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Get away to the beach

By Joshua M. Bernstein | Metromix.com

6:12 PM EDT, May 20, 2008

A young girl races up to the beach to show off the seashell she found at Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaways. (Newsday/ Audrey C. Tiernan)

After another icy winter of bitter wind, gray skies and slushy snow as black as coal, T-shirt weather has finally arrived. But instead of dashing off to a wallet-crushing Hamptons share, opt for an affordable day trip to a nearby beach. A multitude of Atlantic Ocean options are located within a few hours' journey.

NEW YORK CITY

Orchard Beach
Transportation: 6 train to Pelham Bay, transfer to the Bx12 bus to Orchard Beach

Travel time from midtown: 90 minutes
Who needs Hamptons socialites when you can join bathing hotties on this mile-long strip dubbed the " Bronx Riviera?" A steamy, borough-spanning cross-section converges on the sands wearing barely more than birthday suits. Take a cold dip in Long Island Sound and crack a clandestine brewsky, since no bars or restaurants are nearby.

Jacob Riis Park
Transportation: 2 train to Brooklyn College- Flatbush Ave, transfer to the Q35 bus to Riis Beach
Travel time from midtown: 90 minutes
Though Robert Moses' "people's beach," carved from a naval airfield, has fallen into gentle disrepair (cracked concrete boardwalk, broken clocks), it's still a low-key family hangout ideal for barbecue action. Afterward, catch the Q22 bus to 116th Street to cool off at 85-year-old Rogers Irish Tavern with free peanuts and Hercules-strength cocktails.

South Beach
Transportation: Staten Island Ferry to the S51 or S81 bus
Travel time from midtown: 90 minutes
Consider the Staten Island Ferry your personal cruise ship -- buy a Bud tall boy for extra festivities -- ushering you to this criminally under-visited seaside treasure. There's a boardwalk, a nearly half-mile long fishing pier, and both shuffleboard and bocce courts. Sun yourself bronze, then protein-load on South Fin Grill's seafood -- not caught in New York waters, thank you.

LONG ISLAND

Jones Beach
Transportation: Long Island Rail Road to Freeport, transfer to N88 bus to Jones Beach
Travel time from midtown: 2 hours 15 minutes
Despite Jones Beach amphitheater's roster of faded bands like Rush, Dokken and Jethro Tull, this 2,413-acre expanse isn't just for retro rockers. There are eight distinctly different beaches, including boom-box-banned Fields 1 and 6 and the teen-popular Central Mall. Jones Beach's far-western side is designated for surfers, while buck-naked sunbathers should disrobe on the eastern end.

Long Beach