Forgive the geography lesson! Fort Tilden is an old army base, sandwiched between Far Rockaway and Breezy Point, east of Coney Island. If you've ever flown out of JFK in daylight, you've seen this long skinny strip of land with water on both sides and wondered: "what the f is that?" The answer is - its Queens!
To get to Ft. Tilden, you will first need to go to Brooklyn. Take the Belt Pkwy south, following signs for the Rockaways, til you find the parking lot for Jacob Ris Park. Facing the water, walk to your right, towards the man-made weirdly flat beach, past the bathroom building. You will start to see dunes and a jetty off in the distance - that's Ft. Tilden Beach . This totally unmarked beach is beautiful and clean, and offers absolutely no amenities (only 5 minute walk back to the loo). Nude sunbathing is common, as is drinking. It's never crowded. Dogs technically allowed after labor day and before memorial day.
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| A summer beach day with my bff, Meeshe |
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| The uncrowded beach |
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| Sunset |
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| More sunset |
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| Oct, with the dogs |
Mangia!! After a long beach day, try Davids Pizza in Far Rockaway or one of the food trucks on 96th street - Rockaway Taco in particular. L and B Spumoni Gardens in Gravesend has their own way of making pizza, some say it's the only way.
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| Rockaway Taco |
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| L&B |
Check out the Rockaway Artist Alliance, they set up shop in the abandoned military buildings a short walk from the beach
http://www.rockawayartistsalliance.org/aboutUs_Organization.html
