Governors Island
A car-free island escape with Manhattan views, just minutes from shore.
Governors Island is a 172-acre island in New York Harbor, a short ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. For centuries it served as a military base — first for the Continental Army, then as a US Army and Coast Guard installation — before being transferred to New York City in the early 2000s. Today it operates as a seasonal public park managed by the Trust for Governors Island, and it's one of the most unusual and genuinely restorative places in the entire city.
The island is almost entirely car-free, which immediately gives it a different tempo from the rest of New York. People rent bikes and cruise past Civil War-era fortifications like Fort Jay and Castle Williams, lounge in hammock groves, picnic on open lawns, and take in some of the best unobstructed views of the Statue of Liberty and Lower Manhattan skyline you'll find anywhere. There are art installations, pop-up food vendors, summer concert series, and a growing permanent cultural presence including the New York Climate Exchange. The Hills — a series of landscaped mounds built from landfill — offer elevated views that reward the short climb.
The island is only accessible by ferry and is open seasonally, typically from late May through the end of October, though some programming extends into the shoulder months. Ferries run from the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan and from Atlantic Avenue Terminal in Brooklyn. It gets busy on summer weekends, but the island is large enough that it never feels truly crowded. Go on a weekday if you can — it's a different world.
