Dead Horse Bay

I saw a homeless man feasting on a bottle with two people throwing money on him. Beautiful.

To get here, go to Floyd Bennet field, parking immediately on your right after the ranger booth. Walk across Flatbush avenue (wait for the signal the cars are fast). Look for Jamaica bay Greenway sign and look for a trail head next to it. Start on the trail and you quickly come to a point where the trail diverges into three. Take the middle trail and walk about 10 minutes to dead horse bay. Check the tide schedule before you go and go at low tide. Wear thick shoes no sandals or flip flops. To get here without a car, take the q to sheepshead bay and get an Uber from there.

Hard to get to and risk of arrest but a cool place to see.

Stroll along the beach at Dead Horse Bay and you'll be stepping on the faces of broken porcelain dolls, glass soda bottles from the 1950s, and fragments of 19th-century horse bones. The debris strewn on the sand tells the story of the bay's past. Formerly part of Barren Island, Dead Horse Bay acquired its unsavory name in the 1850s, when it became the location for multiple horse-ren-dering plants. New York's former carriage-pulling equines arrived here to be transformed into glue and Certilizer. Having no use for their chopped, boiled bones, plant workers dumped them in the water. A horid smell hung in the air. The introduction of the automobile brought an end to carriage horses, and thus an end to horse-ren-dering plants. In the late 1920s the factories shut down and the city poured sand, silt, and garbage into the channel separating Barren Island from the mainland. The area functioned as a garbage dump until 1953, when the landfill was capped. Decades of erosion have uncovered the artifacts that dot the shore today. Glass bottles make up most of the debris— hence the bay's nickname, Bottle Beach-but you may also find saddle fragments, equine teeth, art-deco cosmetics cases, and broken toys. All are from 1953 or earlier, making the bay a garbage-strewn portal to the past.

It's really complicated to get there but I found and seen so pretty cool things

This is from March 2021. At least I have the memories!

The history behind the area makes it more Interesting. First a slaughterhouse, then a landfill. The ocean is eating the coast exposing the glass. It's a treasure hunt. Who knows what you will find.

Very cool beach full of antique trash. Be warned that removing said trash is considered to be removing artifacts from a national park, which is, comically, a federal crime. There are some occasional enforcement measures so be on the lookout if you are taking souvenirs.

This is an awesome place to visit but due to recent hazardous and dangerous conditions this beach has been closed to visitors by the National Park service. Radioactive contamination is very dangerous so please consider visiting the Jamaica Bay wildlife preserve instead.

A pretty trippy, cool place that is unfortunately still closed due to 'Emergency Conditions' if you're willing to pay a toll by car or a metro card ride by bus, you can get similar experiences at Riis Park or Plumb beach.

Great place to go hiking and scavenging. Went with my daughter and husband. We hiked through a trail in the woods to the beach. It is NOT the kind of beach you lay down on. I recommend you read up on the history a bit up first to understand what you are looking at when you go. Nylon stockings and shoes floating galore. Bottles of all sizes and shapes, from perfect to smashed up into smithereens. All kind of bits and pieces of toys from the early 1900's. I am out of shape and it was a lot for me, but most certainly worth it. I bought a hiking stick along and it helped poke at things as well as giving me support. No "cooked" glass here. The glass is all coming from the land into the bay, so it's not been frosted yet. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dead-horse-bay

