Staying Home Sucks, home
Rockaway Park - Beach 116th Street station house
Rockaway. Photo: Kai Brinker from Brooklyn, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Rockaway

Kitesurf spot · United States

Is it worth the trip?

0Poor out of 100 for your dates

Stay home

Every day scores the same

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Wind
W 5 kn
Gusts
9kn
Shore
side-on
Water
flat
Air
16°C

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Wind
WSW 5 kn
Gusts
8kn
Shore
side
Water
flat
Air
16°C

Wed 4 · 0 out of 100

Wind
SW 3 kn
Gusts
5kn
Shore
side
Water
flat
Air
17°C

Thu 5 · 0 out of 100

Wind
SSW 7 kn
Gusts
9kn
Shore
cross-off
Water
chop
Air
17°C

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Wind
W 4 kn
Gusts
5kn
Shore
side-on
Water
chop
Air
18°C

Sat 7 · 0 out of 100

Wind
NNW 6 kn
Gusts
10kn
Shore
on
Water
chop
Air
17°C

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

Wind
NNW 6 kn
Gusts
11kn
Shore
on
Water
flat
Air
13°C

Tap a day for wind, gusts, shore and air. Full forecast

Forecast: next 10 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, poor
  2. Mon 20, poor
  3. Tue 30, poor
  4. Wed 40, poor
  5. Thu 50, poor
  6. Fri 60, poor
  7. Sat 70, poor
  8. Sun 80, poor
  9. Mon 90, poor
  10. Tue 1097, good

The spot in six facts

  • Faces NWopen to the NW
  • Best wind: NE or SWalong the shore
  • Avoid: SEblows out to sea
  • Shelteredto the swell
  • Water 14 °C4/3 wetsuit and boots
  • Best Mar, Nov–Jan2 good days in 7

Full forecast

every day, every number

The score doesn't know gusts, offshore wind, tides or your skill.

Wind forecast and score for each day at Rockaway
DayScoreWindGustsShoreWaterAir
Sun 1Nov0, poorwind from the north-north-east, 5 knots10knside-onflat13°C
Mon 2Nov0, poorwind from the west, 5 knots9knside-onflat16°C
Tue 3Nov0, poorwind from the west-south-west, 5 knots8knsideflat16°C
Wed 4Nov0, poorwind from the south-west, 3 knots5knsideflat17°C
Thu 5Nov0, poorwind from the south-south-west, 7 knots9kncross-offchop17°C
Fri 6Nov0, poorwind from the west, 4 knots5knside-onchop18°C
Sat 7Nov0, poorwind from the north-north-west, 6 knots10knonchop17°C
Sun 8Nov0, poorwind from the north-north-west, 6 knots11knonflat13°C
Mon 9Nov0, poorwind from the east-north-east, 7 knots11knsideflat13°C
Tue 10Nov97, goodwind from the east-north-east, 20 knots27knsidechop14°C

Wind is the day's best reading, mean and gusts, in knots; the arrow points where it blows to. Shore "off" blows out to sea. More

Tide

  • Sun 1 NovLow 05:37 −0.6 mHigh 11:56 +0.8 mLow 18:32 −0.7 m
  • Mon 2 NovHigh 00:46 +0.6 mLow 06:47 −0.6 mHigh 13:04 +0.8 mLow 19:34 −0.7 m
  • Tue 3 NovHigh 01:54 +0.6 mLow 07:57 −0.6 mHigh 14:10 +0.7 mLow 20:32 −0.7 m

Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

best Mar, Nov–Jan

Good kitesurf days in a typical week, each month, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).

  1. Jan2of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
  2. Feb1of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
  3. Mar2of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
  4. Apr1of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
  5. May1of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
  6. Jun0of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
  7. Jul0of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
  8. Aug0of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
  9. Sep1of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
  10. Oct1of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
  11. Nov2of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
  12. Dec2of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec

Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.

Typical, not a forecast. Reanalysis wind misses some local thermal winds, so a spot known for an afternoon breeze may do better than this.

Map

the spot, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

Kitesurf spot

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Photos of Rockaway

214 Beach 120th Street Rock Park jeh
Photo: Jim.henderson, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Beach 116th St Newport Av Bch Channel Dr td (2018-08-12) 04
Photo: Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Beach 116th St Newport Av Bch Channel Dr td (2018-08-12) 08 - Duane Reade
Photo: Tdorante10, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Rockaway

Known for kitesurfing and windsurfing, by the OpenStreetMap map of the area. The shore faces NW, so wind from the SE blows out to sea (our estimate from the coastline).

Water about 14°C: 4/3 wetsuit and boots. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.

A spot for kitesurfing and windsurfing, as OpenStreetMap maps it, on a shore facing NW. Wind from the NW blows onshore, wind from the SE blows out to sea, and wind from the NE or SW runs along the shore. It is sheltered to the open sea. The sea is about 5°C in February, its coldest month (5/4 or 6/5, hood, boots and gloves), and 23°C in July, its warmest (2 mm shorty). For kitesurfing at intermediate level the best months are usually January, March, November and December, with about 2 good days in 7; in June, July and August, about 0. From the weather of past years. No town nearby. Nearest beds: Inwood, 9 km (about 20 min by car). Nearest airport: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), 8 km. Within 5 km we also list 3 surf spots.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$523–US$998 each

about US$523–US$998 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, taxi, food.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to JFK, estimated from distance and season, 4 airlines on the route, with a hold bagabout US$161–US$328
Taxiairport and back, sharedabout US$20–US$33
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Totalabout US$523–US$998

No town nearby, so no stay is in it. Kit hire is not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: nearest beds 9 km away

No town nearby

Nearest beds: Inwood, 9 km (about 20 min by car). Nearest airport: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), 8 km.

See places to stay near Inwood, 9 km away · Booking.com

Getting there: about 4h 40m

About 4h 40m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → JFK, direct, then 30 min by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.