As of yesterday, May 1, ALL of the beaches on Gateway National Park's Sandy Hook, NJ unit are open, including our favorite, Gunnison! The crews there (rangers and volunteers) did a great job cleaning and fixing up the park.

Gunnisons was beautiful yesterday but they still need to put the boardwalk and Mobi-mat back down to make the walk easier. The NPS has roped off a very large section of the beach due to the Piping Plover nests that will surely create some tight spacing for our set-ups this summer.

Update 7/19-21/2013
Restrooms are open, path thru woods still closed. Had flies 2 of 3 days due to west winds. Baby oil worked great to keep 'em away but needed to recoat after each swim. Beach has been shortened at the south end in exchange for opening up the middle area that had been closed. Beach extension to the south still closed due to nesting birds, it usually opens in mid-August. Great crowds all 3 days, met a number of refugees from Lighthouse Beach. Water was relatively clean. No food concessions on the entire Hook except for a few food trucks (frozen ice one at the Gunnison bathhouse area on Sunday).

Am happy to report that the huge south end of the beach is now open. Maybe a mile long and almost 100 yds deep! People can now really spread out! Long beach walks au naturel make my day!

We were at Gunnison this past week. I was VERY disappointed that the restrooms were NOT open and there were 2 very nasty port-a-johns there. However...the beach was absolutely gorgeous. Let me know if this restroom thing was just bad luck for our trip or if they have the restrooms open again.

Must have been a bad day as I saw they were open all last weekend (after 7AM at least). What day were you there? I was wondering why the port-a-johns were there, they must have been doing some more work on the sewer system.

We were there on Tuesday 8/20. I'd like to go back, but am afraid to try it if there are no working bathrooms. I'm particularly concerned with after Labor Day, will they consider the off-season the time to finish their work?

I asked a friend who was there last week and he confirmed that the bathrooms were closed for a few days. Open on the weekend though (Friday-Monday). You might want to call ahead to the Sandy Hook Ranger station to be sure:
(732) 872-5900

I was talking to a fellow beachgoer who was bemoaning the closure and he told me he HAD called ahead and was told the bathrooms would be open that day. Oh well, they will probably be fixing issues intermittently through the end of the year. The roads look great. Hope they can get the Seagulls Nest open for next year.

We were there on Tuesday as well and were surprised the restrooms were closed. They were fully operational the next day.

Guess it was just bad timing. It was a GLORIOUS day otherwise.

They were open all this past weekend. Best Labor Day wknd for weather in yrs! Sending this from the beach.

Does Gunnison "close" in the fall/winter/spring as it gets cold? Despite that can you walk the beach AN if you are cold blooded or the day happens to be unseasonably warm in the fall?

It's always open (lifeguards on duty 10AM-6PM Memorial Day thru Labor Day), barring a catastrophe like Sandy...
in the late Fall thru early Spring you can walk dogs there... and of course there is always surf cast fishing...
In January there is the Polar Bare Nude swim... depending on weather conditions...
it has been cancelled in the past due to extreme cold and/or winds... for safety reasons...
and there are always a few ambulances present for the event, just in case...

cool, thanks