Rockaway in July: NYC's Salt-Sprayed Taco Mile by Ferry

The ferry pulls away from Wall Street Pier 11 at 9:40 a.m. and within forty minutes you're standing on a boardwalk that smells like coconut sunscreen and charcoal smoke. Rockaway Beach in July is loud, sandy, and unapologetically itself — a stretch of Queens shoreline where the taquerias outnumber the lifeguard stations and nobody's trying to sell you a $22 smoothie bowl.

I first rode out here on the NYC Ferry three summers ago with nothing but a towel and a dead phone. Ended up sunburned, overfed, and riding the A train home because I missed the last boat back. Lesson learned. But the tacos that day — from three different spots along a half-mile stretch of Rockaway Beach Boulevard — were good enough to drag me back every July since.

1. Getting there without losing your mind

Two options worth considering: the NYC Ferry from Pier 11/Wall Street to Rockaway, or the A train to Beach 67th Street. The ferry costs $4.00 each way and runs roughly every hour on weekends in summer, more frequently on weekdays. It docks at Beach 108th Street, which puts you on the western end of the peninsula.

The A train is cheaper at $2.90 but takes about 90 minutes from Midtown and involves the kind of transfer at Broad Channel that makes you question your life. Take the ferry. Seriously. The ride across Jamaica Bay alone justifies the extra dollar.

Drive times from Manhattan hover around an hour if traffic cooperates, which in July it won't. The Marine Parkway Bridge backs up badly on weekend mornings. Parking near the beach is free but limited — by 11 a.m. on a Saturday you'll be circling blocks six deep from the sand.

2. The taco stretch on Rockaway Beach Boulevard

People call it the Taco Mile, but it's more like a taco half-mile running along Rockaway Beach Boulevard between about Beach 92nd and Beach 97th Streets. The density of good Mexican food here is absurd for a neighborhood that, fifteen years ago, was mostly boarded-up storefronts recovering from Hurricane Sandy.

Start at Tacoway Beach, the taco window attached to the Rockaway Beach Surf Club at 302 Beach 87th Street. Fish tacos run around $7 each and they're served on doubled corn tortillas with a slaw that actually has some bite. The outdoor seating is plastic chairs on concrete. No shade.

Then walk east. You'll pass Rockaway Taco — no longer the original operation but still solid — and a handful of seasonal stands that rotate year to year. The one I keep coming back to is a cart near Beach 94th with no visible name, just a hand-painted sign reading "TACOS AL PASTOR." Three tacos for $10 last summer. Cash only.

Stay in New York

Top-rated hotels near New York

Best locations · Verified reviews · Free cancellation

View deals

Expedia →

3. Skip the Boardwalk 86 food vendors

I know the concession stands near Beach 86th Street get all the Instagram love. Skip them. The portions have shrunk, the prices have crept past $15 for a mediocre lobster roll, and on July weekends the line wraps into the sand. You're ten minutes on foot from better food in every direction.

Walk east instead.

4. The actual beach, and what July weather does to it

July in Rockaway means air temperatures between 80°F and 90°F, water temperatures around 70°F, and humidity that fogs your sunglasses the second you step off the ferry. Afternoon thunderstorms roll in maybe two or three times a week — fast, heavy, and gone within an hour. Don't panic. Just get off the sand when you hear thunder.

The surf breaks near Beach 67th through Beach 69th are the main draw for board riders. Surfing is allowed in designated areas only, and the lifeguards will whistle you out of the water fast if you drift. Boards can be rented from Locals Surf School near Beach 67th — last I checked, a two-hour soft-top rental was around $30.

Here's my contrarian take: the best stretch of sand isn't near the surf breaks or the concessions. It's further east, around Beach 105th to Beach 108th, near the ferry dock. Fewer crowds, wider beach, and the same Atlantic water. Most guides point you to the 67th-to-90th corridor, and that's exactly why it's packed shoulder-to-shoulder by noon. The tradeoff at 108th is fewer food options within walking distance, so bring your tacos with you.

Stay in New York

Top-rated hotels near New York

Best locations · Verified reviews · Free cancellation

View deals

Expedia →

5. Beer and frozen drinks after the sand

Rockaway Brewing Company runs a taproom at 415 Beach 72nd Street. Pints of their house lager go for around $8, and they usually have a rotating IPA that's worth trying if you're into that. Concrete floor, picnic tables, a garage door that rolls up in summer.

For something frozen and strong, the Rockaway Beach Surf Club (same spot as Tacoway Beach) pours margaritas and palomas until late. A frozen paloma was $14 last July. Steep, but you're drinking it fifteen feet from the ocean, so I didn't complain.

Connolly's, the Irish bar near Beach 95th, is where you want to end up if the afternoon storms chase everyone indoors. Dark, air-conditioned, cheap beer on tap. Functional.

6. What to bring, because nobody tells you this part

Cash. At least $40 in small bills. Half the taco carts and beach vendors don't take cards, and the nearest ATM charges a $3.50 fee.

A real towel, not a sarong. The sand at Rockaway is coarse and sticks to everything. A thin beach blanket will be useless by noon.

Sunscreen you've already applied before boarding the ferry. There's almost no shade on the beach or the boardwalk, and the ferry deck is fully exposed. I made the mistake of waiting until I arrived once and spent the whole ride back looking like a steamed lobster.