I've been wanting to go to Dead Horse Bay for awhile now but the fire to head there was ignited once again when it was featured on the Only in Your State blog. (If you don't follow this blog for your own state you should - it features places you'd never know about otherwise from nature to restaurants, shops, etc.) Dead Horse Bay was home to horse-rendering plants (ew) and other factories in the 1850s and around the 1920s - 1930s the marsh was used as a landfill. The landfill was capped in the '30s and then the cap burst in the 1950s! You'd think the city would have fixed it but nope, the landfill has continuously been spilling trash onto the beach and into the water ever since. Fast forward to today and the beach has become a haven for artists and collectors who scavenge through the glass and other trash which have now become treasures to the keen eye. We decided to head out to Brooklyn to see this weird beach for ourselves and hopefully pick some treasures! We parked at Floyd Bennett Field, crossed the street and headed to one of the walking paths that will lead you to Dead Horse Bay. Luckily this area is a big spot for Audubon Society members so the paths are clearly marked and wide open. The grassy stroll eventually led us to a sandy path and we were on the beach! We are also idiots who didn't check the tide report before we left so we were lucky to be able to make it down the beach - the tide was pretty high that time of day so we had to climb through some marshes and over some stuff to get as far down as we wanted. We also lucked out with a pretty overcast day - perfect for spending a couple of hours with our eyes grazing over the shoreline, sand and busted landfill cap. You can see everywhere the cap that has burst. So every time the tide comes all the way up or a storm comes it washes away more of the dirt and landfill and pulls out more glass and other garbage. You can see things embedded in the wall. We wound up taking a lot of things home with us - we took some glass bottles of all different shapes and sizes - some that held alcohol, some that held perfume, etc. We also took some jars that held beauty products from Ponds, a glass Log Cabin syrup bottle, I found an adorable teacup that was missing the handle and I collected a whole bunch of pottery/china fragments. I want to find a way to display them in a shadowbox or something - just need to figure out how! Can't wait to go back in a few months to see whats new that has washed up!

There's a hidden beach at Dead Horse Bay. But don't come here with a picnic blanket and open-toed shoes. Come instead with a sense of adventure and an appreciation for history. Dead Horse Bay had a Dutch tide mill in the 17th century for making flour. Then it was where the horses from the streets of NYC went when they died - to be made into glue, leather and what have you. There were a dozen factories around the bay to process the horses and other dead animals. There were schools and other facilities for what really was a little factory town. It was also one of the foulest places on earth. You won't find much of the town these days. What you will find is a lot of trash from the early-mid 1900s, which was used as landfill to fill in the marsh. The beach is littered with glass bottles from that era. Sometimes, you'll come across the remains of a rusted bicycle frame, odd metal cabinets, and yes even a kitchen sink. Check the tide prediction before you head here. Come during low tide. From Brooklyn, take Flatbush and head towards the toll gates at the bridge. At the traffic light before the booths, you'll see a trail on the right, which you take to the beach (it splits into 3 trails, but they'll all get you there). If you're driving, take a left at the traffic light and you'll come upon a little free parking lot by the ranger station.

I get excited over trips like this, we been talking about it for a while. Whole beach filled with old treasures? Yes, please! Short ride away, we parked at Floyd Bennett Air Field, and walked across the highway. Along the trees there is a sign with an arrow that reads "Park Entrance". Is there sign pointing to giant mushroom & caterpillar here somewhere? I feel like there is... We follow sandy road thru the trees, bushes & tall whipping grasses - they wave and whisper in the wind - and soon, view of the bay opens up... Tide is low, and we can walk rather far into the bay. It is filed with all kinds of odd treasures - mostly bottles, big or small, broken or whole, some in clear view, some covered in seaweed. There are some old gorgeous perfume bottles to be found here - I am a little jealous I did not have good eye to find them. Looking around is pretty cool. Old Coke & Pepsi Bottles, Clorox glass jars, endless caps, some shoe soles, ceramics, parts of boats and even old iron... There is also art scattered throughout the bay, on boxes, trees and boats. It is kinda cool to find graffiti around the beach. I get distracted easily by scenery around us, and keep turning around in circles. Oh, look, smiley face! Low tide leaves narrow paths of white clean sand pointing to New York City. Surprisingly, it is super-clean and soft to walk in. Waves wash over it left and right, and you feel like you standing at the end of the world... At the end of the beach, there is an old boat and a bench to seat on - and a shortcut to the road. Pretty cool place to explore - wear good hiking boots and dirty clothes, tho!

As someone who enjoys messy and is averse to sanitized, I enjoyed this bay. While I have family members that work in renewable energy and would cringe at the landfill polluting the ocean waters, they would still be able to appreciate the rustic beauty that the bay has to offer. Sifting through trash to find trinkets added an experience that you wouldn't find at any other beach. I'd wholly recommend it for people without a germ phobia. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because the multitude of boats in front of the bay detract from the view.

I'm a fan of derelict spaces and weird experiences, but Dead Horse Bay is just a trash-strewn beach filled with broken glass and dirty bottles. There aren't even all that many dirty bottles any more. We went at low tide and walked around on broken glass lodged in the sand. Seeing bits of horse bone and old shoe soles was cool though. Perhaps it's worth seeing if you're already in the area, but it's not OMG AMAZING!

