Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Guide (2026)

Exactly one company is authorized to land on Liberty Island: Statue City Cruises, departing from Battery Park in Manhattan and Liberty State Park in New Jersey, with 2026 general tickets at $25.50 per adult. Every “statue tour” sold to you by a vest-wearing hawker on the street near Battery Park is a harbor cruise that never docks — here is how to book the real thing, what crown access actually takes, and where the traps are.

Last updated: 2026-08-26 · All prices last verified: 2026-08-26

The Only Official Ferry: Statue City Cruises

Statue City Cruises is the National Park Service’s sole authorized ferry concession for the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Two departure points, same tickets, same stops (Liberty Island, then Ellis Island):

Battery Park, Manhattan: ticket office inside Castle Clinton, the round sandstone fort in the park. This is the only legitimate in-person ticket window in New York.
Liberty State Park, Jersey City: usually shorter security lines and easier parking; a smart pick if you have a car or you’re staying in New Jersey.

Every ticket tier includes the round-trip ferry, Liberty Island grounds, the Statue of Liberty Museum, the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, and an audio tour. Ellis Island is included — you don’t pay separately, you just stay on the same loop.

2026 Ticket Tiers and Prices

Ticket	Adult	Senior 62+	Child 4–12	Book ahead?	Verdict
General (Ground) Reserve	$25.50	$22.50	$16.50	Days ahead in summer	Fine for most: grounds, both museums, great statue close-ups
Pedestal Reserve	$25.50	$22.50	$16.50	1–4 weeks ahead	Best value — same price, adds the outdoor deck atop Fort Wood (215 steps or elevator)
Crown Reserve	$25.80	$22.80	$16.80	3–4 months (peak)	Bucket-list climb; 162 narrow steps past the pedestal, no elevator, tiny windows

Children under 4 ride free. Prices are set with the National Park Service and barely move year to year, but confirm on the official Statue City Cruises booking page when you buy. Notice the crown costs only cents more than general admission — the currency you actually pay with is lead time, not money.

Running the numbers for a bigger trip? Drop ticket costs into our NYC trip cost calculator or the budget planner.

Crown Access: What It Actually Takes

Book 3–4 months out for April–September, 2–3 months for off-peak dates. Crown tickets are strictly capacity-limited and there are no same-day sales, period.
The climb: 162 tight, spiral steps up from the pedestal level with no elevator option. It’s warm, narrow, and single-file — skip it if you have knee, heart, or claustrophobia concerns.
Kids: children must meet a minimum-height requirement and be able to climb on their own; strollers and carriers can’t come up.
Bags: almost nothing goes up with you. Paid lockers at the monument hold everything except a phone/camera and medication.
Honest take: the view from the crown’s small windows is worse than the pedestal’s open-air deck. You climb the crown to say you did — which is a perfectly good reason, as long as you know that going in.

Timing and Security: Plan a Half Day, Minimum

Ferries run from roughly 8:30–9:00 AM to mid-afternoon. The last outbound boat to Liberty Island leaves around 3:30–4:00 PM; return boats run later. Schedules shift seasonally — check the day before.
Arrive 30–60 minutes before your reserved time. Your ticket time admits you to the airport-style security tent, not a specific boat. Peak-season screening lines can eat an hour at Battery Park.
Budget 4–5 hours for both islands, longer if you dig into the Ellis Island archives. A statue-only visit still takes about 3 hours door to door.
Go early. First boats of the day mean shorter lines, emptier photo angles, and a buffer if anything runs long. This is a morning activity — protect your evening for everything else on the list.

The Battery Park Ticket Scam (Read Before You Go)

The blocks around Battery Park host a persistent, well-documented hustle: aggressive sellers in official-looking vests and lanyards intercept visitors walking toward the real ticket office and sell “Statue of Liberty tours” at up to double the official price. The boats they’re selling — when the tickets are valid at all — are generic harbor cruises that do not stop at Liberty Island, and some load passengers onto buses to piers in Midtown or New Jersey first. Local news outlets from ABC7 to CBS have covered it for years; even Alec Baldwin’s family got taken by the ferry hustle.

The rule is simple: nobody selling on the sidewalk is official. Buy online from Statue City Cruises or in person inside Castle Clinton — nowhere else. If someone approaches you with tickets in hand, keep walking. More street-level defenses in our guide to NYC tourist scams to avoid.

The Free Alternative: Staten Island Ferry

If you want the photo and the harbor breeze but not the $25.50 or the security lines, the Staten Island Ferry is free, runs 24/7, and passes within about a mile of the statue on every crossing from Whitehall Terminal. Stand on the right (west) side heading toward Staten Island. It never docks at Liberty or Ellis Island — it replaces the boat ride, not the visit — but at sunset or after dark it’s one of the best free experiences in the city. Round trip takes about an hour, and everyone must disembark and re-board at St. George.

Seeing the Statue at Night

Liberty Island itself closes in the late afternoon, so there is no nighttime landing. After dark you have two good options: the free Staten Island Ferry run above, or an evening harbor cruise that circles past the illuminated statue — Circle Line’s Harbor Lights and several dinner and sailboat cruises all make the pass. We compare every one, with 2026 prices, in our NYC night cruises and ferry experiences guide. Prefer to see the harbor from land with a drink in hand? Start with the best rooftops in NYC.

First trip to the city? The statue eats your morning; our first-time NYC nightlife guide covers how to structure the night that follows.

FAQ

How far in advance do I need to book Statue of Liberty crown tickets?

Crown Reserve tickets sell out roughly 3–4 months ahead for April–September visits and 2–3 months ahead in the off-season. There are no same-day crown tickets. Book through Statue City Cruises the moment your dates are firm.

Is the pedestal or crown worth it over general admission?

The pedestal is the best value: it costs about the same as a general ticket, requires only modest advance booking, and its outdoor deck has better photo angles than the crown’s small windows. The crown is a bucket-list climb (162 narrow steps, no elevator), not a better view.

Is the Staten Island Ferry a good free alternative?

Yes, with limits. It is free, runs 24/7, and passes within about a mile of the statue — close enough for skyline-plus-statue photos. It never stops at Liberty or Ellis Island, so it replaces the boat ride, not the visit.

Can you visit the Statue of Liberty at night?

No. The last ferry to Liberty Island leaves Battery Park around 3:30–4:00 PM, and the island closes in the late afternoon. After dark your options are an evening harbor cruise that passes the illuminated statue or the free Staten Island Ferry.

Should I depart from Battery Park or Liberty State Park?

Battery Park (Manhattan) is more convenient for most visitors. Liberty State Park in Jersey City usually has shorter security lines and easier parking, and the same tickets are valid. Both routes stop at Liberty Island and Ellis Island.

Sources

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Last updated: 2026-08-26 (America/New_York)