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New York Area Kiting Spots
Following is a fairly comprehensive guide to NY area kiting spots. It’s still a little rough, and the
format isn’t pretty, but it’s a start...
If you’re new to kiteboarding, please be careful on the beach. Always ask questions about the
spot before you get on the water. New York area kiters are super friendly. They are more than
happy to share information with you and make sure you are safe, so ask a lot of questions!
Kiteboarding is a fantastic but dangerous sport. If you’re a beginner, please stick to the first
spots listed (and noted as being good for beginners). You will put yourself and everyone else at
risk of danger if you try to kite in a spot that isn’t appropriate for your level.
Not sure about your level?
Well, you’re a beginner if….
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. You are still working on your water starts and basic kite control.
You try but you’re not quite kiting upwind yet.
You are not very confident launching or landing your kite.
You can get up and stay up on your board, but you’re kinda not in control of anything
that happens after that.
You don’t know the rules of the Right of Way .
Best Spots for Beginners in New York
Plumb Beach 40.583314,-73.921031
This is the go to spot for NY and Brooklyn people. Relatively flat water, lots of kiters free parking
but limited. Especially on summer weekends. Not as clean as further east. Good on south and
east winds. Thermals usually kick in at the end of the hot days. Good audience for practicing
your tricks.
Seagate 40.581196, -74.008477
3857 Oceanview Ave Brooklyn
Street parking. Works on N, NW winds. Chop. Cool views of NYC and ships entering harbor.
There are cleaner beaches. Usually gusty because of the N wind factor.
Venturi effect from the Hudson River.
Napeaque Harbor. 41.003638, -72.053814
In the Hamptons, if you like to drive and enjoy traffic. Flat water spot. Best winds N. E. S,SW.
You can stand in everywhere except for center and northernmost areas. Please note: Launchbeach gets small in high tide. Make sure to park on the side of Lazy Point road before “No
parking” signs. Police regularly issues tickets there.
Floyd Bennett Field
Wind direction: S, E
NOT SAFE FOR BEGINNERS AT HIGH TIDE . Very dangerous launch on the cement. Ok for
beginners at LOW TIDE
West Meadow beach 40.943378,-73.143846
Works in W-NW winds. Beginner friendly in low tide ONLY. Works in W-NW winds. Mostly flat
and shallow in low tide, gets choppy and very deep in mid-high tide. Parking in season is
expensive for non-residents. Kite launch area is strictly south of parking lot/main beach. Do not
launch where beach goers are and do not kite in front of main beach with swimmers. Police has
been called on kiters before and town will kick kiters out if more accidents happen. Beginner
friendly in low tide ONLY.
New Jersey Beginner Kiting Spots
Kite Island
Lakes Bay
For a complete description of locations, please visit the Greenhat Kiteboarding page here .
INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED NEW YORK SPOTS
Cross Bay Blvd . 40.637886, -73.832706
Not my favorite place but some love it for it’s flat water and smell. Works on a lot of wind
directions N,E,S. free parking. Tight launch especially at high tide. When the President flies into
JFK they pull us out of the water.
Good for beginners? NO. A tight launch makes this place not ideal for beginners.
Gilgo Beach 40.617714, -73.395018
Expensive parking $40 , waves, a well known spot for surfers and kiters.
Wind directions: S, SW, SE
Good for beginners? Not really. Big beach for practice, but the water is deep and it’s difficult for
beginners when there is waves.
Cedar Beach 40.632910, -73.342287
Babylon, NY
Paid parking $25 weekends
Long walk to beach, food, bar, bathrooms, lifeguards, swimmers, local party scene, chop.
It is about a 2mi kite East to Democratic Point.
Good for beginners? NO
Oak Beach 40.639043, -73.302654
Babylon, NY
Free parking. Very limited.
Park and walk 400 yds west to launch spot.
SE to SW winds.
You can kite in the bay area or go south toward Democratic Point, about 1 mi. and do waves on
one side or the slick on the other side. Varied terrain.
Good for beginners? NO! Small launch area and jetties that cause accidents for beginners.
Rockaway Beach 40.587060, -73.795247
Queens, NY
Free street parking or access by subway. Ocean side so some waves and chop.
Works on E,S,W winds.
Good for beginners? Not really. Very deep and with waves. Not great for beginners.
