Governors Island 101: Plan a day trip to Governors Island 2025

Planning a day trip to Governors Island—with or without kids? The 172-acre island in New York Harbor is the perfect escape for a day! Whether you’re pedaling along car-free bike paths, letting the kids run wild at the junkyard playground, or enjoying a picnic with panoramic views of the Statue of Liberty, you’ll feel worlds away from the bustle of Brooklyn. You can also explore the hands-on Urban Farm, sample from a wide range of food vendors, and enjoy this season’s open-air concerts, food festivals, public art, and some fun for grown-ups only! Here’s everything you need to know before hopping on the ferry.

Summer Hours

From Memorial Day through Labor Day, Governors Island will have extended hours from 7am-10pm Sunday-Thursday and 7am-11pm Friday-Saturday, with the South Island Park—including areas like The Hills, Hammock Grove, and Picnic Point—remaining open until dusk.

Getting There

Governors Island is only accessible by ferry. Here’s how to get there:

• Use NYC Ferry’s South Brooklyn route from DUMBO, Pier 6 or Red Hook. The ferry will make stops on the Lower East Side, Wall Street, and along the Brooklyn waterfront. Tickets are $4.50 one way. Check out the full ferry schedule here!
• From May 24 to September 14, direct ferries operated by Governors Island will run on Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday Mondays from two Brooklyn locations: Pier 6 and Red Hook. Tickets are $5, free for children 12 and under. Free rides for all on Saturdays and Sundays before 11am! Reservations are recommended.
• All ferry information here!

Kid-friendly activities

• Unfortunately, Slide Hill (home to NYC’s longest slide) is temporarily closed for maintenance before the summer season begins. Stay tuned for its reopening date!
• A wonderful junkyard playground called The Yard is open every weekend from 12 to 4pm. Closed toe shoes required, and families are required to sign a wavier. Their main play area is for ages 5-19, and grown-ups are not allowed! For younger children (or any child who wishes to stay with their caregiver) they also have a smaller family play area. The playground gets very busy during peak weekends; go straight there from the ferry before free tickets run out for the day!

• Hammock Grove Play Area has huge climbing structures and is a great spot for kids to play. And parents can stake out a relaxing hammock in the nearby Hammock Grove while the kids play!
• Stop by Blazing Saddles to rent bikes and surreys for the whole family! Blazing Saddles also offers Free Bike Morn­ings with a free rentals from 10am-12pm on week­days, plus free bike lessons on select summer weekends.
• You can also rent a CitiBike from one of the three docks on the island: Soissons Landing, Yankee Pier, or Picnic Point. And of course, you can bring your own bike, too!

• The Governors Island Urban Farm—home to Grow NYC’s Teaching Garden, Earth Matter NY’s Compost Learning Center and Soil Start Farm, and The Bee Conservancy’s bee sanctuary—is open weekends from 12 to 4pm with free tours the first Saturday of every month.
• Did you know there’s a team of five sheep in Hammock Grove that live on the island each summer and eat invasive plants? There are occasionally public programs in partnership with the sheep’s home farm in upstate New York, including live sheep herd­ing, Q&A’s with our shep­herds, and hands-on wool activ­i­ties. Dates are announced here!
• The historic monuments on the island, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, are open Friday through Sunday and on holidays from 10am-5pm, starting Memorial Day Weekend. You can explore the forts on your own, or learn more from park rangers on site.
• Check out the Lavender Field on the South Battery section of the island, which hits peak bloom in June.

