An army base for two centuries, closed to the public until 2005, now 172 acres of car-free park eight minutes by ferry from Lower Manhattan.
Off limits for 200 years
The Lenape called it Pagganck, the nut island, for its hickory and oak. The Dutch bought it in 1637. From 1794 it was a military post — army first, then Coast Guard from 1966 — and for two centuries it was simply not somewhere New Yorkers could go. The Coast Guard left in 1996 and the island was sold to the people of New York in 2003 for a nominal dollar.
It opened to the public in 2005, initially for a few weeks a summer. It is now open year-round.
What is on it
The Hills, at the southern end, are four artificial landforms built from demolished barracks, rising up to seventy feet. Outlook Hill has a 360-degree view of the harbour, the Statue of Liberty close up, and the Manhattan skyline. Slide Hill has the longest slide in New York, thirty-odd metres, and adults are allowed on it.
Hammock Grove has fifty hammocks strung between trees and they are first come, first served.
Colonels Row and Nolan Park are the old officers’ housing — yellow-brick and clapboard, laid out around lawns, and in summer many of the houses hold free art installations and small museums.
Castle Williams, a circular red sandstone fort from 1811, and Fort Jay, a star fort from 1794, are both National Monuments run by the Park Service and free to visit.
Liggett Terrace has food stalls. Taco Vista and the seasonal beer garden are where everyone ends up.
QC NY is a Nordic-style spa in a converted building, with outdoor pools facing the skyline. It is expensive and it is not what most people come for.
Getting there
Ferries run from the Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal, and take about eight minutes. There is also a seasonal service from Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The fare is small, and it is free on weekend mornings before a cutoff time, and always free for under-13s, over-65s and Governors Island residents.
On the island
No private cars at all, which is most of why it feels the way it does. Bicycles come across on the ferry free at certain times, or you can hire them there — including surreys. There is a car-free loop road right around the perimeter, about two miles.
Bring food if you are fussy; the options are limited and queue at lunchtime. There is very little shade in the northern half.
More The Waterfront
Staten Island Ferry
Twenty-five minutes across New York Harbour past the Statue of Liberty, every half hour, around the clock, for nothing. The best free thing in the city.
Ellis Island
Twelve million people came through this hall between 1892 and 1954. Around forty per cent of Americans have an ancestor who was processed in it.
The Battery
Twenty-five acres at the bottom of the island, named for the gun battery that stood here, and the departure point for every boat in the harbour.