Off Season New York Spots (Fall, winter and early spring kiting)
Coney Island 22 St, or the Aquarium. SW to SE winds
Good for beginners? If you can’t ride upwind, this is a tough spot for beginners.
Breezy Point in Rockaway. W winds
Good for beginners? Yes .
Tobay Beach in Gilgo area. NE to NW winds.
Good for beginners? No . The launch area is small and the winds are often gusty here.
Overlook Beach in Gilgo area. SW to SE.Good for beginners? Not really. Wide open beach but the water is deep and the waves are
difficult for beginners. Very strong current.
Additional resources for NY Kiting Spots
New Jersey Kiting Spots
For a complete description of locations, please visit the Greenhat Kiteboarding page here .
Kiting Locations (SE CT, RI, Cape)
Jordan Cove
Preferred Wind Directions: SE, S, SW
No-Go Wind Directions: Anything with a N component
Wind Quality: Highly variable. The wind quality is so-so here, often with widely varying gusts
and up/down winds. Susceptible to sea breezes and pulsing, which can add to a great session
or frustrate you when it feels like there’s just enough wind to pump up, and then the sea breeze
fades, leaving you broken-hearted.
Water depth: Low tide: Water gets deep quickly to the S at really low tide. Not much room
downwind before you’re on the beach, not much room upwind before you’re in over your head.
Surf breaks right where the water is shallow. Mid Tide: Water depth is quite good for beginners,
there is a lot of space to kite that is knee to chest deep. There is a really nice slick to the west
side of the cove. Beware of a sand/rock bar that juts southward and separates the slick to the
west from a riding area to the east. At high tide, the cove is full of 2-4’ deep water, providing the
full cove for riding, the caveat being that there is not a lot of room to pump and launch on the
beach.Surf: Surf is typically mild, 1-3 feet max. It can break at inconvenient locations, especially when
the tide is low.
Beach Condition: A relatively narrow strip of SW facing beach exists at high tide. Smaller kites
can be pumped and rigged here, larger kites are difficult due to how narrow it is. Sand is pretty
granular and there are spots with some ground up pavement in the water just at the edge of the
beach, waiting to pop your kite. There are a number of “pilings” that have deteriorated all
around the beach and to the NE of the cove, so beware of those, some being submerged at
high tide. A small island to the NW of the beach with sea grasses can be used to pump on.
The island stays dry at high tide. The best time to come is mid to low tide, where the entire cove
is a huge sandbar with fine sand (usually stays wet except at the peak of summer), and there is
plenty of room to pump and rig. Beware of razor clams with both your feet and kites.
Seasonality: The cove is pretty busy during the summer, and while there is plenty of water and
sandbar area for everyone to enjoy at low tide, at high tide, there is very little usable beach
which is usually crowded by sunbathers. Parking is much more difficult during summer.
Parking: A very small parking area exists on the east side of the cove and is free (About 5 cars
worth). It’s a short walk to the beach through some brush. Some parking on the street is
available as well, but it is a neighborhood and there are lots of driveways/narrow streets down
there.
Skill level: All skill levels will do well here when the wind is strong and consistent, which isn’t
frequently. Wind tends to be gusty and up/down, and therefore it is more suited to intermediate
or better riders on most days.
Harvey’s Beach
Preferred Wind Directions: WNW, W, SW, S
No Go Wind Directions: NW, N, NE, E, SE
Wind Quality: Variable. Widely varying gusts and up/down conditions exist, but wind from W
and SW directions can be consistent.
Water depth: Low tide: Huge sand bar exposed at low tide, and water depth is relatively
shallow for a fairly long distance. Mid-tide, there’s a great amount of sand bar for launching,
and a larger area to kite where it is not over your head. Nice slicks created by pools that fill in
as the tide comes in and to the SE away from the launch area. High tide is a no-go except for
very expert kiters. There is no exposed sandbar or area to launch except the very small beach
itself, which is dangerous.Surf: Everytime I have been the wind has been directly onshore and the surf was large and
pesky. 3-4 feet is common, and when I lost my board, it was difficult to find in the surf. It breaks
fairly gradually as it approaches the beach, so it’s not horrible for a beginner. Once you get past
the beach area, however, the wave height can be daunting. There are a few slicks that you can
get into at different tides, so it isn’t all bad!
