The Statue of Liberty served as a beacon of hope to millions of European immigrants, who arrived in the New York Harbor by boat in the 19th and 20th centuries and continues to serve as an international symbol of freedom and democracy. As the child, grandchild and great grandchild of people who came to America via boat through the Port of New York, Tim and I had heard the stories of how excited they were to see Lady Liberty. I had also heard about how my great grandmother and several of her children were forced to spend several days at Ellis Island when they arrived in America. For me, these two places held special meaning, and to visit them was something I had always wanted to do.
Because you can only access these sites by ferry, it’s important that you book your timed entry tickets in advance from Statue City Cruises. Plan to arrive about 30-minutes prior to your departure because there is a security screening area you must pass through before you board. You can take the ferry from New Jersey or Battery Park, so be sure you select the correct departure location. Tickets include round trip travel, but you can also choose to depart from one side and arrive at the other – we started in New Jersey but wound up in Battery Park so we could spend the afternoon in the City. You can also add on a pedestal or crown tour of the Statue of Liberty or a hard hat tour at Ellis Island.
We stayed in New Jersey and picked up the ferry on the New Jersey side in the morning at Liberty Park. This is the site of a former railroad station – the site where many who arrived in New York would catch a train to reach other parts of the state and country. While it’s no longer in use, you could see where the lines had formed for each train and where the destinations were posted. There is also a small museum here that you can look through if you arrive very early. Once you pass through security, there is an amazing view of the skyline from the dock, so leave a little extra time for photos if you can.
The ferry offered a perfect view of the New York and New Jersey skylines as well as of the Statue of Liberty herself. If you leave from New Jersey, your first stop will be Ellis Island. Between 1892 and 1954 over 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island in their quest to find a better life in America.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island has been restored beautifully to show the wide open halls and waiting rooms that were undoubtedly filled with people speaking a multitude of languages – but also containing museum displays that help visitors understand the people who came here and the process they went through upon arrival. When we departed the shuttle we picked up Junior Ranger books from the desk. Unlike so many other programs we’ve done in the past, this one encouraged the participants to follow along with two young children as they walked through Ellis Island. It gave the boys a great idea of what it must have been like for children.
We enjoyed walking through the displays and completing the Junior Ranger activities as we went. The medical unit was particularly interesting to the boys and I enjoyed seeing the main room where everyone waited to hear their name called from the desks at the end of the long room. There was even a citizenship test we all took near the end.
Ellis Island also contains an education and research center where you can research your ancestors. We had so many people to research that I spent a few weeks ahead of our trip on Ancestry.com researching them and when they arrived. You can also search your ancestors online at https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger. I brought along a list of our ancestors and the ships they arrived on and enjoyed telling the boys the history of their own ancestors who had passed through Ellis Island.
Just before the next ferry was due to arrive, we picked up the boys’ Junior Ranger badges and headed off to the Statue of Liberty.
Statue of Liberty
As we left Ellis Island, we had an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty from the ferry. It was amazing to think about our ancestors who had been in this very spot and wonder what they were thinking upon arrival to America. When we arrived we picked up the Junior Ranger book for this part of the trip. It’s a separate book – and a separate badge.
The Statue of Liberty is just one part of Liberty Island. At the opposite end of the island is the Statue of Liberty Museum and it should not be missed. You can see how Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi built the Statue of Liberty, learn about how Joseph Pulitzer raised money to build the pedestal, and get up close with the Lady Liberty’s original torch.
I recommend touring the museum first to get an idea of what went in to creating this international symbol. From here we walked over to the Statue and around to see it from all angles. It was crowded with many people taking selfies, but if you’re patient you’ll have no trouble getting your own.
We had purchased a pedestal tour along with our ferry tickets and enjoyed the opportunity to walk through the pedestal itself. Be aware that you must purchase this tour or the crown tour ahead of time and pass through a separate security check point. No bags are allowed in the pedestal, but lockers are available just outside the entrance. There are a lot of steps, but the stairway was filled with tips and facts about the statue itself, which helped distract the boys and the view from the pedestal was well worth the climb!
We also visited the Sculpture Garden, where the names of those who helped build the Statue are listed, before collecting our Junior Ranger badges and heading to the ferry. We chose to take the ferry to Battery Park, rather than back to New Jersey, so that we could spend the afternoon downtown.
This was an amazing trip and the boys learned so much about our history, our country and even their own ancestry.
Things to Know Before You Go
You must purchase your ferry tickets and tickets to tour the pedestal and/or crown ahead of time and specify where you’ll pick up the first ferry. There are several security checkpoints, so do not bring anything you don’t need. We brought a backpack with lunches and water bottles.
There are two separate Junior Ranger Programs for kids to participate in and they are completely different.
When you depart each ferry, check what time the next ferry going in your direction will arrive so that you have an idea of how much time you have on each island. You do not need to take the very next ferry – you can take any of them, but you’ll want to be sure you’re going in the right direction as there are ferries going both ways at each dock and you don’t want to end up in New Jersey if you were hoping to go to the Statue of Liberty!
Have you been to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island? What were your favorite things to see? Tell us in the comments.
