Sandy Hook
Introduction
Can you imagine using technology from the third century today? Third century? Really? You are probably saying, “That is so old.” Want to hear something shocking? We are still using technology from the third century that is just a little updated. I am talking about lighthouses. The earliest one that we can find goes all the way back to Egypt in the third century.
We still use this technology today, as is evidenced by the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. This Lighthouse was used in the Revolutionary War. The Brits held this lighthouse to guide British ships to NYC. IF the lighthouse is destroyed, then the British ships can’t find their way. So, we tried to destroy it, but the lighthouse withstood the cannon blasts. This thing is robust. Maybe instead of being built like a brick sh*t house, we should say built like a lighthouse….. I guess that is not as funny. Oh well, we still got the colonies and told the Brits to shove off. Not to mention that we have the lighthouse. So, that sounds like a win for us.
Meandering Along to the Lighthouse (Other things to do in Sandy Hook)
The lighthouse is at the end of the peninsula. As we journey to the lighthouse, we note a few sights. A point of nerdy or cool trivia is that the lighthouse used to be on the ocean. In fact, it was 500 feet from the ocean. However, the ocean currents continue to deposit sand, changing the shape of the peninsula. The lighthouse is now 1.5 miles from the northern tip.
My family likes the sweet bike path in Sandy Hook. This path runs along the Atlantic side of the peninsula. So, you can ride along or walk along and see the Atlantic Ocean. You can ride over to the Lighthouse, and then ride back. In my experience, the people who use this path are courteous and make it a good experience.
(The bike path on Sandy Hook is great for a stroll, walk, run, or riding your bike.)
As you go along the path, there are plenty of places to explore the water. You can surf fish provided that there is no lifeguard on that section of the beach. If you are really daring, you can go to Gunnison Beach and get a full-body tan. We decided to tour the other beaches and leave some things to mystery.
As we move toward the lighthouse, we remember that this is a place commissioned to protect NYC. So, Sandy Hook has a decommissioned military base as well. You can walk around the outside of the military housing options. You can see some examples of canons on display. If you want, you can tour an officer’s house.
This is also a place where they did munitions testing. You can see the test site and see where they stored munitions. There is also a site with Nike missiles that were ready to fire upon Soviet bombers if necessary during the Cold War. This was ready to go up to 1974 when the base was decommissioned. Thankfully, now the only Nike you see is on people running the path.
The Lighthouse
We have been to Sandy Hook several times. We admired the lighthouse from the outside, but never had the opportunity to go and tour the lighthouse. The funny thing is that this happened 100% by accident. We only had one day to visit Sandy Hook, and our kids really wanted to see the ocean. Thankfully, this was one of those days when the lighthouse was open for tours. So this is a total win/win situation.
(This is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The front building is the old lighthouse keeper’s residence. This is where you sign up for a tour.)
If you want to visit this lighthouse, I do recommend that you do; you can find the tour schedule on the NPS website. If you go to the Sandy Hook Foundation website, yes, the Sandy Hook Foundation does have an old “Geocities” vibe to it, but the content seems to be updated consistently. The Sandy Hook Foundation is a great site to bookmark if you are planning to visit the area. They lay out all the things you can do in Sandy Hook. If you are visiting NJ, I would say that Sandy Hook is worth your time.
This Lighthouse was first lit on June 11, 1764. The lighthouse keeper could only fail once at keeping the lamp lit. The keeper would be fired if he failed a second time. Apparently, there was no three-strikes law for the keeper. Let’s be thankful for baseball! Imagine losing your job and house all in the same day? That would be motivation to be Johnny on the Spot with the light. Then you think of the real risk: ships getting lost or running aground. So, one could understand the two-strikes policy.
What do you get with the tour?
Make sure you sign up for the tour at the old keeper’s house. If you are by the lighthouse in the morning, most likely a ranger will catch you and tell you to sign up. The tours are in the afternoon. They are free, but they make people sign up because the rangers want the guests to make some sort of commitment. The tour is worth way more than you pay. You definitely get your money’s worth in the free tour.
When it is your time to go on your tour, you will gather around the park ranger. The ranger will open the lighthouse, and you will go with your small group and stop at different places in the lighthouse. The tour guide will give you a history of the particular places you are standing. You have a chance to ask questions along the way. You will be climbing many stairs, so be prepared to get your steps in for the day. Also, the top of the lighthouse is pretty tight, but it is worth the view. I hope you like your group, and they have good hygiene. Thankfully, our group checked all the boxes.
The gallery below is some of the views from the Lighthouse. You can see the NYC skyline.
I think the thing that is so surprising is to think of the original keepers carrying the whale oil up the stairs to keep the lighthouses lit. I cannot imagine how much of a challenge that would be. The stairs get more narrow as you approach the top, and the thought of the waves crashing near the lighthouse, storms, and just running up and down the stairs is a bit overwhelming. We have things a lot easier today. I am sure that the whales are appreciative of electricity as well. So, it is worth gaining the historical perspective of what people did in the past.
The thing that is also fascinating about the lighthouse is that it is still in use. You would think that after all these years and GPS, we would not need these things anymore. However, we still use some old-school things to keep life rolling. Thankfully, there are light bulbs, and it is not as difficult to maintain the place. I am sure people with smaller boats will appreciate the lighthouse at night. Yes, I would say that Sandy Hook and the lighthouse tour is a Paulie’s pick!
Conclusion
If you are looking for a road trip on the East Coast, hopefully, you have a new destination. I do not know if all the people in the area appreciate the tourists. We did have one person tell us that we are number 1 with the naughty finger. This person had bumper stickers celebrating that they are a native of Sandy Hook. We had a rental with Oregon plates, and I don’t think she celebrated our exploration of her community. My son said, “Hey, look, kids, a deer!” If you have ever seen the beginning of Christmas Vacation, you’ll get that joke. We laughed it off and continued on our way.
(Our trusty rental van got us here. Not sure I would want to buy a Pacifica, but it did the task)
Overall, the experience with the rangers and the beach was wonderful. People were welcoming and friendly, and we had a good time. I am thankful that we had the chance to tour the lighthouse. It really was a happy accident. Hopefully, this motivates you to get out and visit a new place. Or maybe you just appreciate an old place in your community.