Nearly nine million people visit Gateway National Recreation Area as their “gateway” to a national park experience in the New York metropolitan area. The park’s 26,000 acres extend across two states (New York and New Jersey) and three boroughs of New York City: Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. From beaches to salt marshes to military and aviation history, Gateway is your gateway to fun. 

This photo was taken by Mark A. Costa two weeks before Hurricane Sandy of Horseshoe Cove at Sandy Hook.

Established in 1932 as a migratory bird refuge, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a 22-mile segment of the southeast Atlantic coast. The refuge consists of 66, 287 acres which include a fascinating expanse of barrier islands, salt marshes, intricate coastal waterways, long sandy beaches, fresh and brackish water impoundments, and maritime forest. Points of interest include Bulls Island, Cape Island, and Lighthouse Island where two lighthouses, no longer operational, still stand.

The refuge’s original objectives were to preserve in public ownership habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and resident species. In recent years, objectives have expanded to include: managing endangered species, protecting the 29,000 acre Class I Wilderness Area, and preserving the Bulls Island and Cape Island forests and their diverse plant communities. Currently, the refuge is actively working to aid the recovery of the threatened loggerhead sea turtle.

Photo: USFWS 

The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge stretches across 20.5 miles between Melbourne Beach and Wabasso Beach along Florida’s east coast. The refuge was established in 1991 and was named after the late Dr. Archie Carr, Jr., in honor of his extraordinary contribution to sea turtle conservation. The Refuge is a direct result of Dr. Carr bringing attention to the world’s declining turtle populations due to over-exploitation and loss of safe habitat.

The refuge was designated to protect habitat for what is the most significant area for loggerhead sea turtle nesting in the Western Hemisphere, and the most significant area for green turtle nesting in North America. This represents 25-35% of all loggerhead and green sea turtle nests in the US. It also serves as a minor nesting area for the leatherback turtle, which is one of the world’s largest and rarest sea turtles. The long stretches of quiet, undisturbed sandy beaches, with little or no artificial light, are essential to the reproductive success and survival of the 15,000 to 20,000 sea turtles nesting annually.

Photo: Terry Ross 

The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge was designated to protect habitat for what is the most significant area for loggerhead sea turtle nesting in the Western Hemisphere, and the most significant area for green turtle nesting in North America. This represents 25-35% of all loggerhead and green sea turtle nests in the US. It also serves as a minor nesting area for the leatherback turtle, which is one of the world’s largest and rarest sea turtles. The long stretches of quiet, undisturbed sandy beaches, with little or no artificial light, are essential to the reproductive success and survival of the 15,000 to 20,000 sea turtles nesting annually.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia includes more than 14,000 acres of beach, dunes, marsh, and maritime forest. Within a workday’s access to millions of people, Chincoteague Refuge is one of the most visited refuges in the United States, providing visitors with outstanding opportunities to learn about and enjoy wildlands and wildlife.

Photo: USFWS 

Established in 1932 as a migratory bird refuge, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a 22-mile segment of the southeast Atlantic coast. The refuge consists of 66, 287 acres which include a fascinating expanse of barrier islands, salt marshes, intricate coastal waterways, long sandy beaches, fresh and brackish water impoundments, and maritime forest. Points of interest include Bulls Island, Cape Island, and Lighthouse Island where two lighthouses, no longer operational, still stand.

The refuge’s original objectives were to preserve in public ownership habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds and resident species. In recent years, objectives have expanded to include: managing endangered species, protecting the 29,000 acre Class I Wilderness Area, and preserving the Bulls Island and Cape Island forests and their diverse plant communities. Currently, the refuge is actively working to aid the recovery of the threatened loggerhead sea turtle (pictured above).

Photo: USFWS 

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is the single largest conservation area under the U.S. flag, and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. It encompasses 139,797 square miles of the Pacific Ocean  - an area larger than all the country’s national parks combined.

The extensive coral reefs found in Papahānaumokuākea - truly the rainforests of the sea - are home to over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Many of the islands and shallow water environments are important habitats for rare species such as the threatened green turtle (pictured above) and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. On less than six square miles of land over 14 million seabirds representing 22 species breed and nest. Land areas also provide a home for four species of bird found nowhere else in the world, including the world’s most endangered duck, the Laysan duck.

Photo: Mark Sully

Sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, forest, and shoreline beckon you to visit Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. Hiking, camping, sightseeing, and four season outdoor opportunities abound. The Lakeshore hugs the Lake Superior shoreline for more than 40 miles. Lake Superior is the largest, deepest, coldest, and most pristine of all the Great Lakes.

Photo: National Park Service 

California Coastal National Monument, Calif.  Located off the 1,100 miles of California coastline, the California Coastal National Monument comprises more than 20,000 small islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles between Mexico and Oregon. Its scenic qualities and critical habitat of this public resource are protected as part of the BLM’s  National Landscape Conservation System. Establishing and supporting a series of 12 “CCNM Gateways”— sections of the California coast that serve as focal points and visitor contact locations for the national monument— has proven to be a very effective way of involving California’s coastal communities in the management and protection of their local coastal resources and helping with the enhancement of the local economy and geotourism. The small gateway community of Trinidad, shown here, has always been dependent on its coastal resources and the rocks and islands of the California Coastal National Monument. Before Euro-american settlement, the inhabitants of the Yurok village of Tsurai fished and collected from the rocks, small islands and seastacks — each offshore rock has a Yurok name. Today, Trinidad is a tourist community. Visitors come to view the spectacular coastal scenery, walk its windswept beaches, and view some of California’s largest seabird colonies on the offshore rocks and islands of the CA Coastal National Monument.

Photo by Robert M. Wick, BLM.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan is one of 4 national lakeshores and 10 national seashores that are managed by the National Park Service and famous for their beaches. Although not as famous as Cape Cod or Cape Hatteras National Seashores, Good Morning America viewers voted Sleeping Bear Dunes the “Most Beautiful Place in America.” The beautiful beaches of Sleeping Bear Dunes got their namesake from the Legend of Sleeping Bear, which tells the story of three bears driven by a fire into Lake Michigan. Along the way the two cubs grew tired while the mother swam ahead to shore. Once she got there she waited for her cubs, but they became too tired and could no longer swim and drowned near the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou then created two islands to signify the two bear cubs and a dune to represent the mother bear. Today the Sleeping Bear Dunes is the perfect place for relaxing on the beach or floating in the water. With l.2 million visitors, it contributed $120.5 million to Michigan communities in 2010. Nationwide, coastal national parklands alone provided $3.5 billion to local economies while coastal wildlife refuges provided at least $900 million.

Photo: National Park Service