Outside in The Rockaways

Thirty-six acres of tidal marsh on the bay side of the peninsula, reaching northeast into Jamaica Bay between Sommerville Basin and Grass Hassock Channel. The Red Trail starts at Bayfield Avenue and Beach 65th Street and runs out along the shore, with Manhattan visible about fifteen miles off on a clear day. It sits on the Atlantic Flyway, so egrets, herons, hawks and ducks are the usual company, and swimming is not allowed.

Daily, dawn to dusk

Five and a half miles of city beach and rebuilt concrete boardwalk running from Beach 9th Street in Far Rockaway west to Beach 126th Street in Rockaway Park, with a bike path the whole length of it. The section at Beach 73rd Street is a straight walk south from the cinema and is one of the quieter stretches, well away from the concession islands. The boardwalk itself is open from six in the morning until ten at night all year, and lifeguards work the water only between Memorial Day weekend and the Sunday after Labor Day.

Boardwalk open daily, 6am to 10pm, year round. Lifeguards on duty 10am to 6pm from Memorial Day weekend to the Sunday after Labor Day