Surfboards on the subway? A discordant sight no doubt, but it's only a 75-minute ride on the A train from Midtown, or a 57-minute ferry ride from Wall St, to the pier at 108th St to the break for the beach off 90th St in the Rockaways. A tight-knit group of wave worshippers has revitalized this section of the beachfront.

The surf between 87th and 91st Sts is reserved for surfers – no swimming.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Rockaways

0.25 MILES

These neighborhoods at the far reaches of New York City are unlike anything else in the five boroughs. Some parts look like the rest of southern Queens,…

3. Riis Beach & Fort Tilden

3.3 MILES

All the way at the bottom of the city, to the West of the quaint Rockaways, are Riis Beach and Fort Tilden, where New Yorkers of all stripes come to let…

4. Wyckoff House Museum

7.06 MILES

Built in 1652, Pieter Claesen Wyckoff House is New York City’s oldest building and one of the oldest in the US. A working farm until 1901, this Dutch…

5. Long Beach

8.16 MILES

Beautiful Long Beach, one of the best stretches of sand in the area, is only a few miles outside New York City’s limits. It’s easily accessible by train…

6. Weeksville Heritage Center

8.59 MILES

In 1838 a former enslaved man by the name of James Weeks purchased a tract of land on the fringes of Brooklyn’s settled areas to build a free African…

7. New York Aquarium

8.59 MILES

This kid-friendly aquarium has several different exhibits around its central courtyard. Penguins, otters and seals frolic in the Sea Cliffs display. The…

8. Luna Park

8.76 MILES

The original Luna Park, the most famous of Coney Island's competing amusement parks, opened in 1903 and reigned for decades until destroyed by fire in the…