Fort Tilden New York Map

About Fort Tilden, New York

Fort Tilden is a locality in Queens County, New York, United States. It is a small community with a population of 480. The population density is 18.0 people per km². Fort Tilden is located at 40.5630°N, 73.8880°W. It observes the Eastern Time (America/New_York) timezone. ZIP codes: 11697, 11695.

Fort Tilden occupies a stark, wind-scoured stretch of the barrier peninsula where the land yields abruptly to the gray, restless Atlantic Ocean. It lies 2.9 miles east-southeast of Manhattan Beach Brooklyn, NY (from Manhattan Beach Brooklyn, NY: bearing 111°T), and is situated 6.8 miles south-southeast of Brooklyn. The landscape is defined by the shifting dunes and the coarse, resilient grasses that hold the sand against the salt-heavy gales, creating a terrain that feels perpetually in flux. Within the protected boundaries of Gateway National Recreation Area, the remnants of concrete batteries stand like monoliths against the horizon, their surfaces weathered to the color of bone. While the Appalachian Mountains remain far to the west, the flat, horizontal expanse of the shoreline invites a specific clarity of light at dusk, turning the surf into a metallic sheen that stretches toward the distant, hazy line of Willets Hassock and the low-lying marshes near Riches Meadows.

History permeates the soil of Fort Tilden, where the silence of the modern dunes masks the echoes of its former life as a coastal defense installation. The economy here has long since shifted from the rigid vigilance of military duty to the quiet stewardship of nature, as the site now serves as a refuge for migratory birds and the occasional wanderer seeking the solitude of the coast. Nearby, the tidal pulses of Gerritsen Creek pull at the edges of the salt marsh, a reminder of the complex hydrology that connects this point to the wider regional ecosystem. Even the distant, inland presence of West Pond offers a different, stiller water than the surf, providing a contrast to the relentless energy of the tides that shape the daily rhythm of life at Fort Tilden.

About This Fort Tilden Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Fort Tilden, New York. Coordinates: 40.563, -73.888. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Fort Tilden includes the ZIP code (11697, 11695), telephone area code (516), county seat of Queens County, and school district assignment.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.