It’s the end of New York, a premier surfing and fishing location, and now one of the most popular summer retreats in the state, if not on the entire East Coast. All the way out on the tip of Long Island’s South Fork, it’s a small town (population: 4,318) that booms when the temperature spikes, as well-to-do city residents and jetsetters turn it into a trendy party spot and seasonal escape. But it’s also a place of tremendous natural beauty and serene, rugged landscapes, from its sandy beaches to its expansive state parks. With excellent dining, gorgeous vistas and plenty of outdoor fun to be had, Montauk is a trip worth making for a stellar weekend getaway, no matter the time of year. 

So how should you spend your time in Montauk? Here are our picks for what to see and do when you go out east, along with a little bit of history to keep in mind while you’re there.  

ADMIRE THE VIEW FROM THE MONTAUK POINT LIGHTHOUSE 

The Montauk Point Lighthouse is an iconic and historic landmark that’s been in operation for over 200 years. Built in 1796, it was commissioned by George Washington as the first public works project in American history and was also the first lighthouse in New York, beginning operation in 1797; it’s been in service ever since. 

Renovated and expanded in 1860, the lighthouse tower stands 110 feet tall, providing expansive views out to sea. It was nearly dismantled in the 1960s after shoreline erosion of the cliff upon which it stands left it perilously close to falling into the ocean, but protests led to the lighthouse being spared and handed over to the Montauk Historical Preservation Society. Today, it’s the fourth oldest lighthouse in America still in operation. 

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Visitors to the lighthouse can climb the tower to enjoy the view, or they can tour the adjacent museum to learn all about its construction and operation, as well as some local maritime history. The surrounding area is a great place to sit and enjoy the ocean breeze on a sunny day, or to catch the sunrise or sunset. Keep in mind that the climb to the top of the tower is narrow and steep and not recommended for those with disabilities or who struggle with tight spaces. The line to enter, meanwhile, can get long, as space inside the tower is limited. Note, too, that in order to get to the lighthouse, you’ll either have to hire a rideshare or hop on a bicycle, as there is no public transit connecting it to the town of Montauk. 

GO FOR A HIKE OR SWIM 

For all its newfound fame as a place to see and be seen, Montauk remains a fabulous place to get lost amidst some truly unspoiled nature. And when it comes to getting off the beaten path, the area offers several pristine state parks and beaches for all your outdoor needs. 

Montauk Point State Park, home to its namesake lighthouse, is a popular spot for surf fishing. There are also trails for hiking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. And the park’s beaches provide a spot for seals to lounge during the winter; harbor and gray seals are most common, but you can also see harp, ringed, and hooded seals. There’s even a specific trail that’ll take you to a highly trafficked seal haulout site. 

Nearby Camp Hero State Park, the former site of a decommissioned Air Force base (its giant radar tower remains standing to this day), is a surf fishing haven as well and offers hiking trails atop its high bluffs overlooking the ocean, plus freshwater marshlands that are excellent for birdwatching. (Camp Hero also spawned numerous conspiracy theories that it was home to secret military experiments — theories that were part of the inspiration for the Netflix series Stranger Things.)

Shadmoor State Park, meanwhile, has 2,400 feet of open beach as well as hiking trails along the 100-foot-tall bluffs and freshwater wetlands that also make for great birdwatching (though be wary of ticks, which are plentiful in the summer). It’s the closest park to public transit, too, located roughly a mile and a half from Montauk's LIRR station. 

For a unique experience, make your way to Hither Hills State Park. There, along with a beach, a campground, and spots to fish, you’ll find the Walking Dunes: parabolic migrating sand dunes that have been “walking” toward the shore over the last century, pushed by winds from the northwest. The dunes can reach up to 80 feet high, burying trees and covering wetlands as the sand gradually shuffles onward to the southeast. Particularly striking is the Phantom Forest: a grove of dead trees once consumed by the sand and now reappearing as the dunes continue to shift. 

Long Island’s waves get bigger as you go further east, meaning that Montauk is home to the best surfing in the area, and the beach at Ditch Plains is the town’s go-to spot. The rock reef offshore helps create perfect conditions for longboarding in the summer, while fall and winter bring bigger hurricane swells from the Atlantic. The best time to hit the water is after Labor Day, but waves are consistent at Ditch Plains no matter what time of year. And if you’re not looking to surf, there’s still plenty to do, including hiking, sunbathing, or grabbing a bite to eat at Ditch Witch, a small shack that’s been serving up burritos and egg wraps to hungry surfers since 1994. 

If you’re looking for a quieter day under the sun, head to Gin Beach. Located on the Block Island Sound near Lake Montauk, its waves are gentler and smaller, making it a great place for families and kids. The beach is lifeguarded and open year-round, with public restrooms available from mid-May to mid-October. Those who want to stay dry can wile away the time watching boats chug in and out of Montauk Harbor, enjoy the sunrise and sunset, or get a meal from the nearby food trucks and restaurants. 

The easiest beach to access and the closest to public transit is Kirk Park Beach, located right in town by the IGA Supermarket and a 30-minute walk from the LIRR station. There, you’ll find a lifeguard-protected swimming area, food trucks, and public restrooms. If you’re only in Montauk for the day, this is the beach for you. 

There’s more to Montauk’s beaches than the big three, though all come with their caveats. Amsterdam Beach is perhaps the most secluded in the area owing to the long hike you have to make to access it; it’s also got nothing in the way of facilities or supervision. Hither Hills State Park has a beach as well, though it's hard to access without a car or bike. And while there are beaches at both Montauk Point State Park and Navy Road on Fort Pond Bay, neither is fit for sunbathing, as they're rocky and lacking lifeguards or facilities; the former is great for views and fishing, the latter is popular with kayakers, paddleboarders, and boaters. 

