice, with plenty of room to spread out, even on a beautiful sunny weekend day. There are crashing waves, seagulls, and a boardwalk separating the sand from the stretches of apartment buildings that line the shore. But really, who on earth lives out here? Whoever they are, they've got one hell of a view. The water, while ridiculously cold, was clean enough for swimming if you were a crazy polar bear-type person, which many of our group were. I stayed safely on the sand and worked on my tan, thank you very much.
When it got cloudy we took shelter in the Sand Bar (how many beach snack shops named the Sand Bar do you think there are, approximately, in the world? SO many, I'd say), offering your standard fried everything and icy pina coladas for $6.
Look, this is not a 5-star beach compared to beaches in Maine, or Rhode Island or the Jersey Shore or Australia or the French Riviera. But this is a bona fide beach that you can get to on the SUBWAY, which I feel has got to count for quite a lot.
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Ohhh the Rockaways! People new to this place, rather the city, think they are in Brooklyn, but no no no this is Queens baby. Just another reason for me to LOVE Queens. I grew up in New England so I was blessed with beautiful Rhode Island beaches, but the Rockaways are just as good for this area. Ive been to Jones and the local beaches that Jersey and LI people brag about, but like Mike B. said SILENCIO!
One thing to note, I was at Beach 116 and awoke from a little nap to find an older man in a bright red dress with a turban and REAL parrot on his shoulder walking around. Now he was not disturbing anyone but having him be the first thing I see when I woke up was a little "what the hell...???" A women near me informed me he is a local and takes walks along the beach often. So if you see him do not be alarmed just another only in NY story.
Great delis when you get off the train, a cute clothing shop is there, forgot the name, get there early on the weekend..10-10:30am..but if you can't get there that early no worries this place does not get busy like Coney Island.
One last thing! The Rockaways are divided. If you forget to get off the train and jump on the shuttle to 116 you will up end in an area that may scare some people off. Now I've been to this half many times and there's nothing to be scared of but you will not find the delis and fast food joints like you will around 116. I believe theses beaches are in the 60s (ex. Beach 62), and are more for the people of the neighborhood. Still just as nice and more secluded than the 90-116 beaches.
Some one spoke of Breezy Point being in the Rockaways, and yes it technically is but Breezy is a gated community and they do not let ANYONE past the gates without you having a home behind the gates or knowing someone who put you on the list to get in. I was fortunate enough to have a friend whose family has a few homes in Breezy. Once you get past those gates...the views...the beaches...NO NYPD, they have their own "law enforcement", and a lot of drunk Irish & Italian NYers (open bottle on their beaches is OK). So if you can get to Breezy GO my dream is have a home there, but being a public school teacher I may never save up enough for that!
Get to the Rockaways and see the beauty of Queens!! Just don't get too comfortable and move to this borough...I don't want what happened to Brooklyn to happen to Queens :)
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Went higher up in the numbers (92nd Street) because I wanted to rent a stick and go surfing. A lot more crowded and smelly.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/1/2009
A day in the sun. Got some reading in.
It was my first time to Rockaway and it was well worth the… Read more »
The biggest part of Rockaway Beach is the convenience of taking the subway there.
The drawback is simply, especially when driving, ridiculous parking regulations between the upper mid hundreds to around 90th.
On top of that, the boardwalk condition is deplorable- wood sections are outright dangerous as they stick out and you can get injured.
The biggest qualm with the beach is not the intensity of the waves but the quality of the water.
There is way too much shell particles near the walking area and therefore I would recommend shoes.
The water is murky and there is quite a decent amount of men made matter that flows in and out.
This is my honest assessment but then, I hadn't been to Rockaway beach since late high school and early college years. Even then the waters were questionable in quality and we did not dunk much there.
Rockaway was simply a place to go, not necessarily to swim.
PS: My reference point for a decent beach is Destin Beach, in Destin, Florida.
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A wonderful escape from the city and fairly easy to get to (I took the Q53 from Woodside).
The waves are surprisingly decent for surfing, but watch out for the wooden posts that stick out at low tide.
The guys are Boarders are super nice and have a lot of boards for rent if you need one. If you have your own, they also have lockers you can rent to keep your board.
I haven't been back since the fall (can't do freezing temps) but I'll be back there once the water gets a little more bearable.
A great escape, surprisingly not too crowded and happy to report there are some decent waves even in the summer.
