70 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • JUNE 2019
PRESS BUZZ: DESTINATIONS
GUIDE TO JONES BEACH
was hopping, especially during Prohibition,”
author John Hanc wrote in
Jones Beach: An Illustrated History.
“Weekends were notorious for enthusiastic
partying.”
Moses famously said the area was
a “swampy sandbar…inhabited by
fishermen and loners, surf-casters
and assorted oddballs.”
Of 98 buildings in High Hill at its peak
before World War II, 60 were shipped
to West Gilgo Beach, making uprooted
High Hills homes the majority of
the about 80 houses there.
For residents and visitors alike, the
draw is the same.
“It’s one of the oldest destinations out
here,” McDuffie says of Gilgo Beach.
“We’ve gotten more and more people
who come here from Westchester.
They’ve made the trip and they get
to Jones Beach and … not everyone
wants that Coney Island-scale feel
and they go a little bit further and
they stumble upon Gilgo.”
CEDAR BEACH
Six miles east of Gilgo is Cedar Beach,
which is home to the extremely popular
Salt Shack bar and restaurant.
It also features a marina, campground,
Babylon town’s 9/11 memorial,
and one of LI’s few oceanfront
18-hole golf courses.
“Cedar Beach is an incredible place,”
says Tony Martinez, the deputy
Babylon town supervisor who
chairs the town’s parks. “The beach
is really long so we have a trolley
that takes people from the pavilion
to the beach … This is just a really
good place to have a good time by
the water.”
He’s not mincing words. The 99-slip
marina and 41-site campground
make for a unique bayside hot spot
surrounded by nature. A pedestrian
tunnel under Ocean Parkway connects
it the oceanfront portion of the
park. Aside from the usual amenities
such as beach mats, basketball, handball,
and picnic areas, the dominant
sport is volleyball, played on its 70
courts.
But what makes this park stand out
from the rest is the lively scene at
the Salt Shack. This new popular
seaside grill with a rooftop deck
boasts nightly live music, frozen
drinks aplenty, and a menu featuring
healthy eats as well as pub fare.
Bonus for parents: this is one of the
few, if only, outdoor bars with a
playground on site.
Like Gilgo, daily entrance fees for
vehicles without a recreation permit
are $40 Friday through Sunday
and on holidays or $20 the rest of
the week. Like Tobay, entrance is
free after hours as well as before
Memorial Day and after Labor Day.
Non-resident entrance fees are $10
after 4 p.m. weekdays.
Cedar Beach is just east of Hemlock
Cove, a popular bayside destination
for boaters to drop anchor, swim to
shore, walk across Ocean Parkway —
which officials note is illegal, but has
been done for generations — and go
surfing on the oceanside.
OVERLOOK BEACH
A short walk down the beach east
of Cedar Beach is Overlook Beach,
which offers a quieter atmosphere.
The park has a playground, picnic
area, and the Overlook Beach Club
restaurant, and is within walking
distance of Cedar Beach, with the golf
course lying between the two.
Overlook is open to Babylon town residents
only, but is free to enter after 5 p.m.
GILGO STATE PARK
A mile east of Overlook is Gilgo State
Park, which includes the area known
as Sore Thumb — named for its aerial
resemblance — a popular fishing and
offroading destination overlooking
the Fire Island Inlet.
Access to Gilgo State Park is open to
permitted 4-wheel-drive visitors only
who must observe a carry in, carry
out policy. The passive, undeveloped
park is renowned for its tranquility
and stellar views. Four-wheel access
is also available a quarter mile east of
Gilgo Beach.
Anglers enjoy surf fishing in the
Atlantic Ocean, catching striped
bass, blue fish, and a variety of other
species.
Remnants of an old U.S. Coast Guard
station that used to be located there
can still be found in the sand.
Because of its name, Gilgo State Park
is sometimes confused with Gilgo
Beach, the town park to the west.
OAK BEACH
A mile to the east of Gilgo State Park
is the mostly residential area of Oak
Beach, which also features the free,
publicly accessible Richard L. Brooks
Memorial Park.
Visitors can stroll out onto a pier
and take in the views or launch a
kayak. Because of its location overlooking
the Fire Island Inlet, the pier
offers some of the best fishing on LI,
according to the Town of Babylon,
which runs the passive park that has
become a weekend hotspot for car
enthusiasts and motorcycle clubs.
The park area used to be home to the
Oak Beach Inn, a famous nightclub
that shuttered two decades ago.
With about 200 houses, Oak Beach is
the third residential community on
Jones Beach Island. The area’s founder,
Henry Livingston, built the first
house there in 1879.
On the north side of Ocean Parkway
across from the entrance to Oak Beach
is a parking lot for residents of nearby
Oak Island, a small resort community
that is accessible only by boat.
CAPTREE STATE PARK
At the eastern tip of Jones Beach
Island is the confusingly named
Captree State Park, which is actually
next to the residential Captree Island
to the north, not on it.
It’s at the end of Ocean Parkway, just
east of the Robert Moses Causeway,
and offers picture-perfect views of
the Fire Island Lighthouse.
It has a boat basin that is port of the
famous Captree Fleet of charter fishing,
sightseeing, scuba diving, and
party boats that make up the largest
public fishing fleet on LI. There are
also a few transient slips available at
the marina.
“The second people step on a fishing
boat, their day is done,” Katherine
Heinlein, president of the Captree
Fleet, told the Press. “They calm
down. It’s a wonderful environment
and it’s not about catching fish, it’s
about camaraderie.”
The park also offers two large fishing
piers, a bait-and-tackle shop, the newly
opened Tiki Joe’s Captain’s Table
bar and restaurant, picnic areas, boat
launches, and playgrounds. Parking
fees are $8.
The Captree Fleet offers fishing, sightseeing, scuba diving, and party
boats. (Photo by Marque1313)
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