After Labor Day 2026 in NYC: Terracotta Garden and a 2.5-Mile Boardwalk

Labor Day weekend is the date many visitors treat as the end of the outdoor season in New York. It is not. Early September still has room for one open-air museum stop inside the city and one beach drive out of it.

Terracotta ornaments on a Staten Island lawn

The west side lawn of the Biddle House in Tottenville holds Alice's Terracotta Garden, an outdoor exhibit by NYC Parks and the Tottenville Historical Society. Its antique terracotta pieces come from Tottenville's Atlantic Terra Cotta Company and look back at the early 20th century architectural styles used around New York and the US.

Tottenville sits at the quieter south end of Staten Island, so the crowd pressure of Midtown does not apply. You stand on grass the whole visit. That means the weather forecast matters more than any entry timing. If this becomes a full Staten Island day, our Staten Island guide is a better starting point than a random search for transit details.

A Jersey boardwalk that still runs

If the goal is ocean air and a noisy stretch of rides, the New Jersey coast is still reachable as a long day trip. Secret NYC's roundup points drivers to the Wildwoods boardwalk, roughly 2.5 miles long and set up with more than 100 rides. The strip was voted the best boardwalk in the country in the 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, according to the roundup.

This is a driving excursion, not a subway trip. Treat it as a full day out of the city.