South Beach Boardwalk
A two-and-a-half-mile boardwalk and a wide public beach on the Atlantic side of Staten Island, with a fraction of the crowds of Coney Island or Rockaway.
- What it costs
- Free.
- Best in
- Summer, Fall, Spring
- Where
- Father Capodanno Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10305
- Official site
- nycgovparks.org
The empty beach
South Beach and the adjoining Midland Beach give you a wide Atlantic-facing public beach with lifeguards in season and, on a July weekday, almost nobody on it.
The contrast with Coney Island is the point. Same city, same fare, same ocean, a tenth of the people. The trade is the extra forty minutes of travel each way.
The water is Lower Bay rather than open ocean, so it's calmer than Rockaway.
The boardwalk
The Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk runs about two and a half miles — reportedly the fourth-longest boardwalk in the world — with the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge at the northern end and the ocean the whole way.
It's a genuinely good long walk or run, flat and uninterrupted, with fishing piers, playgrounds and a small amusement area along it.
At the north end it runs toward Fort Wadsworth and the bridge.
What's there and what isn't
There are concessions and a handful of restaurants along Father Capodanno Boulevard, and the surrounding neighborhood has good Italian and Sri Lankan food — Staten Island has one of the largest Sri Lankan communities in the country, concentrated near here, and it's worth seeking out.
What there isn't: the density of boardwalk food you get at Coney Island or Rockaway. Bring something, or plan where you're eating.
Getting there
Ferry to St. George, then the S51 or S52 bus — about 25 minutes. Or the Staten Island Railway to Old Town and a ten-minute walk.
Around an hour and fifteen minutes from Lower Manhattan, which is why it's empty.
Getting around once you're there
The **Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk is flat, wide and step-free for its full two and a half miles** — one of the best long accessible waterfront walks in the city. Beach access mats run down to the sand at several points in season.