Caumsett State Park — Fall Hike + Private Beach Day
Caumsett is the Lloyd Harbor peninsula state park reached by a 1.5-mile walk through mature forest to a private (no parking, no crowds) beach on Long Island Sound. Free, family-friendly, dog-leash-allowed. Fall foliage peak is mid-October. The 'private beach' aspect is real — most visitors don't make the walk.
Caumsett State Park is Long Island’s best-kept hiking secret. The 1,500-acre peninsula juts into the Long Island Sound from Lloyd Harbor, with the parking lot at one end and a beautiful undeveloped Sound beach 1.5 miles away through mature deciduous forest. The walk filters out most casual visitors — making the beach genuinely uncrowded.
The Caumsett day:
- Park at the main lot off Lloyd Harbor Road (free, never full)
- 1.5-mile walk through forest trails to the beach (~25 minutes each way at a normal pace)
- Sound-beach lunch + reading + swimming (water is calm, no waves)
- Walk back, optional side-trail to the Caumsett farm ruins
Practical:
- Free admission and parking — one of the few free state parks on LI
- Dogs allowed on-leash on trails (not on the beach itself May-Sept)
- No bathrooms beyond the parking lot — plan accordingly for the 1.5-mile walk
- Best non-peak windows: weekday mornings, fall foliage weeks (mid-October)
Pair with: a Friday-night dinner in Huntington Village (10 min east) — Caumsett is the perfect “morning hike before village dinner” plan.
Other Outdoor events
Editor's Pick Montauk Point Lighthouse — Summer Tours Open
Montauk Point Lighthouse (1796, second-oldest in NY State) opens its summer climbing season Memorial Weekend. Tickets $12 adults, $4 kids 6-15, under-6 free. The 110-foot climb to the top is one of LI's signature summer experiences — and the State Park around the lighthouse has the most-dramatic LI scenery.
- When
- Where
- Montauk Point Lighthouse, Montauk
- Price
- See ticket page
Sands Point Preserve — Fall Mansion Tours + Trail Walks
Sands Point Preserve is the Port Washington-adjacent peninsula with three Gilded Age mansions, 5 miles of trails, and Long Island Sound shoreline. Fall mansion tours run Friday-Sunday September through November. The Hempstead House mansion is famously the supposed inspiration for Gatsby's mansion.
- When
- Where
- Sands Point Preserve, Sands Point
- Price
- See ticket page
Shinnecock Inlet Sunset Paddle
Guided kayak + paddleboard sunset tour of Shinnecock Inlet. 90 minutes, all levels welcome (instructor on every trip), launches from Ponquogue Beach. The inlet at sunset is one of the prettiest stretches of Long Island shoreline.
- When
- Where
- Shinnecock Inlet (Ponquogue Beach launch), Hampton Bays
- Price
- See ticket page
Read before you go
- town spotlight Sayville Village: A Local's Guide for 2026 Sayville Village — the South Shore walkable downtown that locals refuse to gentrify, with restored 19th-century Main Street, the Sayville Cab Company since 1958, the Sayville Restaurant Group anchors (Casa Luis, Cull House), the Saturday Farmers Market on Foster Avenue, the Fire Island ferry terminal at the harbor, and an annual event calendar that runs from Memorial Weekend Classic Car Show through Holiday Stroll. Walking distance from the LIRR. The slow-paced South Shore village that works.
- town spotlight Northport Village: A Local's Guide for 2026 Northport Village — the North Shore harbor village with restored 19th-century Main Street, the working harbor + town park, the Engeman Theater, the Saturday farmers market, and the John W. Engeman Theatre + Northport Yacht Club rituals that anchor the village's calendar. Walking distance from the LIRR. The North Shore family Saturday at its best.
- seasonal What We're Tracking: The Long Island Summer 2026 Calendar Takes Shape The Editors' Memorial Weekend reset on what we're tracking for Long Island summer 2026. Programming announcements, venue updates, the new restaurants worth a drive, the festivals that bumped their dates, and the East End rhythm shifts. Updated weekly through Labor Day.