Join us for a unique biking tour through the past, present, and future of New York City’s first municipal airport—now a National Park Service (NPS) site within Gateway National Recreation Area and one of the city’s most extraordinary natural and historic landscapes.
This guided ride will take you across some of Floyd Bennett Field’s vast runways and hidden trails, highlighting its aviation history, important natural areas that provide critical habitat for birds and other wildlife, ongoing restoration efforts, and the careful stewardship that helps protect this special place.
Logistical notes:
Participants will need to bring their own bikes. Rentals are not available at Floyd Bennett Field.
For folks bringing their bikes via car, free parking is plentiful outside Ryan Visitor Center. Please note that you’ll need to access the park via Aviation Road, off of Flatbush Avenue. See the diagram below.
The full ride will be 6.5 miles in length, punctuated by stops to discuss each point of interest.
Please also make sure to bring water and snacks! There are no public concessions at Floyd Bennett Field.
Registration is required. Link coming soon.
The tour begins at the Ryan Visitor Center, where participants will be introduced to Floyd Bennett Field before heading up to the historic aircraft control tower for panoramic views of New York City, Jamaica Bay, and its surrounding communities. We’ll then proceed to historic Hangars 3 and 4 to learn about the exciting plans for their adaptive reuse.
We’ll head to the North 40 Natural Area, RC Plane Airfield, and views of Mill Basin from the kayak launch, then onward to the Seaplane Ramp, where sweeping views reveal Jamaica Bay’s surrounding parklands, marsh islands and the Rockaway Inlet – the gateway to one of the most ecologically significant estuaries in the region.
The tour will continue to Hangar B, home to an extraordinary collection of historic aircraft beautifully restored by NPS HARP (Historic Aircraft Restoration Program) volunteers, before riding through the park's extensive grasslands, where we will scan the skies for hawks, kestrels, and other seasonal visitors. We will then ride to the southern section of the park to see the Marian Heiskell Beach Grass Nursery, the outdoor archery range (one of only two in NYC!), and site of the future Runway Green outdoor learning campus. Our final destination will be the fishing beach on Rockaway Inlet, before riding back to the Ryan Visitor Center.
Driving instructions to Ryan Visitor Center:
