The northern part of the island, which tourists see, is a 90-acre National Historic Landmark District, a former military post of 19th century buildings in a bucolic setting of towering trees, against the dramatic backdrop of Manhattan skyscrapers.

The two forts, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, are national monuments, managed by the NPS.

While Governors Island may never compete with its famous neighbors, it does offer an amazing variety of historical touchstones and famous names.

In 1776, Continental troops on Governors Island helped save the fledgling Revolution by distracting the British as Gen. George Washington's army, defeated in the Battle of Brooklyn, escaped by boats to Manhattan.

Castle Williams, a circular masonry fortress with 8-foot thick walls, built in 1807-11, housed Confederate prisoners during the Civil War, and remained a military jail for a century afterward.

A memorial outside Ligget Hall, the former barracks of the Army's 16th Infantry Regiment, reads like a Union officers' roster from the battle of Gettysburg.

Elsewhere, plaques record the 1710 quarantine of John Peter Zenger, a 13-year-old German refugee later famous for his acquittal in a landmark press freedom case; the house where an obscure officer named Ulysses S. Grant lived a decade before the Civil War, and a now-vanished airstrip used by Wilbur Wright for a flight around the Statue of Liberty in 1909.

Markers also show where President Reagan and French President Francois Mitterand pressed a button to light the refurbished Statue of Liberty in 1986, and the colonial governors' mansion where Reagan and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev held a summit two years later. Neal said the park service wants to improve tourist amenities — food service is limited to a few vending machines, for example — without altering the island's "special nature." The NPS also is studying possible waterborne travel links to other harbor sites including Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

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If you go. . .

Governor's Island Tours: Guided outdoor walking tours will be offered late June through early September. The 60-minute, 1 1/2-mile tour will be held twice daily, Tuesday through Friday. Each tour will be limited to 40 people. Tickets are only available on a first-come, first-served basis the day of the tour. No advance reservations are possible. Ferries to the island will depart from Bowling Green/Battery Park in Lower Manhattan. Tickets for the tour and ferry will be distributed at a separate location. Details of the location and the cost of the ferry will be announced in early June; check www.nps.gov/gois/pphtml/planyourvisit.html for updates.

Tips: The National Park Service cautions that some visitors last summer found the tour more strenuous than anticipated. Wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat; bring water; be prepared for a brisk walk outdoors with only a few very brief stops.

For more information: Visit www.governorsislandnationalmonument.org, www.nps.gov/gois or call (212) 514-8285.