Sandy Hook Foundation
Official Nonprofit Partner of the National Park Service at Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook is much more than a favorite destination for many — it is a multifaceted jewel to treasure and protect.
The Sandy Hook Foundation is the official nonprofit friends group for the National Park Service at Sandy Hook, NJ, a unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Established in 1989, the Foundation has funded cultural, educational, environmental, and conservation programs and has helped restore and preserve historic structures like the Sandy Hook Lighthouse and Fort Hancock — both recognized as National Historic Landmarks. Please join us in supporting our beautiful national park, Sandy Hook.
Join Us on July 3rd
Anchored by America’s Best Idea
America’s national parks have been called our best idea.
What better way to celebrate our 250th anniversary than at the national park in your backyard?
On July 3rd, twenty-six tall ships will anchor in Sandy Hook Bay for the largest international peacetime gathering of its kind in a generation. Arrive by Seastreak charter from Highlands for an up-close view of the fleet, then spend the evening under a sailcloth tent beside the historic Post Chapel at Fort Hancock. Cocktail in hand, the NJ Symphony Chamber Players performing, the Bay and its ships spread before you.
It's a setting that only Sandy Hook can offer.
Tickets and Sponsorships available now!
This project is made possible by generous funding from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey Historic Trust, the National Park Foundation, and the Sandy Hook Foundation.
What would you choose?
The Colonel Tye: Fighting for Freedom experience uses Apple Vision Pro headsets to tell the story of Colonel Tye, an enslaved man who escaped and fought for the British at Sandy Hook during the Revolutionary War.
Would you stay enslaved and hope for the best, or risk a dangerous escape and join the British, who guaranteed freedom if they won the war? Explore primary source historical documents as you face the same difficult choices Tye and others like him confronted in their quest for freedom.
The free, 25-minute immersive experience is located at the Taylor-Butler House, 127 Kings Highway, Middletown, and is available for two users at a time every Saturday and Sunday from May 2 through July 25, 2026 (except July 4 and 5), 1 to 4pm.
Our Work
Learn about past and ongoing projects, and see the results of the Foundation’s more than three decades of work at Sandy Hook.
Sandy Hook Foundation is a proud partner of the National Park Service
