A very misty and foggy day with poor visibility, which kind of turned this historic site more exotic and appealing in a way. Coming from I-95 south to Garden State Parkway to NJ-36, dense fog rolled in when I approached Highlands, which isn't particularly highly elevated (200 feet or 70 meters or so). Guess it is good enough for the warm wet ocean air gets cooled off and creates the mist and fog in the area, perhaps?? For being the first time visiting this part of NJ, I decided to drive to the northern tip of the peninsula just for the fun of it. The very northwestern tip is reserved for the Coast Guard and is not accessible for the public, but it was pretty neat to check out the old forts, batteries and historic monuments along with the oldest lighthouse in the country. Too bad that some signs were so worn out that they were barely legible. Surprisingly, Sandy Hook has pretty dense forestry full of birds (like swallows, seagulls, geese, vultures, red-winged blackbirds amongst other unidentifiable species) and mammals (such as raccoons, deer carcass). Unlike Asbury Park and Atlantic City, which are more popular destinations among the beach-goers, Sandy Hook is not commercialized and has a very rugged and undeveloped feel to it, which I really liked, perhaps because it is protected by the NPS. For being an hour drive, I'd totally come back here fairly often just to chill and explore some more. Due to the poor visibility, I did not get to enjoy the views and beaches as much, but I'll keep them for the future visits when it is warmer and nicer later in the season. Even in the thick fog, we got to enjoy the historic sites for a change. On the side note, I learned from a park ranger I bumped into that you could spot the annual spawning of horseshoe crabs at Horseshoe Cove although I did not spot a single one of them this time around. It was a random visit without taking the lunar or tide schedules into considerations, but I'll definitely return during the next high tide either on full or new moon nights! Guess I might not have to drive as far down to Delaware Bay after all!

Hiking/Backpacking

New Jersey, NJ, Sandy Hook, Gateway National Recreation Area, NPS, NRA

Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States

time : May 27, 2020 2:48 PM

duration : 4h 18m 18s

distance : 4.2 mi

total_ascent : 128 ft

highest_point : 36 ft

avg_speed : 1.4 mi/h

user_id : NomadHeeday

user_firstname : Heeday

user_lastname : Nakahashi

A very misty and foggy day with poor visibility, which kind of turned this historic site more exotic and appealing in a way. Coming from I-95 south to Garden State Parkway to NJ-36, dense fog rolled in when I approached Highlands, which isn't particularly highly elevated (200 feet or 70 meters or so). Guess it is good enough for the warm wet ocean air gets cooled off and creates the mist and fog in the area, perhaps?? For being the first time visiting this part of NJ, I decided to drive to the northern tip of the peninsula just for the fun of it. The very northwestern tip is reserved for the Coast Guard and is not accessible for the public, but it was pretty neat to check out the old forts, batteries and historic monuments along with the oldest lighthouse in the country. Too bad that some signs were so worn out that they were barely legible. Surprisingly, Sandy Hook has pretty dense forestry full of birds (like swallows, seagulls, geese, vultures, red-winged blackbirds amongst other unidentifiable species) and mammals (such as raccoons, deer carcass). Unlike Asbury Park and Atlantic City, which are more popular destinations among the beach-goers, Sandy Hook is not commercialized and has a very rugged and undeveloped feel to it, which I really liked, perhaps because it is protected by the NPS. For being an hour drive, I'd totally come back here fairly often just to chill and explore some more. Due to the poor visibility, I did not get to enjoy the views and beaches as much, but I'll keep them for the future visits when it is warmer and nicer later in the season. Even in the thick fog, we got to enjoy the historic sites for a change. On the side note, I learned from a park ranger I bumped into that you could spot the annual spawning of horseshoe crabs at Horseshoe Cove although I did not spot a single one of them this time around. It was a random visit without taking the lunar or tide schedules into considerations, but I'll definitely return during the next high tide either on full or new moon nights! Guess I might not have to drive as far down to Delaware Bay after all!