Field trip to Howard Beach and Broad Channel

66howardbeach

• Broad Channel, QueensPhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66broadchannel01.jpg1371431
• Broad Channel, QueensPhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66broadchannel17.jpg1371292
• Captain Luna's Marina66.fw.66captainluna04.jpg1371353
• Carosello Restaurant and ArcadePhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66carosello12.jpg1371334
• Carosello Restaurant and ArcadePhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66carosello33.jpg1371395
• Playground in Howard BeachPhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66climbingstruct32.jpg1371416
• 

  Ragtime Gourmet

  Photograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66ragtimegourmet08.jpg1371317
• Jamaica Bay Wildlife RefugePhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66wildliferefuge06.jpg1371458
• Jamaica Bay Wildlife RefugePhotograph: Alex Strada66.fw.66wildliferefuge31.jpg1371379

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Broad Channel, Queens

Photograph: Alex Strada

10–10:30am
Your family’s trip begins on Cross Bay Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare lined with stores and eateries. Grab breakfast at Sugar Bun Bakery and Café (156-22 Cross Bay Blvd; 718-843-9233, sugarbunbakeshop.com). Feast on fluffy omelets and pancakes, but get some cookies (we like the almond-flavored pignoli) to go.

10:30–10:45am
Pick up sandwiches from Ragtime Gourmet (157-48 Cross Bay Blvd; 866 935-1695, ragtimegourmet.net) for your boat adventure (see below). Locals favor the Howard Beach Hero (loaded with pastrami, Muenster cheese and onions).

10:45–2:45am
Rent an 18-foot motorboat at Captain Luna’s Marina (158-35 Cross Bay Blvd; 718-659-0935, captainlunasmarina.com. Reserve in advance; $70 for four hours) and explore the surrounding waterways. Cruise the narrow canals, eyeing waterfront homes and lush parkland, or go full throttle on wider channels; kids can count the airplanes heading to and from nearby JFK Airport. The marshy water is relatively calm, but tiny islands and shallow sandbars are everywhere, so stay close to the buoys.

2:45–4:30pm
Get back to dry land at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (Cross Bay Blvd near Broad Channel; 718 318-4340, nps.gov/gate). The Visitors’ Center gift shop sells activity books ($1.50 and up) that help identify the wildlife on the 9,000-acre preserve. Bring binoculars—they’ll help little ones spot some of the hundreds of species of butterflies, birds, turtles and rabbits that live there. Before leaving, check out the one-mile circular West Pond trail; it offers astounding views of the distant Manhattan skyline.

4:30–5:30am
Explore the tiny Broad Channel neighborhood, where water laps against houses on stilts. The shoebox-size bungalows (circa early 1900s) are reminiscent of old New England. A small playground awaits kids at Broad Channel Park (Cross Bay Blvd between E 16th and E 18 Rds). Afterward, enjoy a cold drink from the adjacent Bay Gull Store (1632 Cross Bay Blvd, 718-945-4444).

5:30am
Kids can play arcade games at Carosello Restaurant and Arcade (162-54 Cross Bay Blvd; 718-322-7600, carosellorestaurant.com) while you relax over an order of calamari and a glass of merlot. (Think a smaller, less-crowded Chuck E. Cheese with decent food.) A slice or two of the brick-oven pizza ensures that little explorers go home happy.