Dead Horse Bay – A Complete Guide and Travel Tips

Dead Horse Bay is a beach in Jamaica Bay, Brooklyn.  Recently featured in Atlas Obscura, the bay has become a sort of mecca for those looking for unusual things to do in NYC.  The beach is situated next to an old landfill and it is covered with old bottles, old toys, even old bicycles.  Having spent years in the sea, the trash takes on an almost romantic feel. And, if you are looking for beach glass this is heaven. In this article, you’ll find exact directions to Dead Horse Bay (including a public transport option). In addition, you’ll find travel tips – the best time to visit, what to wear and other things to do near-by.

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Packing Travel Tip:

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How do you get to Dead Horse Bay?

Step 1:  Drive to Floyd Bennet Field

First things first, how do you get to Dead Horse Bay? Let’s take a look at the car option (the easiest option) first.  Dead Horse Bay is located across the road from Floyd Bennet Field. To get here, take the Belt Parkway to exit 11S.  Then, drive along Flatbush Avenue. After about 10 minutes you’ll see a sign for “Floyd Bennet Field.” At the sign turn left – its the last left turn before you enter a toll bridge. The GPS works here, so you can just input “Floyd Bennet Field” and you’ll get to the right place. 

Once you drive into the federal land, you’ll notice a small ranger booth at the entrance.  Don’t bother stopping here – in 25 years I’ve never seen a ranger in the booth.  They are usually patrolling the land. 

Brooklyn Travel Tip:

Looking for even more unusual things to do in Brooklyn? Check out my complete guide to walking the Manhattan Bridge.

Step 2:  Walk from Floyd Bennet Field to Dead Horse Bay

On your right immediately after the booth, you’ll see a parking lot and bathrooms.  You can leave your car here and use the bathrooms if needed.  Now, walk back out the way you came, until you get to Flatbush Avenue.  You’ll need to cross 4 lanes of fast traffic but there is a stop signal, just press the button and wait.  After you cross the street, you’ll see a sign that says “Jamaica Bay Greenway.”  Walk just a couple of steps past the sign and you’ll find the trailhead.  There are no markers on the trailhead, but it’s pretty easy to find. 

Next, walk onto the trail and just 3 minutes later you’ll see that the trail splits in three directions.  If you go to the right, you’ll end up at basically the same beach, but officially it called bottle beach.  If you go straight, you’ll end up at Dead Horse Bay, the third trail takes you to the most remote part of the same beach.  Bottle beach also has cool debris but dead horse bay has stronger currents, so usually, you’ll find more stuff.  Walk along the middle lane for about 10 minutes.  It probably won’t feel like you are in Brooklyn anymore.  While the trail is well maintained, you’ll see thick jungle on both sides and hear birds chirp overhead.  Soon you’ll come out to the clearing and to Dead Horse Bay. 

Also read: Downtown Brooklyn – 20 Amazing Things To Do

Can You Take Public Transport to Dead Horse Bay?

You can – but it’s not super easy.  The trains don’t come near Dead Horse Bay, so you’ll need to make a few transfers.  The Q35 bus stops right outside Floyd Bennet Field.  Most of the time, google maps will tell you to take a train to Avenue U and transfer a couple of buses.  Always check google maps public transport option for the fastest route – it varies based on day and construction work.  If you want to save some time, I suggest taking the Q train to Sheepshead Bay and then get an uber from there.  It’s only a 15-minute drive with no traffic to Floyd Bennet field from Sheepshead Bay and it’ll save you an hour commute.

What is the Best Time to Go to Dead Horse Bay?

Before you head out to Dead Horse Bay, check the tide schedule.  Try to time your trip with the low tide.  If you go at high tide you won’t see a lot – mostly just a really littered beach. The cool stuff floats out at low tide.  I like this website for checking tides in Brooklyn, but you can find many more if you just google “tide in Brooklyn.” When I traveled here the low tide was at 12, so it was perfect. 

Is Dead Horse Bay Safe?

Yes, it’s totally fine.  I haven’t heard of an incident happen here since the early 90s.  You are in the wilderness and this is all federal lands. Obviously, things can happen anywhere, so treat this like any hiking situation.  Don’t hike alone, have a charged phone, don’t take too many valuables, and let someone know where you are. Today, even with the Atlas Obscura feature, few people ever come out here. This means that if you come on a weekday you won’t likely see one other person on the short trail.  Its kind of nice to be alone in the city – a great change of pace. Find even more ideas of things to do the Brooklyn here.

Travel Tips

The beach is covered with glass. Some of it is old beach glass, but some of it still has edges.  It’s very important you wear proper footwear.  Don’t wear open-toed sandals or flip flops – you’ll almost certainly get a cut.  Wear hiking shoes if possible, the thicker the sole the better.  If you plan on touching things you may want to bring a pair of gloves.  And remember this is federal land, so you are not supposed to remove anything.  Oh, and you won’t need a bathing suit for this beach 😊

What Are Other Things to Do Near Dead Horse Bay?

If you keep going past the parking lot and make the first left, you’ll eventually come to a huge old airplane hanger.  Today it’s an athletic center called “The Aviator” and you can spend a few hours here.  At Aviator you’ll find a climbing wall, a flight simulator, and a huge ice-skating rink. You can rent skates here and enjoy a few hours in the freezing cold (if that’s your cup of tea).  There is also a cafeteria which is decent, so you won’t starve to death.  Alternatively, if you keep going straight past the ranger booth, you’ll find hiking trails and even places to camp and tent.  Yes, you can tent in Brooklyn.  Crazy right?  You can learn more here about camping at Floyd Bennet Field. 

That’s it for Dead horse Bay!  I hope you have enjoyed this article and found it useful. If you have read this far. please let me know your thoughts on this article below. Questions and comments are super helpful both to me and to the search engines.  Thanks so much for reading and see you on the road!

Viktoria aka Traveltipster