Beach Condition: A sizeable beach area exists close to the parking lot where kiters typically
pump up. Plenty of room for big or small kites, and probably can have 3-4 kiters pumping at
once. Due to the proximity to paved surface and power lines, kiters typically carry their kites to
a huge sandbar and rig/launch from the sandbar at low tide. The sand is granular and dry on
the beach, and fine and wet on the sandbar. At high tide, people launch from the beach
(dangerous), or do a drift launch from the water. There’s some water-grass directly in front of
the beach, so you have to walk pretty far in reasonably deep water to get past that grass and
save your kite from getting into it.
Seasonality:
Parking: A fairly large parking area is present at the beach, and it looks like there is a guard
shack that either checks passes or collects money during peak season. The parking area looks
like it supports more cars than the beach could sustain.
Skill level: Due to the high surf when the wind is in preferred direction, I would classify this as
intermediate and higher. It’s a great place to learn to fly the kite. It’s very spacious and
forgiving. Kiting here at anything but mid to low tide is decidedly expert due to the lack of a
suitable launch area.
Notes: Do not launch from the beach area, as it is unsafe. Be extra careful at high tide for
Pump on the beach by the parking lot, and rig and launch from the sandbar at
same reason. low tide.
Watch Hill
Preferred Wind Directions: S, SW, SE
No-Go Wind Directions: Anything with a N component
Wind Quality: Wind seems reasonably consistent here. Some land upwind on preferred
directions. Preferred directions seem to provide consistent wind, less gusty wind.
Water Depth: Water gets overhead quickly away from the beach, especially at low tide. Not a
huge amount of room to kite in shallow water on any tide.Surf: I have only been here when the surf is very heavy. 3-6 feet seems common. I found it
very hard to water start because I was getting pounded. Better kiters seem to get onto their
boards at the end of the wave break, and then wait for a wave to break to have enough water
under the board to start. You might be able to body drag past the surf and start in deep water.
Beach Conditions: Very large area to pump and rig. Fine sandy beach with plenty of room for
a large number of kiters. Beach is almost always busy – summer with sunbathers and
beachgoers, and fall/winter/spring with walkers.
Seasonality: This is very much a Labor Day to Memorial Day location.
Parking: During the peak season, parking is a nightmare. There is no place to park within
reasonable walking distance of the beach. The shop parking lot only allows shoppers, and only
for a couple hours. There are paid lots both north of the beach and NE of the beach, but they
are like $25/day and are attended much of the day (till like 5pm). There is parking for cabanas
which are part of the yacht club, where you cannot park in season. We were told by the police
that you can park there in the off-season, however, and that provides a reasonably short walk
over the dunes to the beach.
Skill level: This is a good beginner spot to launch and land kites during the off season and
when there aren’t a lot of beach-goers. Riding is difficult for beginners due to the surf. I would
call this an intermediate to advanced location due to surf.
Napa Tree
Preferred Wind Directions: Watch Hill: W, NW
No-Go Wind Directions: Watch Hill: Anything with a S component, gustier in conditions with N
component
Wind Quality: Wind seems reasonably consistent here, on the preferred directions, the wind
travels over a distance cleanly. It can be gustier with W and NW winds.
Water Depth: Water gets overhead quickly away from the beach at high tide. At low tide, there
seems to be a reasonable amount of space to kite that is shallow, but I have not seen it at very
low tide. Water can be filled with boats during summertime, which makes this an off-season
location.
Surf: Due to the location being in a large bay-like area, the surf is minimal here, 1-2 feet.Beach Conditions: Large area to pump and rig. Fine sandy beach with room for a number of
kiters. Beach is almost always busy – summer with sunbathers and beachgoers, and
fall/winter/spring with walkers.
Seasonality: This is very much a Labor Day to Memorial Day location.
Parking: During the peak season, parking is a nightmare. There is no place to park within
reasonable walking distance of the beach. The shop parking lot only allows shoppers, and only
for a couple hours. There are paid lots both north of the beach and NE of the beach, but they
are like $25/day and are attended much of the day (till like 5pm). There is parking for cabanas
which are part of the yacht club, where you cannot park in season. We were told by the police
that you can park there in the off-season, however, and that provides a reasonably short walk
over the dunes to the beach.
