Kingston Point Beach

Kingston Point Beach occupies a filled point of land at the foot of Delaware Avenue, ground that once hosted Samuel Coykendall's Hudson River Day Line stop and amusement park in the 1890s, complete with a dance hall, rowboat lagoon, and the Oriental Hotel. The hotel burned in 1922, the rides were dismantled, and the site fell into neglect for decades until the Rotary Club took it over in the early 1990s and transformed it into the beach we visit today.

The sand spreads generously here, giving us plenty of room without crowding our neighbors. The water stays calm most days, barely disturbed by passing tugboat wakes, which makes it well-suited for young swimmers and adults swimming slow laps parallel to shore. Lifeguards patrol Wednesday through Sunday in summer, 10am to 4:45pm; outside those hours you swim at your own risk. Arrive before 11am on a hot Saturday if you want a spot in the lot; after that you're parking on Delaware Avenue.

Rotary Park next door has a playground, volleyball courts, a BMX track, and a nine-hole disc golf course, with picnic tables in the shade. The Empire State Trail's flat, paved Brickyard Trail section runs along here heading north, with Sojourner Truth State Park's cliffs visible across the river the whole way.

The city tests water quality regularly and posts closures through Parks and Recreation when needed. Check the status before you drive over on a marginal day.