Statue City Cruises - Through Security and Aboard

A stop on Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a free self-guided tour.

Just steps from the fort, you join the line for security screening, a lot like at an airport: bags go through a scanner and you walk through a detector. Since March 2026 the screening building has been back here beside Castle Clinton, after a stretch farther south while the waterfront was rebuilt. If you hold a reserve ticket, the time printed on it is when you join this line, not when the boat leaves, and you can't arrive more than 30 minutes early.

Statue City Cruises is the only company allowed to land visitors on Liberty and Ellis Islands, and it has run the service since 2007. People along the edge of the park may offer you tickets or harbor tours; they are not official, and their tickets won't get you onto the islands. Buy only from the Statue City Cruises website or the office inside Castle Clinton.

Once aboard, head for the upper deck and claim a spot at the rail for your first close look at Lady Liberty.

Getting here: Walk from Castle Clinton toward the water. The security screening building and the ferry pier are right alongside the fort.

Did you know?: Liberty Island sits in New Jersey waters, yet it is officially part of New York, a quirk settled by an 1834 agreement between the two states.

Photo op: As the boat pulls away, look back at the Battery's treetops with the towers of Lower Manhattan rising right behind them.

Nearby: The ferries have restrooms and a snack bar on board.

More on Wikipedia: Statue of Liberty National Monument · Castle Clinton

Statue City Cruises - Through Security and Aboard

Stops on this tour