Skill level: This is an OK, but not great beginner spot, since there’s a fair bit of room to launch
and the surf is low. On direct onshore wind (N), and at high tide, the downwind area is
somewhat hazardous (thorny plant covered dunes) and you cannot walk very far into the water
to provide a clear downwind area if something were to go wrong. This is better at low tide, but I
am not sure how much better. The location would seem best for side-shore winds (NE, NW).
Use caution on E and W winds because the downwind areas are not very friendly (LI Sound and
the yacht club, respectively.)
Ninigret Pond
Preferred Wind Direction: NW, N, NE
No-Go Wind Direction: None
Wind Quality: Northerly winds come over land, so can be lower quality (in addition to typical
gusty-ness from N winds). Southerly winds are more consistent due to coming off the water, but
aside from the water depth, you would probably go elsewhere on S winds.
Water Depth: Excellent throughout the pond, most places are shallow except boating channels.
This is one of the most appealing aspects of this location.
Surf: As it is a large pond, it is pretty flat.
Beach Conditions: What’s a beach? There’s pretty much not much beach at Ninigret. There
is a large beach on the ocean side (East Beach), and several really small (i.e. barely 1 kite)
beaches scattered around the pond, but none are great for launch/land. You will likely be
launching wet (drift launch) and landing wet. Much further east, accessible by 4WD with permit
only, is a huge stretch of gorgeous S facing beach.Seasonality: As this location shares the East Beach parking lot, anytime in beach season is
going to be packed. Off hours is a maybe. This is pretty much an off-season or stormy day
location.
Parking: East Beach lot is about the best place to park on Northerly winds. Other parking is
available on the NE side of the pond at an old abandoned airstrip, but this would be good for
Southerly winds or upwind riders only. Not much beaches area on the N part of the pond, but
plenty of parking.
Skill Level: This is a great beginner spot, other than the launch. Shallow water depth is the
main factor which causes me to rate it this way.
Point Judith - Wheeler
Camera: http://www.liladelman.com/port-of-galilee
Preferred Wind Direction: SE, S, SW, W
No Go wind direction: Anything with N component
Wind Quality: Typically stronger winds than CT, Watch Hill, and surrounding areas. Clean
wind from the water. Typically forecasts for this location are pretty good, and iKiteSurf has a
prediction specifically for this spot.
Water Depth: Water quickly gets deep leaving the beach. Not a ton of room to ride in shallow
water, so best on side-shore winds.
Surf: The day I went here, the surf was very high. 4-6 feet, which surprised me due to the fact
the beach is behind a breakwall. There was a real nice slick in the lee side of the break wall,
but to get there you need to kite through the choppy and wavy water, upwind. It’s very doable
for advanced riders, but not that easy for beginners.
Beach Conditions: Like many RI beaches, this one is pristine fine sand, and very large. Plenty
of room downwind if you need to pop your safety. You can easily launch and land dry. Beach is
often crowded during the peak season, so this is mostly an off-season location.
Parking: Plenty of parking close to the beach, but seasonal traffic can mean this location is
poor for parking (charges to park, park far from beach, etc.)
Skill Level: Intermediate to advanced. Mainly due to the surf and water depth.
Point Judith – Geroge’s/Salty Brine State BeachPreferred Wind Direction: SE, S, SW, W
No Go wind direction: Anything with N component
Wind Quality: Typically stronger winds than CT, Watch Hill, and surrounding areas. Clean
wind from the water. Typically forecasts for this location are pretty good, and iKiteSurf has a
prediction on the break-wall not far away.
Water Depth: Water quickly gets deep leaving the beach. Not a ton of room to ride in shallow
water, so best on side-shore winds.
Surf: The surf here is much milder than at Wheeler, and it’s in the lee of the breakwall for most
wind directions. It’s closer to the slick than Wheeler, but still requires some upwind riding on W
and SW winds. That slick is also in the path of boats leaving the harbor, so requires some
caution. It’s very doable for advanced riders, less so for beginner riders.
Beach Conditions: Like many RI beaches, this one is pristine fine sand, and pretty large.
There is some dune fence downwind to be cautious of if you need to pop your safety (would be
a kite wrecker on a SW wind). You can easily launch and land dry. Beach is often crowded
during the peak season, so this is an off-season location.
Parking: Plenty of parking close to the beach (and even almost on the beach!) off season, in
season this location is poor for parking (charges to park, small lot, etc.)
Skill Level: Intermediate to advanced. Mainly due to the surf and water depth.
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