A walk out on the boardwalk takes you over a short patch of saltmarsh habitat, which then brings you to an overlook of the bay with views of sandbars and beaches. In the winter, this is one of the top spots for gull-watching in Sandy Hook.

Clapper Rail, Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull, Eastern Towhee, Boat-tailed Grackle, Common Yellowthroat

The Spermaceti Cove Boardwalk at the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area leads to an observation deck overlooking the marsh area of Spermaceti Cove. It is located between Parking Lots D and E, but on the other side of the road. Parking in these lots between Memorial Day and Labor Day requires a fee, but there is a small parking lot between them that is free. It’s also the closest parking area to the boardwalk.

Sandy Hook is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area (NRA), which includes parts of Staten Island, New York, and Jamaica Bay, New York. Sandy Hook is the only part of the National Recreation Area that is part of New Jersey and is the name given to the whole peninsula.

Gateway NRA's Sandy Hook Unit covers most of the Sandy Hook peninsula off the coast of central New Jersey. There you will find miles of beaches, overnight camping, the oldest continuously operating lighthouse in the county, the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark, and a former life-saving station.

The peninsula includes a popular Multi-Use Path (MUP), ideal for people taking a walk, using rollerblades, or riding a bicycle. Bikes can also use the road but must obey traffic laws. Those who use the ferry to arrive at Sandy Hook in the summer should take a bus map to see what beaches they can access.

The northern tip of the peninsula is an active Coast Guard facility and is off-limits to visitors.

For centuries, the safest way to sail into New York Harbor was by hugging the shore of Sandy Hook, where the water was deepest. This six-mile peninsula had an outsize influence on the safety of the harbor and the defense of New York City. From its days as a British colony and outpost to the era of nuclear missiles, Sandy Hook lighted the paths of seafarers and protected New Yorkers from potential attack and invasion. Since the Federal government completed the purchase of the entire peninsula in 1814, it was spared the commercial development that dominates much of the New Jersey coast. In 1982, the Sandy Hook peninsula was designated as the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark.

Unlike the rest of Monmouth County, the dominant chickadee species is Black-capped Chickadee. eBird will flag it (because it would be rare in the rest of Monmouth County), but if you note in the species comments that you are at Sandy Hook, the eBird reviewer will accept the sighting without additional documentation.