Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey. The barrier spit, 6 miles in length, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern entrance of the Lower New York Bay south of New York City, protecting it from the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean to the east. It is separated from Atlantic Highlands and Highlands by the Sandy Hook Bay.
Sandy Hook's history dates back to the colonial period, during which it was named by the Dutch. In 1764, the 103-foot Sandy Hook Light was built to aid mariners entering the southern end of the New York Harbor, and it is now the oldest working lighthouse in the United States. The island served as the point of embarkation for Sir Henry Clinton's British army following the 1778 Battle of Monmouth during the American Revolutionary War, and the British were taken across the Lower New York Bay to Manhattan by boat. From 1874 to 1919, the US Army used Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Proving Ground, and it became a park in 1980. Today, Sandy Hook is a popular beach and tourist destination.