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Similar Island Beach State Park, Chicken Bone Beach, Poverty Beach | ||
Gunnison Beach is a beach within the Sandy Hook unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, on the Atlantic coast of New Jersey. It is located in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, but is on federal land managed by the National Park Service. It is New Jersey's only legal clothing-optional beach.
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Gunnison Beach NJ
History
Gunnison Beach was named for Battery Gunnison, a fortification built by the U.S. Government in the 1800s to protect New York Harbor. Remnants of the battery, including gun emplacements, overlook the beach. It was once part of Fort Hancock, a test site and proving ground for the U.S. Army for many years and later the site of a Nike missile defense installation. The base was decommissioned in 1972, and a few years later the beach where the soldiers used to skinny dip, opened as a public clothing-optional beach. From Memorial Day to Labor Day a $15 parking fee is charged to enter Sandy Hook.
In 1999, New Jersey passed a law that allows municipalities and counties to prohibit all types of nudism on state or local beaches in their jurisdiction. Gunnison Beach, however, is on land owned and managed by the federal government and therefore is not subject to state or local regulations. As a result, Gunnison Beach is distinguished as the state's only legal nude beach and, uniquely, allows the consumption of alcoholic beverages due to the absence of prohibitive laws on federal lands where it is located. As the East Coast's largest clothing-optional recreational area, Gunnison offers visitors striking views of Brooklyn and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. It draws approximately 5,000 naturists each weekend during the summer, affirming its popularity and distinctive appeal. Part of the beach is shared on a seasonal basis with a reserved breeding ground for the endangered piping plover, a native shore bird.
