Sandy Hook,A 30 minute ferry ride from Manhattan

SOMETIMES getting to the beach takes so much energy that it hardly seems worth the trip. Not so when the goal is Sandy Hook, a seven-mile stretch of paradise that's accessible from Manhattan with a ferry ride of about 30 minutes.

The speedy trip across New York Harbor is thrilling; the pristine ocean beaches are dune-swept and wide. Best of all, the charms of Sandy Hook, the narrow barrier peninsula that juts northeast from New Jersey to form the harbor's eastern border, don't stop with its coastline. It's a diverse national park, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, with thriving bird sanctuaries, a dense maritime holly forest laced with hiking trails, fishing spots brimming with striped bass and bluefish, the oldest operating lighthouse in America and a historic military fort with ghostly abandoned barracks and gun batteries.

The seaside adventure begins in Manhattan, where two companies - SeaStreak and New York Waterway - offer beach-bound ferry service on weekends. (Although the service to Sandy Hook itself continues only through Labor Day, SeaStreak, which is geared toward commuters, also has year-round rides to the Highlands, allowing another approach to the peninsula.)

If You Go

SANDY HOOK is 30 to 45 minutes from Manhattan by ferry. SeaStreak (800-262-8743; www.seastreak.com) and New York Waterway (800-533-3779; www.nywaterway.com) go to Sandy Hook weekends through Labor Day. SeaStreak goes to Highlands, daily and year-round. Fares: about $30 round-trip adults, $15 children; bikes extra.

Sandy Hook is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area (732-872-5970, www.nps.gov/gate). The visitor center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Fort Hancock Museum is open 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily in summer and weekends the rest of the year; admission is free. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse is open for tours, which are free, in July and August 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. weekends.

The multiuse path is 5.5 miles long.

The New Jersey Audubon Society Sandy Hook Bird Observatory (732-872-2500; www.njaudubon.org/centers/shbo) is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.

The Twin Lights Historic Site (732-872-1814) is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily Memorial Day through Labor Day and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday September through May. Admission is free.
[org pub NYTimes, by Beth Greenfield. Above article is edited]