As soon as we knew that we could definitely make it to the wedding in New York, I booked tickets for us to go up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty with
Statue City Cruises. As the only authorized concessioner to ferry passengers to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, there are a limited number of tickets to the crown each day. I was a little concerned since we would be there during the summer travel season, but I was super excited to find out that there were still some 9:00AM spots available two months in advance! Yay!
Ferries depart for
Statue of Liberty National Monument from both New York (The Battery at the southern end of Manhattan) and New Jersey. Since we weren't sure how bad rush hour traffic could be, we checked out of the hotel in Parsippany by 7:30AM and started the ~30-mile drive to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. And because the time on our tickets was only for entry into the TSA-style screening facility prior to boarding and not a reserved departure time, I wanted to get in line as soon as possible to ensure that we would be on the ferry for the first sailing (they recommend arriving 30 minutes prior to ticket time).
The NJ ferries from Liberty State Park stop at Ellis Island first (NY ferries go the opposite direction), but we didn't disembark here because we wanted to get ahead of the crowds at the Statue of Liberty and not have to rush through the National Museum of Immigration.
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| Ellis Island before the "huddled masses" arrived |
After arriving on Liberty Island, we made a beeline for the lockers just outside of the Statue to store all of the stuff we weren't allowed to bring inside: no backpacks, fanny packs, or camera bags, but cameras, cell phones, and water in clear bottles were okay. We passed through another security screening and then made our way into the pedestal. Knowing that we had 162 steps to climb from the feet up to the crown, we decided to skip the 215 steps to the top of the pedestal and took the elevator instead.
Travel tip: Besides the Crown Reserve tickets, there are also a limited number of Pedestal Reserve tickets which can be booked in advance. If Crown tickets aren't available, I'd highly recommend getting Pedestal Reserve tickets, which will still give you access to the Fort Wood section of the pedestal. General admission tickets are just for ferry service to Ellis Island and the grounds of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, as well as access to the museums on both. Make sure to buy tickets from the authorized concessioner, not a re-seller who upcharges or another company who can only pass by and not dock.
At the top of the pedestal, the ranger suggested going outside first for a couple minutes since she had just sent a few people on their way up to the crown. Even though I've been taking extra stairs at work to avoid dying inside the Statue (only 82 steps from the sub-basement up to my office), not feeling pushed along by other people was fine by me.
It was a little hazy, but we still had some good views of Jersey City, Manhattan, and New York Harbor.
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| Jersey City and Ellis Island |
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| Amazing to see all the traffic in the harbor |
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| Manhattan, with ferries approaching Liberty Island from both NJ and NY |
By the time we came back inside, no one was waiting, so we started on our way up. The spiral staircase is a double helix, so traffic is one-way up (or down). The stairs are pretty tight, but there are platforms along the way to step out and catch a breather, as well as get a closer look at the innards of Lady Liberty. What an engineering marvel!
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| Almost there - I can see daylight! |
Inside the crown is a small platform, where we had about 10 minutes to look through the windows and take pictures.
Then we started the 162 steps back down the other staircase.
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| Behind the face |
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| Going down seemed a little more harrowing than going up |
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| 30 minutes later, back to where we started on top of the pedestal |
From here we did end up taking the stairs down to see what we missed on the way up.
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| The bolts secure a series of vertical tension bars which "pull" the Statue down onto the pedestal |
Here are a few more pics from different perspectives of "Liberty Enlightening the World"...
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| From the top level of Fort Wood |
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| Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge, and the Staten Island Ferry |
Before exiting the pedestal area, we went through the exhibits inside.
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| 3-D map of Liberty Island |
As we walked around the perimeter of Fort Wood, I thought that it was fitting to hear a number of different languages being spoken here. But, to be honest, crowds really aren't my thing, so we moved through this part of the park quickly.
The
Statue of Liberty Museum, which opened in May 2019, is located on the opposite end of the island. We skipped over the theater part to save time, but enjoyed viewing the exhibits.
On our way back to the dock, we stopped by both the information center and the bookstore to get the passport stamps, and then boarded the NY ferry bound for Ellis Island. To avoid wasting time waiting in lines at the cafés on site, we brought protein boxes/snacks with us for lunch and ate while in transit.
Entering the Baggage Room, where newly arrived immigrants would have left their belongings, we stopped at the bookstore and info desk to get a different set of stamps first. Then we went through "Journeys: The Peopling of America 1550-1890". Wow, what an amazing exhibit - so much content presented in such an engaging way! I took pics of each of the displays just to capture all of the information. On a personal note, I was especially impressed with the attention paid to the story of Asian immigration and subsequent exclusion in the 1800s.
The Registry Room is on the second floor. This is where immigrants would undergo legal and medical examinations, which could result in detention or exclusion for some. However, most would be allowed to enter the country, afterwards boarding ferries bound for New York or New Jersey. More than 5000 people could file through this space on a daily basis.
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| Registry Room |
We breezed through the other exhibits in the building (brain overload!) and then headed out to line up for the ferry around 1:30PM. It had started raining (we left our umbrella in the car - doh!), but thankfully we didn't have to wait too long. To reach our car at Liberty State Park, we had to ride the NJ ferry back to the Statue of Liberty first.
But our day wasn't done yet! To get to the Fort Wadsworth Visitor Center in
Gateway National Recreation Area, we crossed the Bayonne Bridge over to Staten Island, a $17 toll - ouch!
Fort Wadsworth is one of the oldest military installations in the country. British forces originally fortified this part of Staten Island while they occupied it during the Revolutionary War (1776-1783). After the war, because of its strategic location at the Narrows guarding the entry to New York Harbor, additional defenses were built here, including what is now known as Battery Weed and Fort Tompkins. Other coastal fortifications built during the early 1800s included Fort Lafayette in Brooklyn, Castle Williams and Fort Jay on Governors Island, Fort Wood on Liberty Island, and Fort Gibson on Ellis Island. Fort Wadsworth remained in use by various branches of the military until 1994 when it was turned over to the National Park Service.
We chatted with the ranger for a bit after stamping my passport pages. She suggested checking out the overlook above Battery Weed before we left for the Jamaica Bay section of Gateway NRA.
We started to walk out towards the West Pond, but before we made it very far, giant mosquitoes starting attacking us. Well, mostly me, 'cuz they must like Chinese food.
Mission aborted.
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| The only proof that we were actually here |
After braving our way on the Belt Parkway again past JFK in Queens, it took us almost another hour to make it to our hotel in Roslyn. Having lived and driven in both Chicago and LA, I have to say that the traffic here could possibly be even worse, with some of the most aggressive drivers I've ever encountered.
Needless to say, we didn't want to get back in the car after that, so we just walked to the Landmark Diner down the road for dinner tonight and then to a store to find some anti-itch cream to use on insect bites for me.
On to Manhattan tomorrow!
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| 90 miles |
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