Hart Island sits off the Bronx in Long Island Sound and has served New York City since 1869 — the largest public cemetery in the country, still used for city burials. It has also been, at various points, a military training ground, a quarantine station, a psychiatric hospital, a reform school, a rehabilitation facility, a missile base, and a jail.
The Urban Park Rangers run free walking tours of it. The next one is the South Island tour, and the lottery for it opens this week.
- Tour — Hart Island Tour (South Island), Tuesday, September 29, 2026, 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
- Cost — Free, but participants are chosen by lottery.
- Lottery window — Opens Wednesday, September 16 and closes Thursday, September 17 at 11:59 p.m.
- How to enter — Register at nycgovparks.org (create an account first if you do not have one). Register every member of your party under the same account — anyone not registered will not be allowed to attend.
- If you are picked — You will get a series of confirmation emails and have to respond quickly, or the spot is forfeited.
- Getting there — Hart Island is reachable only by ferry. Selected participants get arrival details directly.
- On the island — No indoor facilities, restrooms, or drinking fountains; there are portable restrooms.
- The walk — About two hours on foot, some of it uneven terrain. Dress for the weather.
- Weather — The program can be cancelled at the discretion of ferry operations.
- Contact — NYC Parks Urban Park Rangers, (646) 808-7621.
The South Island route covers what the island meant to the people who lived there, worked there, and are buried there: an amusement park, military history, multiple pandemics, and the remaining historic buildings.
It is worth entering even if you do not clear this round. The Rangers run North Island and South Island tours on a rolling basis all season, so the lottery reopens every few weeks — and the tours are one of the few ways the public gets onto the island at all.