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In all fairness, I did get to this beach at 7pm, so swimming time was over. The sand however was noticeably covered in pollution: cigarette butts, plastic and glass beverage bottles, leftover food from someone else's picnic, empty beer cans.... it was pretty dirty. But maybe that's cuz it was late it in the day. We didn't want to get there when it was over-crowded, as I feel it can be. All in all, the experience was very nice, but just simply not clean enough.
ah yes, Rockaway Beach. the trump card for NYC residents who have to put up with the incessnant yammering of Jersey people about how we are deprived by the fact that there are "no beaches" in New York, and how amazing the Jersey shore is, and yada yada yada...SILENCIO!
I haven't been to Rockaway in a few years, but used to go a lot in junior high and high school. it is nice relaxing place away from the madness and yet close enough to it.
it's never really empty, but not packed to the point that you won't find a spot. much preferable to Coney or Brighton.
extra pluses: there's a Ramones song about it, no Jersey people or other tourists to fend off, and it's easily accessible by a ride on the MTA or a sweet-ass drive.
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Ahhh my hometown. It's always nice to come back to you.
During the summer weekends, the surfers' area can get pretty crowded. If you want some nice waves all to yourself come here on weekdays or very early on saturdays and sundays. At least when there's no one around, no one is also around to take your stuff and you don't have to fight anyone for parking.
Waves are decent. But being an ex-local, I can vouch that the waters have strong currents and will pull you away from the shore. Unless you are a very good swimmer, don't venture too far out (the Park Rangers in green uniforms who we call "Shrek" will also make sure of that).
Surf-wise, the waves of summer are baby waves and are good for beginners. Not as good as the waves @ the Jersey Shore but hey, it's close to home and the traffic is not as bad.
After storms, the beach comes alive and every surfer comes out of the woodwork. Also, some show-offs have been spotted and have been displaying their dbaggery much to the dismay of the locals. But at least they're not as bad as the Jersey Guidos.
A week or so back, I came to the secluded part of Rockaway Beach (I think it was Breezy Point). We drove until the main road ended, and parked in a place that said "Fishing Permits required". We parked next to and slightly behind a big truck, in order to not be seen.
The night was clear, cool and windy. We walked down the street a little ways and through the dilapidated trail and dunes to get to the most spectacular view of NY city and the surrounding areas.
I could see almost every major bridge for the NY city area, the famous Manhattan skyline, Brooklyn, Queens and a little bit of Nassau county. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and took it all in. I hadn't seen such a beautiful and secluded side to NY, ever. There were only 2 other people at the beach besides us taking in the amazing view. I only wished I had a camera, a long shudder speed, a wide angle lens and a tripod so I could see this moment again and again.
Additionally, the beach was littered with large clamshells, and I took one home as a souvenir.
The car was still safely parked when we went to leave. We drove across the bridge and back to reality.
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I hate to knock on Rockaway Beach, but being a semi-honest person and a fully-honest Yelper, I am compelled to withhold the fifth star.
The only gripe I have about Rockaway Beach is that the beach can be a bit cleaner and not so full of broken seashells. But then again, a legitimate beach at the end of the A Train, just about an hour away for mere $2? Fine, I'll dole out the fifth star.
The kids and I visited on a random Wednesday afternoon http://flickr.com/phot... and we were surprised to find the beach not only moderately populated, but also very pleasant. The water was still really cold, but it was pretty clean and the waves were large enough to make things interesting.
Honestly, we were rather skeptical and didn't know what to expect, and even figured that we'd have to bring our own food because we guessed the beach would be deserted and lifeless. Wrong.
Rockaway Beach at 116 St stop on the Shuttle service off the end of Far Rockaway A Train is a full-blown small beach town, complete with a row of beach paraphernalia stores and a number of delis and bars.
If you haven't made the trip out to Rockaway Beach, do it as soon as possible. I can't believe I didn't get around to it until well into my fourth year as a Brooklyn resident.
We all baked pretty well under the 95 degree sun - the top of my shoulders are still peeling as I type this - and cooled off downing a few cold ones at The Sandbar http://www.yelp.com/bi... that featured $3 plastic cups of Bud.
No, it's not a dream getaway to the Bahamas, but at $2, there may not be any better "vacation" deals out there.
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Now, this is a beach!!! NO, this is the OCEAN!!! None of that sissy silky baby powder sand... real sand, complete with a smattering of seashells and even a clam or two. Big proud surfing waves...No half-steppin' here!!! Truly a beach for all seasons...When its sunny, you bake. When the rain comes, look out, downpours from dark, ominous skies. When its cold, it's that crisp cutting freeze. Here, the elements shine clean and powerful. This strip of beach is God's playground...
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Rockaway Beach is as awesome as it ever was. Let's list the reasons: It's easy to get to (enter the Ramones singing), the waves are big, the beach & boardwalk are clean, it's not overcrowded, and it's free! I love this beach more than any other in New York. You can keep Jones... I'll get my freckles at Rockaway.
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