Grade A dumpster diving. Really need to hike far to get best views. The experience is quite enriched if you read up on the history beforehand. Tip: Bring rubber latex gloves if you want to collect 100 year old bottles and other booty. Disinfect items at home.

DO YOU LIKE GARBAGE? FANCY GARBAGE? OLDE-TIMEY GARBAGE? PICKING UP AND KEEPING THE AFOREMENTIONED GARBAGE? THEN THIS IS YOUR JAM!!!! For real, this is a fun spot to find lots of old, exciting glass bottles (and ancient shoes) and then you pick up like 50 of the best you can find and then wonder what in the hell you're going to do with them when you get home but who cares because you just found a bunch of cool old bottles wooooooooooo! Wear shoes that are not easily perforated by giant glass shards (especially if you're going late-ish, because it gets DARK on the beach) and bring bug spray or a bug-repelling laser because the short hike is guarded by several million hungry mosquitos. In fact if you're rich and have one, wear a Tyvek hazmat suit because then you're totally safe. From the world. But also from mosquitos and crazy old glass. OK GO HERE NOW. The easiest route by car I think is to park by the ranger's station at the Floyd Bennett Field entrance closest to the bridge, cross the street, and take the trail right by the crosswalk. There's a bus stop right there, too. The most important thing to know is that there's a bathroom in the parking lot past the ranger's station because you need to wash your gross tetanus hands and consider rinsing the mysterious slime and goblins out of the 50 old bottles you are carrying for some reason because there's stuff in those bottles you probably don't want spilling/crawling in your house later.

I have gotten really into biking lately and have been on the hunt for unique obscure places to bike. This place was perfect. I went on a random Sunday with a few other friends. Most of us had no idea what this place was, aside from a random wiki entry. This is not an easily accessible beach. Even if you drive and park, it is still a hike to get to. On a Sunday, once we went off the beaten path and into the wooded area, we didn't see a soul. This was actually kinda scary, as you are really on your own. When you get to the well worn trail you will see it spike off into 3 sections, we took the middle path. After going down the trail for a while, you get to a beach that is covered in "trash". It seemed less like "trash" though, since it is all from the early 1900's. We saw glass bottles, baby doll heads, bike wheels, old shoes, vases, cracked mirrors, hair brushes, and a rotary telephone. It was eerie. The beach is literately covered in glass. Wear sturdy shoes! Worth coming here for the history and how unique this place is. I would not come alone, but it was fun with friends.

This place is AMAZING!!! My friends and I rented a Zipcar to come visit on a cold January afternoon and it was unlike anything I've ever seen. When you look at pictures online, it is exactly what it shows. A vast beach COMPLETELY covered in old-timey bottles and pieces of machinery and random things (including horse bones!). If you love digging through old, random crap to find diamonds-in-the-rough, then this place is definitely for you. Parking in the area was a bit of a pain. Online it says to park across from the entrance but nothing was open so we left our car up a mile away at the golf range. From the street to the beach, it's not more than a 10 minute walk. The entrance is easy to miss if you are driving by quickly. 1. Be sure to wear thick, waterproof boots. The glass is EVERYWHERE and can seriously cut you up if you aren't prepared. I wore some LL Bean rain boots and that served the purpose. 2. Bring a thick bag or box to hold your goodies. 3. Bring gloves if you want to do serious digging. I brought one kitchen glove and that made me feel invincible against all the dirt, sand, and clams! 4. Check online for low-tide hours. 5. Have fun!

Dear NYC, Fed Govt, and anybody else in need of a jobs program. Here it is! Look at all this glassware to be picked up and recycled! Let's clean up the beach and help the ecosystem here. You could spend hours and days and months with paid workers to restore this former landfill into a healthy place. I love exploring all the finds here, but there is potential to improve our city as well.

Forgotten beach full of old bottles and bones. One man's trash is another man's treasure. I did some homework on the internet before the trip and there was a caution about poison ivy and ticks along the trail. We wore long sleeve and jeans with boots. It was kind of hot but didn't want to take a chance getting bitten by those little suckers and end up with lyme disease. We walked carefully, not touching any plants and quickly scurried along the path checking each other whether we got them on our clothing. When we got there and yes we found bunches of broken bottles. We checked the low tide time so bottles were exposed on the beach. The beach was smelly, but bearable.

