Need advice on Fire Island beaches
 

Hi,

I have been living in NYC for 10 years but I know very little about Fire Island beaches. We have been to Robert Moses a few times and we love it. This summer we want to ferry over to FI. I am not sure which spot to choose in FI. Ocean Beach sounds too touristy and likely to be crowded. I was thiking of either Seaview or Watch Hill. Any thoughts on these, or is there another spot to choose?

Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

There's info here
http://www.fireislandbeaches.com/about.asp

If you're talking about a day trip, I think Robert Moses is probably the best option but Watch Hill is also very nice.

Hi,

Thanks for the link

I read that it is quite a trek from the ferry dock to the beach at Watch Hill. Is this correct? How far is the beach from ferry stop at other points on FI? I am also considering Sailor's Haven, is this a good choice?

the more east you go on fire island (watch hill for instance) the more narrow the beach gets. the walk from the ferry to beach would not be that long, compared to robert moses, or sailors haven. in fact, it's probobly under a 5 minute walk. will you be camping? you can do watch hill for the day from new york, just might be a long day. btw, the train station is very close, and quite convenient to the watch hill ferry dock on the mainland. you can easily pop off the train, walk accross the street, and it's nearly right there. i grew up in this area, and have a beach house in the community next to watch hill.

otto,

Great information! The train sounds like an attractive option especially given the traffic on LIRR in summer. Between Watch hill and Sailor's Haven/Sunken forest, which one would you recommend. I was leaning towards Sailor's because it appears to be a relatively shorter commute.

FYI - Cherry Grove [and The Pines posibly as well] will offer more skin that you may want to see. Sailor's Haven is convenient from the ferry from Sayville.

Debi

kdd, sailers haven/sunken forest is indeed a closer train ride, and i believe has a nature trail, so there might be alot of groups there. i was there years and years ago. at watch hill, there will be a little more private, with alot of day/boat trippers. there is a shop or two, and a few places to grab lunch. and i'd say that it's easier to get to the ferry for watch hill (across the street from the train, behind the bowling alley) then it would from sailers haven/sunken forest. you might have to take a short cab ride there. indeed, the pines and cherry grove are the gay communities on fire island, but there is alot going on there (resterants, shops, etc...etc...)

If you have not been to FI before than I would recommend starting out a Sunken Forest. It is a lovely ride on the ferry, and the beach is very close. There is also a nice shower house, cafe for some good fried clams and ice cream, rangers station and indeed the Sunken Forest, which is a trail a bit more than a mile long through the forest which is sunken between sand dunes. I've seen deer at several spots and a beautiful little fox just off the trail which is on a well maintained boardwalk through the forest.

I go at least a few times each year and have never found it reall "crowded" at Sunken Forest, and if you walk a bit you can find a spot a bit less frequented.

Cherry Grove is not that far down the beach and there are some shops and lots of restaurants.

Have a great time.

We just stayed the weekend in Ocean Bay Park and if you're looking for less of a crowd than Ocean Beach but still want options to hit a bar or two, then I'd recommend it. You can eat/drink at the ocean, and a short walk away is Flynn's, Schooners or even the Fire Island Hotel. We watched the sunset at Flynn's and it was just beautiful.

The ferry to get there from Bayshore is the Ocean Bay Park/Seaview ferry.

Hi,

AntInNewYork, Ocean Bay Park was on my shortlist for the reasons that you have mentioned.

We made a trip to FI on Saturday. Went to Sailor's Haven. It was gorgeous. For the onward journey we had a small ferry and we were close to the water. The water was rough due to a strong breeze so the ride was rather uncomfortable for me. On the way back we had the 2 tier big ferry so it was fun. Overall, it was a great trip!

Thanks everyone for the great advice. As always I got solid reliabe info from Fodorites!