• 16th Infantry Regiment, Fort Jay, New York City, 1938.

    Governors Island

    National Monument New York

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  • Limited access and winter/spring programs

    Governors Island opens to the public for the 2013 season on Saturday, 25, 2013. See "Plan Your Visit" at left for details. More »

  • Phone number change

    Due to Hurricane Sandy, our phone service was disrupted. The temporary information number for the park is now via cell phone at 646-241-2670. Other contact information can be found at www.nps.gov/gois/contacts.htm More »

Plan A Field Trip

A National Park ranger teaches a kids program the finer points of military drill, the same elementary commands soldiers would have learned on Governors Island in the 1860s!

A park ranger demonstrates how new recruits would train on Governors Island during the 1860s.

NPS photo.

History is alive on Governors Island!

Bring your class, camp, or youth group to Governors Island and join National Park rangers on a journey into the past! You will meet a variety of interesting people who lived on Governors Island during the Civil War, characters that helped make history happen! From soldiers and prisoners to musicians and spies, the students will be immersed in history among the historic forts of the island!

Contact us now to schedule a field trip on any weekday in October, even after the island is closed to the general public!

Programs are available Fridays in September, beginning at 10 AM, and any weekday during October. Reservations are required for this program! Please call our office at 212-825-3045 to check availability and arrange a reservation.

Please note: there is no food, water, or restroom access available. All programs are 100% accompanied. Visitors during the week cannot explore the island on their own and will be with a National Park Ranger throughout their entire visit. The group will board the ferry, meet their guide, and upon completion of the program, must depart on the next available ferry.

Ferries to Governors Island depart from the Battery Maritime Building, located at 10 South Street, New York, NY.

Did You Know?

Garrison Davidson as superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, 1958. Later commander of U.S. First Army, Governors Island 1960-1964.

By the time General Davidson Garrison retired as commander of U.S. First Army on Governors Island in 1964, he had graduated from Stuyvesant High School, played football at West Point, was one of the winningest football coaches at the U.S. Military Academy, and served under the two most demanding generals in the U.S. Army, George S. Patton in World War II and Douglas MacArthur in Korea.