Trashy treasure beach, at the end of a little gorgeous hike through some greenery. Love it here, will go back often. TIP: Bug repellant, I got bit alot out there. Pack a lunch and beverages, maybe even a fishing pole. lots of fishing there.

It's a garbage dump. Historic? Perhaps. Smelly. Toxic sludge. Broken glass. Garbage. Nice view but no plans to visit again.

I love this place! I recently conducted a tech scout with my friend for our web series this summer. This location is beautiful! I thought I would never say this, but I LOVE ALL THE TRASH! Perfect spot to film a crucial scene. The bricks, rocks, bottles and all debris have such an eclectic vibe. Especially the bottles, they feel like they're form a different era. Walking on this beach makes me like I'm in the opening sequence of the HBO show "Boardwalk Empire." I also saw a few couples, so it I can honestly say that it's a good date spot too. You may need a car to get here though.

This place is weirdly magical. check high and low tide before you go - you'll be able to find a ton of insane stuff. Wear good shoes theres tons of glass broken and half broken all over the place.

You can park in the National park across the street or even better, bike here. The path that takes you most easily to the beach is at the light right before the bridge to the beaches. Easy to walk but recommend waterproof shoes or hiking boots, gloves and a bag to take treasures home with. A strange time capsule of a different era in NY

New York post just had a article on it , it was already getting lots of hipsters with overpriced cameras taking the same photo the other 100 same hipsters snapped before.

this place is all sorts of amazing. so much trash and treasure. though most of what is here now is just glass bottles and rusted metal miscellaneous pieces, its still a site to see. the bay consists mostly of trash from the 1950s (when dumping - hee hee - was at its highest in the landfill across the way). before it was a landfill, it served as a manufacturer of fertilizer made from horses. hence, dead horse bay. you can still see many bones on the shore. gross? cool? yes. be sure to check the tide before you go. best to go during low tide, when all the trash is visible! heres a good site for it, look for jamaica bay: http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/newyorksites.html theres not that many "odd" things to see in new york outside of the people, this is one of them! just makes sure to bring your thick waterproof shoes, your rubber gloves, and a couple of plastic bags.

I wish I could find the same yelp review i read as we were trying to figure out parking. It started out "Dead horse bay is an ABOMINATION" and the guy continued to rant about how gross it was. I pictured his frenemy directing him there, saying 'yeah, it's a nice beach to lay out, collect shells and other stuff (wink wink), take a swim.....' I'd heard about Dead Horse Bay for years, the history is interesting, but it seems pretty picked over now. Maybe it would have been better in a different tide, but I was kind of disappointed. It wasn't quite the post apocalyptic wonderland I was expecting. But it was interesting, and worth the trip. It's always nice to spend time in unusual spots.. I also finally figured out why all the shoe soles (they float - which still makes me sound stupid , and it's still weird that there are so many, but that is the simple answer).. Anyway, interesting place, but don't expect too much. We saw a rabbit and other strange wildlife on the trail back, so there is that too. It's an interesting cocktail of nature vs. anti nature. Also, duh - don't wear sandals, and maybe bring some gloves, and for sure some wet wipes. And a plastic bag for whatever you pick up.

Disgusting! Fascinating! Free souvenirs! Park at Floyd Bennet Field (free), cross Flatbush Avenue and take the unmarked trail (bear right) to the beach. Wear sturdy shoes. Bring a camera, friends and a bag for collectables.

This place is awesome! Went today with my hubby. We were lucky enough to find a bucket for all our finds, but, I do suggest you bring something with you. We had a great time exploring the whole beach, we got there early when the tide was out and by the time we were done it was back in, I suggest getting there early for more of a find. We left with bottles in perfect conditions big and small, we also brought home a ton of horse bones. I can't wait till they dry out so we can display them!

This beach is amazing. A time capsule actually. I went specifically to look for horse bones but also came back with dozens of cute little bottles. Where protective shoes and bring a shovel and a net. So many great finds. A wonderful place to go on an adventure.