Staten Island, NY: NYC Chapter, Staten Island Caminito

This Caminito will be an approximately 5 mile walk over about 3 hours with several restrooms along the way. We will begin in Fort Wadsworth, one of the nation’s oldest military installations, now decommissioned and part of Gateway National Park. There will be a fantastic view of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Brooklyn and Manhattan from above Battery Weed, a Civil War era fortification. From there we will walk along the shoreline and then to the boardwalk. Next, we will walk through a wooded area where we may see wild turkeys, which are a common sight on Staten Island, and maybe even deer. Then we will make our way to our endpoint at Lee’s Tavern.

Terrain is flat with some minor hills – sections are city streets, sand, boardwalk and woods. If it has rained in the days prior to the walk, we will exclude the wooded area, as it will be muddy. Please bring water, snacks, sunscreen and bug spray. The walk will begin at Narrows Road North and Fingerboard Road in Staten Island. The advisable way to get there is to take the SIM1C express bus in lower Manhattan and exit at the first stop in Staten Island. The bus stop in Manhattan is on the corner of Rector Street and Broadway by Wall Street in lower Manhattan. The 2 train to Wall Street will take you right there. We will meet at the bus stop at Rector and Broadway by 11am and take the first bus to arrive after 11am. Cost is $7 via MetroCard. If you take the subway to this meeting spot, the subway cost will be applied to your bus fare.

If you are coming from Brooklyn, take the R train to 86th Street in Bay Ridge. Then take the S79 bus to the first stop in Staten Island (free transfer on your MetroCard). This is the same stop as the SIM1C. Both the bus from Brooklyn (S79) and the bus from Manhattan (SIM1C) should take no more than 15-20 minutes to arrive at our meeting point in Staten Island.

If you are coming directly to the Staten Island meeting point by automobile, contact us for directions, or use navigation. Keep in mind however, that the walk ends elsewhere and you will have to take a bus back to your car.

The walk will end at Lee’s Tavern where we can get pizza and drinks. Across the street from Lee’s is the SIR train station that can take you to the Staten Island Ferry and back to lower Manhattan. SIR is part of the MTA and costs a swipe of your MetroCard. The ferry is free. If you would like to take the faster (sans traffic) SIM1C express bus back to Manhattan, that is also an option and a short walk from Lee’s.

Your hike leader is Tom Coca, a retiree from the IT industry, author of two novels, and a licensed NYC tour guide. Tom has not walked the Camino but plans to travel portions of it in the future.