Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
View of the Gateway National Recreation Area (lower center) from the International Space Station on April 14, 2022
LocationNew York and New Jersey, United States
Coordinates40°27′14″N 73°59′49″W / 40.45400°N 73.99699°W / 40.45400; -73.99699
Area26,607 acres (107.67 km2)[1]
EstablishedOctober 27, 1972 (1972-October-27)
Visitors8,728,291 (in 2022)[2]
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteGateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area is a 26,607-acre (10,767 ha) U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Gateway is the country’s first urban national recreation area. It was established in 1972. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, bird watching, boating, hiking and camping.[3] More than 8.7 million people visited Gateway National Recreation Area in 2022, making it the fourth-most visited unit of the National Park Service.

Gateway was created by the U.S. Congress in 1972[4] to preserve and protect scarce or unique natural, cultural, and recreational resources with relatively convenient access by a high percentage of the nation's population.[5] It is owned by the federal government and managed by the National Park Service.

  1. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-12-26. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  2. ^ "Annual Park Ranking Report for Recreation Visits in: 2022". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "Gateway National Recreation Area (National Park Service)". Archived from the original on 2003-12-05. Retrieved 2004-01-03. Gateway National Recreation Area (National Park Service)
  4. ^ Congress of the United States. Public Law 92-592. October 27, 1972.
  5. ^ Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Establishment of Gateway National Recreation Area in the States of New York and New Jersey. United States Senate, 92nd Congress, 1st Session. Report Number 92-345 to accompany S. 1852 Ordered to be printed August 3, 1971