SANDY HOOK — Sandy Hook is back.

The popular park in Monmouth County finally reopened early this morning following six months of shoveling through sand and debris that Hurricane Sandy dumped there.

Much of the seven-mile park, part of the two-state Gateway National Recreation Area, is again open to the public, from fishing spots to parking lots to walking trails.

Even its six public beaches are available to fishermen and for daytime strolls, though they won’t be open to swimmers for weeks.

Most of the roads have been cleared, all but one parking lot restored, and the campground is up and running. Students from Cedar Creek Elementary School in Lanoka Harbor are taking a field trip the park today.

Not bad, when months ago it seemed unlikely Sandy Hook would even open this year.

“We’re a work in progress,” assistant park superintendent Pete McCarthy said during a tour of the park yesterday. “Considering that six months ago this road (Hartshorne Drive, the park’s main road) was absolutely impassable for five days … we’re in remarkably good shape.”

The park, which draws more than 2 million visitors a year, opened at 5 a.m. today, and is expected to draw twice as many visitors as usual. “I’m sure at 5 a.m. we will have a nice line of fishermen looking to get access here,” McCarthy said.

Among the biggest changes are the new operating hours: The park now closes at 8 p.m., not 10 p.m., McCarthy said.

The return seemed nearly impossible late last year. A tidal surge of more than 13 feet clobbered the narrow peninsula during Sandy and left the park coated with sand and debris.

Flood waters of up to 6 feet submerged Sandy Hook’s fire station, ranger station, theater and most of its six concession stands. Three of Sandy Hook’s major parking lots were hidden beneath 3 to 4 feet of sand, McCarthy said.

“I was worried it wouldn’t reopen,” said Mike Woodbury, owner of the Bay Avenue Bakery and Café in Highlands, whose restaurant normally sees a 25 percent bump in business from Sandy Hook visitors. “It brings everyone from Jersey. It’s a destination place.”

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Cleaning up Sandy Hook has been no simple task. Weeks after the hurricane, water and sand were still being pumped out of the sewage stations.

Park officials were also concerned that unexploded ordnance left from the park’s former life as an Army ammunition testing ground may have surfaced during the storm. Two pieces of ordnance were found during the cleanup, McCarthy said.

Major improvements to the park’s sewage treatment plant are still needed, he said. Ground-level mechanical systems at the facility, he said, must be elevated to at least the height recommended by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is 14 feet above ground.

And several buildings in the park, such as the visitors’ center, are still unusable. A new center has been set up at the Sandy Hook lighthouse, which somehow escaped any damage during Sandy.

For the most part, Sandy Hook is ready for the public. But be prepared to see lingering signs of Sandy’s fury.

Beach facilities are still boarded up, including the Sea Gull’s Nest restaurant in the Area D beach. Buildings at Beach B, North Beach and the clothing-optional Gunnison Beach should be back by Memorial Day weekend, McCarthy said, while facilities at beaches C, D and E won’t open until July.

The popular Wednesday concerts on the beach will return June 12 to Area E, where a new stage has been erected.

Beach parking will be free until Memorial Day weekend, when it jumps to $15 per day.

McCarthy said swimmers can use the beaches starting Memorial Day weekend. In the meantime, the beaches will be served by portable restrooms and temporary facilities, he said.

RELATED COVERAGE

• Despite $35M in Hurricane Sandy damage, portions of Sandy Hook to re-open May 1

• Hurricane-damaged Sandy Hook set to reopen this spring

