Blog

Start sum­mer ear­ly this Memo­r­i­al Day week­end on Gov­er­nors Island!

May 23, 2019 2:46 pm

This week­end, get your first taste of sum­mer in the har­bor. Memo­r­i­al Day week­end kicks off our peak sea­son with longer hours, spe­cial pro­grams and more ways to enjoy your favorite Island escape. 

Stay out late on Gov­er­nors Island when our late-night hours begin this Fri­day, May 24. Every Fri­day and Sat­ur­day night through August 31, we’re open until 10 PM. Come out to enjoy the sun­set over The Hills, grab din­ner in Liggett Ter­race and enjoy a night­cap with stun­ning sky­line views at Sois­sons Land­ing, or just take a scenic stroll in the cool evening air. See which ven­dors stay open for late hours on our Food page and keep an eye on our Things To Do page for excit­ing spe­cial events hap­pen­ing at night. 

We’re mak­ing it even eas­i­er to get to the Island this week­end with addi­tion­al Brook­lyn fer­ry ser­vice. Sat­ur­day through Mon­day, fer­ries will run between our Yan­kee Pier and Brooklyn’s Pier 6 every half hour until the evening. NYC Ferry’s shut­tle ser­vice between Pier 11/​Wall St. and Yan­kee Pier also begins this Sat­ur­day, run­ning week­ends to get you to our shore from all over the city’s waterways. 

Indulge your­self at spe­cial guest food trucks open all week­end on Colonels Row. Grab a clas­sic cheeses­teak at Gary’s Steaks, tuck into Wings Lovers’ chick­en wings or chow down on Kore­an BBQ tacos at Kim­chi Taco. Hun­gry Island-goers will be sat­is­fied to hear that our ven­dors will be serv­ing up their spe­cial­ties on Mon­day, includ­ing Island Oys­ter and Taco Vista at Sois­sons Land­ing, all of the phe­nom­e­nal offer­ings at Liggett Ter­race and Three Peaks Lodge at Col­lec­tive Retreats. Sea Bis­cuit, a new out­post of Lit­tle Eva’s on the west­ern prom­e­nade south of Cas­tle Williams, opens for the sea­son this week­end to serve up frozen drinks and small plates in a scenic water­front setting. 

Gov­er­nors Island is the per­fect Memo­r­i­al Day des­ti­na­tion for fam­i­lies with kids. Besides Slide Hill and the Liggett Ter­race play areas, play:ground NYC’s The Yard and Art Force 5 will both be open every day this week­end. Kids can also jump into a fun, free pro­gram imag­in­ing and build­ing sus­tain­able ener­gy machines with Koko NYC on Sun­day and Mon­day. The whole fam­i­ly can play togeth­er at Adven­tures at GI’s mini golf course, adven­ture maze, chal­lenge wall and zipline. 

If you’d rather take it easy (or just need a break from hav­ing so much fun), you can always relax in our gor­geous new park­land. Walk up into the Hills to take in a panoram­ic view of New York Har­bor, bring a pic­nic and spread out on our rolling lawns, or kick back in an Adiron­dack chair or in a seclud­ed spot in Ham­mock Grove.

Memo­r­i­al Day is also the per­fect time to vis­it Cas­tle Williams, a for­mer Army for­ti­fi­ca­tion that’s now part of Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment. You can show your­self around or join a Nation­al Park Ser­vice Ranger for guid­ed tours at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM every day.

Even though it isn’t quite sum­mer yet, we think there are still plen­ty of rea­sons to cel­e­brate the sea­son. With so much to do on Gov­er­nors Island this Memo­r­i­al Day week­end, you might have to come back twice! 

OPEN MON­DAY ⁵⁄₂₇ (Memo­r­i­al Day):

Food and bev­er­age ven­dors
Island Oys­ter (plus late nights Fri­day and Sat­ur­day)
Taco Vista (plus late nights Fri­day and Sat­ur­day)
Lit­tle Eva’s (plus late night on Sat­ur­day)
Joe Cof­fee
Mak­i­na Café (plus late night on Sat­ur­day)
Per­ros Y Vainas (plus late night on Sat­ur­day)
People’s Pops
Fauzia’s Heav­en­ly Delights (plus late night on Sat­ur­day)
Melt Bak­ery (plus late nights Fri­day and Sat­ur­day)
Sea Bis­cuit (plus late night on Sat­ur­day)
Three Peaks Lodge at Col­lec­tive Retreats (plus late nights Fri­day and Sat­ur­day)
Gary’s Steaks (spe­cial guest on Colonels Row)
Wings Lovers (spe­cial guest on Colonels Row)
Kim­chi Taco (spe­cial guest on Colonels Row) 

Free pro­grams
Art Force 5
play:groundNYC’s The Yard
KoKo NYC

Recre­ation
Adven­tures at GI
Blaz­ing Sad­dles Bike Rental

Gov­er­nors Island Nation­al Mon­u­ment
Cas­tle Williams