Lighthouse Boat Tours

Lighthouse Cruise Series with the National Lighthouse Museum

The National Lighthouse Museum and Seastreak are teaming up to provide a series of narrated cruises introducing passengers to the many historic lighthouses found along the shores of New Jersey and New York. Each of the five cruises takes a unique route to visit different compelling locations. Join us on the one you find most interesting, or come along for all of them and become a local lighthouse expert!

• Where do you want to explore?

  The cruises in the Lighthouse Series are approximately five hours long and most depart from Belford, NJ at 10:00 AM. Two of the cruises in the series are sunset cruises which depart Belford at 5:00 PM. Read on to learn more about each unique route. Each cruise will make a brief stop in Staten Island to pick up Lighthouse Museum staff and passengers.

   

  Sunday, June 16^th

  – Father’s Day Circumnavigation of Staten Island –

  View lighthouses on and off shore. Encircle Staten Island and explore fascinating and mysterious sites unfamiliar to most New Yorkers. The journey up the Kill Van Kull, and the Arthur Kill waterways, contains much important history critical to NYC’s development and to its maritime life.

  Lighthouses described and seen on this exciting tour include: Robbin’s Reef, Great Beds, Prince’s Bay, Staten Island’s Rear Range, (site of the Old Orchard Shoals Lighthouse destroyed by Sandy in 2012), New Dorp, Elmtree Beacon and the Battery Weed Light of Fort Wadsworth.

   

  Sunday, July 14^th

  – East River Tour –

  Pass through Hell’s Gate to Long Island Sound, out to Execution Rocks Lighthouse learning several facts along the way. Sights include Robbins Reef Lighthouse (aka “Kate’s Light”), the docks of Red Hook, notable vessels at the South Street Seaport such as the Ambrose Lightship and the Waverley, the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Corlears Hook, Roosevelt Island’s newly restored lighthouse, Rikers Island, the Vernon C. Bain Prison Ship, Fort Schuyler, Stepping Stones Lighthouse, Execution Rocks Lighthouse, and Sands Point Lighthouse.

   

  Sunday, August 4^th

  – Sunset Cruise Signature Tour –

  This popular boat tour familiarizes passengers with key lighthouses that facilitate safe passage from the Atlantic Ocean into Lower New York Harbor. Sail past historic Fort Wadsworth and Fort Hamilton at the Narrows, and head under the Verrazano Bridge passing the former Quarantine stations of Hoffman and Swineburn Islands. Continue on past Sandy Hook Lighthouse and Fort Hancock, learning about the role that this historic beacon has played on behalf of NYC’s maritime trade and commerce over the centuries.

  Then we will head for the Shrewsbury River. Along the way, you’ll pass the Naval Weapons Station Earle, and one of the most spectacular lighthouses in America – The Navesink Twin Lights Station.

   

  Sunday, August 18^th

  – Sunset Cruise Full Moon East River Tour –

  Pass through Hell’s Gate to Long Island Sound and Execution Rocks Lighthouse learning several facts along the way. Sights include Robbins Reef Lighthouse (aka “Kate’s Light”), the docks of Red Hook, notable vessels at the South Street Seaport such as the Ambrose Lightship and the Waverley, the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Corlears Hook, Roosevelt Island’s newly restored lighthouse, Rikers Island, the Vernon C. Bain Prison Ship, Fort Schuyler, Stepping Stones Lighthouse, Execution Rocks Lighthouse, and Sands Point Lighthouse.

   

   

  Sunday, September 22^ND

  – Circumnavigation of Staten Island –

  View lighthouses on and off shore. Encircle Staten Island and explore fascinating and mysterious sites unfamiliar to most New Yorkers. The journey up the Kill Van Kull, and the Arthur Kill waterways, contains much important history critical to NYC’s development and to its maritime life.

  Lighthouses described and seen on this exciting tour include: Robbin’s Reef, Great Beds, Prince’s Bay, Staten Island’s Rear Range, (site of the Old Orchard Shoals Lighthouse destroyed by Sandy in 2012), New Dorp, Elmtree Beacon and the Battery Weed Light of Fort Wadsworth.

   

  SUNDAY, October 20^th

  – Fall Foliage Tour up the Hudson River to Haunted Sleepy Hollow –

  Up the Hudson River to Tarrytown Light near the legendary Sleepy Hollow. See the Little Red Lighthouse under the George Washington Bridge along this scenic boat tour. Along the way, take in the stunning fall foliage along the shores of the mighty, historic, Hudson River.

• Narration by an experienced historian

  The series will be narrated by Wade R. Goria. Wade is a National Lighthouse Museum historian, author, and former New York University professor.

  Learn more about the National Lighthouse Museum using the link below!

  http://lighthousemuseum.org/