Brighton Beach

Brighton Beach is home water for CIBBOWS, whose swimmers meet at Grimaldo's Chair at the foot of Brighton 4th Street and swim parallel to shore past the rock jetties toward Coney Island Pier. Currents run along the shore and can be tricky around the jetties. Start your swim against the current so the return is easier, and stay well inside the offshore boat channel.

Directions

Photo: Wusel007 · CC BY-SA 3.0

Get your personalized SwimScore

Know before you go

Best conditions: CIBBOWS advises starting against the current, planning with a tide chart, swimming about 100 yards out beyond the jetties, and staying within range of Grimaldo's Chair on your first swims.
Getting in: Free public NYC Parks beach, part of the Coney Island and Brighton Beach shoreline that runs from W. 37th Street to Ocean Parkway and on to Corbin Place. CIBBOWS gathers on the sand just beyond the end of Brighton 4th Street.
Parking & transport: B and Q trains to Brighton Beach station (Q also stops at Ocean Parkway). CIBBOWS points drivers to the municipal lot at 3162 Brighton 4th St (ParkNYC app or meters, free on Sundays); NYC Parks lists metered street parking.
Lifeguards: NYC Parks lifeguards are on duty daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. during beach season; swimming is prohibited when lifeguards are off duty and in closed sections marked by signs or red flags.
Water quality: NYC Health samples city beaches for enterococci through the season and issues preemptive wet-weather advisories for Coney Island when more than 2.5 inches of rain falls within 24 hours, because combined sewer overflows can reach the beach.
Season: NYC Parks beach season runs Memorial Day weekend through September 13, 2026; CIBBOWS members also swim outside the lifeguard season.
Who swims here: CIBBOWS (Coney Island Brighton Beach Open Water Swimmers) runs weekend programs from Grimaldo's Chair and races such as Grimaldo's Mile, the 2-mile Pier Loop and the 3.1-mile Full Loop.
Watch for: Rock jetties are slippery and sharp and can have tricky currents
Strong currents near the former White Building and the jetties by the pier
Boat and jet ski channel offshore
Heavy fishing at the end of Coney Island Pier
Facilities: Riegelmann Boardwalk · Public restroom on the boardwalk at Brighton 2nd Street (generally 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) · Outdoor shower on the boardwalk between Brighton 1st and 2nd Streets · Water fountains along the boardwalk · Beach mats and reservable beach wheelchairs · No lockers