Camp Gateway Staten Island
Staten Island Unit Home Page | Fort Wadsworth Home Page
LOCATION
Camp Gateway Staten Island is located in Sea Bee Park, a small park within Fort Wadsworth off of USS North Carolina Road at the southern end of the fort. The campsite is right on the water and practically under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Fort Wadsworth is a sub-unit of Gateway National Recreation Area’s Staten Island Unit.
View of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge from Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Most people camping at Fort Wadsworth do so to save money when visiting New York City. A bus that goes to the Staten Island Ferry stops at the Bay Street entrance into Fort Wadsworth. That’s a fairly long walk from the campground, but if you have a car and are a registered camper, you can park at the Camp Office and catch the bus. Only campers can do this. The ferry, which is free, takes you to Manhattan. According to a park Ranger, if you time it just right and catch the bus and ferry as they are departing, you could be in Manhattan in an hour. Thus, if you like to camp, at $30 a night this is without a doubt the cheapest way to see New York.
SEASONS AND HOURS
Camp Gateway Staten Island is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend.
TYPE OF CAMPING
The campground accommodates tent campers only. Parking is done in a common lot, and you must carry your gear from there. It is a very small campground, so the farthest site is only 75 yards away. There is a disabled visitor campsite right next to the parking area. Its distance to the parking area is the only thing that sets it apart from the other campsites.
Each campsite can accommodate up to six people and two tents. Only one vehicle per campsite. You can get a permit for a second vehicle, but you will have to park it somewhere else.
Parking area for Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
NUMBER OF SITES
There are six standard campsites and one site for disabled visitors at Camp Gateway Staten Island. All sites are on an open field. You are allowed two tents per site, but only two small tents will fit. There’s no way that you’ll fit two large tents at any of these sites, or even a large and small tent.
Campsite H1 at Camp Gateway Staten Island is for disabled visitors, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H2 at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H3 at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H4 at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H5 at Camp Gateway Staten Island is the only site with some shade, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H6 at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
Campsite H7 at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
TERRAIN
Camp Gateway Staten Island is small, but it has to be the best manicured campground that I have ever seen. All sites are covered with grass, so it’s like camping on a golf course. Most sites are completely out in the open ever since Hurricane Sandy tore down most of the trees, so being in your tent during a summer day will be miserable. Once the sun goes down, however, the New York temperatures are usually fine.
The only campsite with guaranteed shade is H5. Site H3 may have some shade at certain times of the day, but the other sites might as well be in the desert when it comes to shade.
Each site is marked off with a post and rail fence, so there is no question as to where your space begins and ends. There are no barriers between campsites and thus no privacy. A narrow field runs down the middle of the campground and provides room for kids to play.
Fences mark off each campsite at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
AMENITIES
All sites at Camp Gateway Staten Island have a level pad on which to pitch a tent, plus a picnic table and grill / fire pit. There is a modern restroom, and hot-water showers are outside. These are very large showers—you could fit two or three people in one. However, being outside they have no lights, so be sure to take a shower while you can still see.
To keep the riffraff out, a code is needed to access the restroom. With only seven sites, the little-used restroom stays fairly clean. There is a Men’s and Women’s restroom, each with only one toilet, so when you enter you lock the door behind you. Funny thing is that there is a bolt on the outside as well, so somebody could come along and lock you in.
There is no electricity or water at the campsites.
The Fort Wadsworth Beach is just a short walk from the campground. There are no lifeguards, and the National Park Service does not recommend swimming here, but it’s a good place to fish and perhaps wade into the water.
Restroom and showers at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
A gazebo overlooking the bay is available to all campers, as is a pavilion in the center of the campground. A NO PICNICKING sign means that campers and non-campers cannot host a large picnic. It doesn’t prevent campers from bringing chairs to sit under the pavilion and eat out of the rain or sun. A grill is available. The reason the pavilion exists in the first place is because Sea Bee Park was a picnic area before it became a campground.
Gazebo at Camp Gateway Staten Island overlooks the Narrows, Gateway National Recreation Area
Covered pavilion at Camp Gateway Staten Island, Gateway National Recreation Area
There are also “bear boxes,” one for every two sites. Put your food in these to keep animals from getting it. Being near New York City, perhaps these should be called “bum boxes.”
From what I have read, you get free firewood as well, though I’d have to see it to believe it. Ask at the Camp Office, and supposedly it will be delivered to your site. While I stayed at the Fort Wadsworth Campground I never made a fire, so I wasn’t aware of the free firewood offer.
RESERVATIONS
Reservations can be made up to six months in advance online at Recreation.gov. No walk-ups are allowed. From Memorial Day through Labor Day the place will be booked solid every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Starting the July Fourth weekend, even the weekdays may be booked. I was there in late June during the week and I was the only camper. However, I had to camp at this time because I couldn’t get a site for after the Fourth, which was when I originally planned to arrive.
Guests of Camp Gateway Staten Island must stop in and register at the Camp Office located just to the right of the entrance gate on Bay Street. The office is open every day during camping season—Memorial Day weekend through late September—from 8:30 AM to 7 PM. If you are arriving after hours, call the office at (718) 354-4655 to make arrangements.
Camp Gateway Staten Island office, Gateway National Recreation Area
FEES
At the time of this writing the cost to camp at Fort Wadsworth is $30. Current fees are given at Recreation.gov.
CAMPGROUND RULES
• Check in is noon and check out is 10 AM
• Quiet hours are from 10 PM to 8 AM
• No alcohol or pets allowed
• Six people and two tents per campsite
• Due to wild animals, place all trash in the dumpster and keep food secured
• Fires are only permitted in the fire ring provided at each campsite
• Firewood cannot be brought into the park; use the wood provided
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Last updated on December 9, 2024
