Bayswater Park natural area

Dwight Ave., Seagirt Blvd. bet. Beach 38 St. and Bay 32 St.

Michaelis-Bayswater Park is a 40-acre city park located on the southeastern shoreline of Jamaica Bay at the southerly tip of Norton Basin in Far Rockaway, Queens. 20 acres of the park are salt marsh, mudflat, and narrow beach. There is also a forested area with trails that have views along the shoreline.

In 2019, the Natural Areas Conservancy (NAC) and NYC Parks completed a salt marsh restoration project in the southern section of the park. The project restored 1.75 acres of salt marsh and upland – including 0.4 acres of low marsh, 0.6 acres of high marsh, and 0.75 acres of upland habitat. The project was completed in partnership with NAC through funding from the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. The shoreline south of Norton Basin, prior to the 2019 restoration, was a degraded natural shoreline with a mix of salt marsh habitats.

The land north of Norton Basin that is now Michaelis-Bayswater Park became NYC property in 1931. The land was previously privately owned by the Best Renting Company. The shoreline south of Norton Basin was historically undeveloped shoreline adjacent to a residential area and streets.