• 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 »

Operating Hours & Seasons

Governors Island is open seasonally in the summertime. The 2012 public access season was from May 26 until September 30. The island is now closed to the public until the 2013 summer season.

On Saturdays, Sundays, Memorial Day and Labor Day, the island is open to the public from 10 AM to 7 PM. On public access days, visitors may explore the island at their own pace. Visitors may take a self-guided tour or a guided tour, or may picnic, bicycle, or or just hang out.

On Monday and Tuesday, the island is closed to the public.

Wednesday through Friday the island is closed but the National Park Service provides limited access only through tours and interactive programs in which a ranger accompanies visitors at all times. Visitors must stay with the program at all times and are not allowed to wander about the island unescorted.

During the summer of 2012 on Wednesday and Thursday, we conducted a morning and afternoon tour of the island's historic district and an afternoon tour of the forts. On Fridays, we did a morning program for families and youth groups and an afternoon program on a selected topic of island history.

The Trust for Governors Island, our partner organization, also offers a wide variety of programming on public access days. Visit them at: www.govisland.com for more information.

  • Volunteers in Parks Volunteers in Parks

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  • Our Partners Our Partners

    The National Park Service has partnerships with many other organizations to make Governors Island work. Click here to find out more. Read More

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Did You Know?

Revolutionary War naval battle

The first, last, and only shots fired in anger from Governors Island were directed at British naval ships as they invaded New York Harbor in the summer of 1776.