Eating and drinking

• Visitors are always welcome to bring their own food for a picnic! You are not allowed to bring your own alcoholic beverages, but it can be purchased and consumed in specific ares.
• Planning a barbecue? You can reserve grills at Picnic Point and Nolan Park from May through November. Reservations include a charcoal grill (2 feet in diameter) and up to two picnic tables for the entire day. Please note there is a $30 non-refundable fee for each reservation, visitors are responsible for bringing their own grilling supplies (including charcoal, lighter, etc), and grill reservation charges are processed 48 hours (2 days) before the start of your reservation. Make a reservation here.
• Up for a lawn game while you enjoy some snacks and drinks? Try your hand at the French boules sport pétanque at Carreau Club, alongside out­door beer gar­den fea­tur­ing craft beer, wine, bot­tled cock­tails, sand­wich­es, and chips. Open weekends, 12-6pm.
• There are 20+ food and drink vendors to explore! New offerings this year include food at Threes Brewing, powered by Brooklyn’s Grand Army Bar, as well as Pizzeria Fantastica—a new concept in Colonels Row from the Pizza Yard team. Near Soissons landing is Island Oyster, with fresh oysters, excellent lobster rolls, cocktails, and spectacular views of lower Manhattan, plus Taco Vista’s Mexican fare and margaritas. On shady Colonels Row, try Makina Cafe, serving Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. Liggett Terrace also has a food court with lots of options: try Little Eva’s for burgers and hot dogs, and fish and chips, or Tokyo Drumstick, with Asian fried chicken, frozen cocktails, bubble tea, and more. Food vendors’ hours vary and can be weather-dependent; click here to see what’s open today!

Art on the island

Governors Island is home to a thriving arts scene, with public artworks installed across the island, over two dozen arts organizations in residency in for­mer mil­i­tary hous­es every season, as well as special exhibitions and performances. This season will feature the Island-wide group show Rest/Play, a public art installation that celebrates how visitors spend time on the island, whether relaxing or experiencing moments of creativity and joy. And the ongoing INTERVENTIONS series presents local, national, and international artists to showcase their performances outdoors on Governors Island. Learn more about art on the island and find out about upcoming events here.

Save the date!

From food festivals, sporting events, pop-up markets, and open-air concerts, there’s so much happening on this Island this season! Save the date for these events coming your way this summer:

• Mubadala New York Sail Gran Prix | Saturday, June 7 & Sunday, June 8 | 2-8pm | Kick off summer June 7–8 at the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix, where the world’s top sailing teams race 50-foot foiling catamarans at over 60 mph in New York Harbor, with thrilling waterfront views, entertainment, food, and more.
• NYC Lavender Festival | Saturday, June 7 & Sunday, June 8 | 11am-5pm | The annu­al NYC Laven­der Fes­ti­val offers two days of tours, demon­stra­tions, mak­er work­shops, har­vest­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties and fun fam­i­ly activ­i­ties at the Laven­der Field on Gov­er­nors Island — a heal­ing space for com­mu­ni­ty, bees and the earth, and the only laven­der field in New York City! Best for ages 12+. Younger children are welcome in the field, but cannot use harvesting tools.
• FAD Market Pop-Ups | Three weekends: June 21 & 22, July 19 & 20, and August 16 & 17 | FAD Market returns to Governors Island for three weekends this summer, featuring over 40 rotating local makers and artists offering handcrafted goods in a charming, tree-lined setting near Yankee Pier and Liggett Terrace.
• Porch Stomp | Saturday, June 21 | 11am-6pm | A free, volunteer-run folk music festival held featuring over 200 artists performing and leading workshops across genres like bluegrass, blues, and Americana.
• The Great Nosh Picnic Festival | Sunday, June 22 | 11am-4pm | Presented by the Jewish Food Society, The Great Nosh a vibrant summer picnic featuring top NYC restaurants, exclusive chef collaborations, immersive art, and Jewish cultural experiences, all celebrating global Jewish culinary heritage.
• NYC Poetry Festival | Saturday, July 12 & Sunday, July 13 | 11am-6pm | The festival brings together hundreds of poets, performers, and literary organizations for a vibrant weekend of readings, workshops, and community on the scenic lawns of Governors Island.
• Jazz Age Lawn Party | Two weekends: June 14-15 & August 9-10 | 11am-5pm | Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island is a beloved, historically sold-out Prohibition-era-inspired festival featuring 1920s music, dance, and vintage charm.
• See all events here!

For the grown-ups…

QC NY is a day spa situated across three historic Army Barrack buildings on Governors Island, overlooking New York Harbor. Guests can enjoy two heated outdoor pools alongside saunas, steam rooms, relaxation treatments, massages, a full-service bistro, sensory saunas, a salt room, and more. A 3-hour stay at QC NY starts at $89, and Sunset Entrance from 5-10pm starts at $98. All admission pricing can be found here, and guests can book directly here. The spa also offers a One for Two wellness deal for your birthday! Come with a paying companion during your birthday month and receive one free entry (out of the two). This special birthday offer applies Monday through Friday.

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Updated: June 2025.