New York City’s best kept secret is that it’s actually a beach town. Sure, Miami might have us beat on the color of the water, but frothy seas are frothy seas — and there are plenty of NYC beaches here, all within a quick two hour schlep. 

Dina Cohen, a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker for Brown Harris Stevens Residential Sales, puts Long Beach at the top of her list. “The train ride is relatively short, and the convenience factor pushes it to number one for this busy New Yorker,” she says. (Note: all 14 miles of NYC beaches are open for swimming every Memorial Day through September, when lifeguards stand watch over the surf from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)

Want to feel the sand between your toes? We rounded up the top NYC beaches that are easy to get to and have perks and amenities galore — so you can dip into your best summer ever. Don’t forget to BYO sunscreen.

1. Brighton Beach — Brooklyn

“I was born and lived just a few blocks from Brighton Beach, which was lovely as a child being so close to the ocean and the rides at Coney Island,” Cohen says.

If your ideal stretch of sand includes a plethora of toothsome restaurants nearby, Brighton Beach may be your favorite of all the NYC beaches. The surrounding Brooklyn neighborhood is known for Russian and Eastern European expats (translation: you can have authentic khachapuri, a.k.a. Georgian cheesy bread, from outposts like Little Georgia).  But that’s only the beginning of the deliciousness at this NYC beach.

“I went for lunch at Tatiana on Brighton Beach with some friends,” says Francine Crocker, Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker for Corcoran. “It was a lot of fun. Brighton Beach is almost like being in Europe somewhere, with the cafes close to the beach. It has a very different vibe.” (On the menu? Cornish game hens that are marinated and fried under a brick, and chicken kiev served with cranberry sauce.) 

Getting There: The B train will get you all the way to Brighton Beach without any transfers, so you can get hooked on your latest beach read without worrying about changing trains. 

2. Fort Tilden Beach — Queens

Defunct military sites aren’t generally must-sees, but Fort Tilden in Queens is. The expansive grounds overlook Jamaica Bay and New York Harbor, with sandy beaches that are practically crowd-free (one perk of the former U.S. army base being ever-so-slightly hard to get to, by design.)

The barrier beach has two hundred acres of fairly pristine oceanfront; keep an eye out for the resident Piping Plover birds, who make their nests right on the sand. It’s worth exploring the adjacent Breezy Point neighborhood especially for restaurants like waterfront icon Kennedy’s, which has been wowing hungry beachgoers for more than a century with dishes like seafood linguini and pan seared diver scallops with chorizo risotto.

Getting There: Hop aboard the 2 train to Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, then walk three minutes to Ave H/Flatbush Avenue to board the Q35 bus. She’ll take you to Marine Parkway Bridge/Rockaway Point Boulevard, where you can take a 17 minute stroll to the shores of Fort Tilden Beach… and be rewarded with a New York rarity: a serene beach day. 

3. Rockaway Beach — Queens

When punk rock band The Ramones wrote “Rockaway Beach” in 1977, they had good reason to rave: Joey Ramone reportedly grew up in the Queens neighborhood, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone spent so much time in Rockaway he penned the lyrics himself. It’s even more worthy of a rock ballad today.

“It’s where all the surfers now go,” says Crocker (indeed, it’s the only spot for legal surfing within all of NYC beaches.)

Just come hungry. Legendary and hip restaurants here include what’s been appropriately nicknamed Tacoway Beach, Rockaway Beach Surf Club, where you can sip a bourbon bloody mary with housemade brine, and Rippers, a surfer favorite that will power up your next gnar shredding adventure with pasture raised hot dogs and Ace cold brew.  

Getting There: The most cinematic way to get to Rockaway Beach is inarguably the NYC Ferry. Just hop aboard at Wall Street’s Pier 11 or Sunset Park in Brooklyn, take in the misty sights, and get ready for the most delectable beach trip of your life. 

4. Long Beach — Long Island

“Nowadays I enjoy Long Beach most,” says Cohen, who touts its prettiness and convenience factor and “the fact that there are nice restaurants, amenities and live music all nearby for after the beach.”

Just an hour from Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad, the barrier island’s namesake beach is flanked by a throwback wooden boardwalk and well worth the required day pass ($15 for non residents) in summer. It’s an idyllic place to laze on the 4 miles of powdery sand where noise and litter are prohibited — all within a quick walk of charming boîtes like Speakeasy, where dishes include panko breaded avocado fries and truffle and goat cheese macaroni.

Getting There: At Penn Station, hop on the Long Island Railroad’s Long Beach branch for the hour and four minute ride to one of the NYC metro’s seaside heavens.

5. Southampton’s Flying Point Beach — Long Island

“In the Hamptons, Southampton’s Flying Point Beach is wide and beautiful and was always a favorite,” says Crocker, who spent weekends there with friends as a child (note that you’ll need to get a reservation at $40). “We would buy or make a big picnic lunch, bring ‘Frescobol’ as they call paddle ball in Brazil, and we would hang out all day on this gorgeous wide beach.”

Art obsessives love this beach for its proximity to the Parrish Art Museum two miles away in Water Mill, where you can ogle the best of modern art in a Herzog & de Meuron building on 14 verdant acres. 

Getting There: You’ll need a car for this zippy jaunt, but it’s worth it (especially if you want to stuff your trunk with finds picked up at consignment stores like Le Closet New York.) Without any traffic, it will take you an hour and 30 minutes to get from Manhattan’s Financial District to Flying Point Beach in Southhampton, most of it via I-495. 

6. Orchard Beach — The Bronx

When they call this 115-acre Bronx beach the Riviera of NYC beaches, they’re not joking. Orchard Beach, a mile-long crescent of white sand fronting Long Island Sound was opened in the 1930s and still has a European Vacationland feel, thanks to its waterfront promenade, pavilion and attendant snack bars.

History buffs won’t want to miss the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum a mile and a half from the beach, a Greek Revival estate built circa 1842 that has major “Gilded Age” vibes. Just south on the storybook hamlet of City Island, stop in at City Island Lobster House for a Maine lobster with drawn butter, Long Island’s blue point oysters, and addictive baked clams.

Getting There: Ride the 6 train to Pelham Bay Park, walk about 4 minutes to Bruckner Boulevard and Wilkinson Avenue, then hop on the B29 bus towards City Island. You’ll get off at Kilroe street and walk a mile to the sand. 

7. Jones Beach State Park

Politicos will remember Jones Beach for its storied history: Robert Moses, the urban planner made famous by Robert A. Caro’s Pulitzer-winning book “The Power Broker” (one of President Barack Obama’s favorite reads), toiled for years to make it a jewel in the crown of New York’s parks and NYC beaches. And it is.

You’ll find 6.5 miles of plush sand fronting the Atlantic, a two mile boardwalk, 15,000 seat event space, two ginormous swimming pools, mini golf, shuffleboard and so much more. Families will want to stop in at Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center for everything from S.T.E.A.M. workshops on static electricity and photosynthesis to sand castle building for toddlers.

Getting There: Without traffic, it will take you just over an hour by car on 1-495 to get to Jones Beach State Park — totally worth it to live large in the 2,400 acre respite, just as Moses intended. No car? No problem! You can take the Long Island Rail Road’s Babylon Branch to Freeport, and transfer for NICE’s n88 bus, which runs nonstop to Jones Beach.

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