CHECK OUT THE EXCELLENT FOOD AND DRINK SCENE 

The influx of money and tourists has created a boom of bars and restaurants in Montauk, including pop-ups of famous New York eateries and a bevy of fine-dining options. Needless to say, that scene can be expensive and exclusive; if that’s your vibe, then Scarpetta, Sel Rrose, Harvest on Fort Pond, Muse @ the End, Mavericks, the Surf Lodge, and Duryea’s are your best bets to rub elbows with the in-crowd. But if you’re looking to spare your wallet and avoid a long waitlist while satisfying your stomach, there are plenty of excellent choices beyond that high-end roster. 

If you’re craving Italian, check out Alimentari Beach, a combination market and restaurant serving wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas and classic red sauce entrees near Kirk Park Beach. Those with Mexican and margaritas on the mind should head to The Hideaway at the marina. By the Block Island Sound, Inlet Seafood is a go-to for sushi and a good place for dinner after a day on nearby Gin Beach.

Right across the water, you’ll find Gosman’s, a Montauk mainstay with a topside restaurant and outdoor dining on the dock as well as indoors, featuring a huge seafood menu and excellent views of boats going in and out of the harbor. You’ll also find plenty of shops here, and nearby jetties to walk out onto before or after your meal.  

Speaking of local standbys: the Montauket has been in business since the 1920s and is a famed spot to catch the sunset over Gardiner Island with a lobster roll and a beer. If you’re traveling with kids, make sure to stop at John’s Drive-In, open since 1967, which slings burgers and the best ice cream in town.

Don't forget breakfast while in town, and for that, there’s no better bagel in Montauk than Goldberg’s; pair one with a cup of coffee from locally owned roaster Left Hand and enjoy a peaceful morning stroll along the beach. 

While out east, don’t pass up the opportunity to have a pint of the town’s namesake beer at Montauk Brewing Company. Their tap room is a tiny operation near downtown where you can get eight different beers on draft, as well as growlers to go, then enjoy your drink in their outdoor patio area right in front of the building. 

MORE EXPLORING 

As you’d expect from its location, Montauk offers spectacular fishing for anglers both experienced and new. Everything from tuna (albacore, bigeye, bluefin and yellowfin) to striped bass to fluke to sharks — including Great Whites — can be found in its waters, and there’s no shortage of spots to cast a line. Surf fishing is what the area is best known for; as noted above, Montauk Point State Park is a great location for that, but Ditch Plains, Camp Hero State Park and the beach at Shagwong Point are also popular with the locals. Those seeking bigger catches can charter a boat, with plenty of companies and private boats offering daily trips out of the marina. There’s also freshwater fishing available at Fort Pond in the center of town. And while summer is the best time to go fishing in Montauk, it’s a year-round sport. 

Deep Hollow Ranch, which dates its founding back to 1658, is America’s first and oldest cattle ranch. Covering 3,000 acres near Camp Hero State Park, they offer trail and beach horseback rides, as well as pony rides for younger equestrians. 

If you yearn for the blue-collar fishing town days of Montauk, you'll still find some remnants of it. White's Drug Store (which sells anything you may have forgotten to bring with you) still stands in the center of town, with other shops nearby (that have changed throughout the years) along Montauk Point State Hwy, where you also find more spots to eat or grab a coffee. And you may spot some of those 1960s homes that were sold at Sears while exploring, so keep an eye out for these mid-century gems (many of which have been subject to additions over the years, reflecting the changes in the area). 

Montauk has plenty of top-tier hotels, lounges and resorts, all of which provide their own special amenities. Those looking for a day of relaxation and pampering should book some time at Gurney’s, which has a 30,000-square-foot seawater spa that includes a saltwater indoor pool, steam rooms, hydrotherapy, fitness classes, and the usual suite of face and body treatments. Or you can opt for the historic Montauk Manor, a massive Tudor-style building designed and built by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher in the 1920s as part of his bid to make the town a getaway destination. Facials, massages and plenty more can be had there. There’s also halotherapy, aka salt therapy, at the Montauk Salt Cave, which is made of 13 tons of Himalayan pink salt; they also offer guided meditation, reiki, aromatherapy, tarot card readings, and massages. 

Any kids making the trip with you will love Lions Field at Henry “Hank” Zebrowksi Memorial Park, which has two baseball diamonds plus a soccer field, a playground, and a sledding hill. There’s also a skate park and basketball court nearby. Zebrowski Park is open every day until sunset and is dog-friendly, too, making it a great place for the whole family to run around and get out some energy. 

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY 

The town of Montauk takes its name from the area’s original inhabitants: the Montaukett, a local Algonquian-speaking tribe. In 1686, settlers from East Hampton bought the land and used it to graze cattle, sheep and horses, but it would take nearly 200 years before someone tried to establish a proper town in the area.

In 1879, Arthur Benson, the president of the Brooklyn Gas Light Company, bought 10,000 acres of land around Montauk for $151,000 with plans to turn the area into estates for the rich, though only a few houses were built. Nearly 20 years later, wealthy financier Austin Corbin connected Montauk to the rest of New York via the Long Island Rail Road. His goal was to make Montauk’s Fort Pond Bay a port for transatlantic ocean liners, but the project never came to fruition. One more quixotic attempt would be made to transform Montauk in 1926, when Carl G. Fisher, one of the developers of Miami Beach, bought 10,000 acres of land for $2.5 million, hoping to create a similar site on Long Island. But the stock market crash of 1929 wiped out his fortune and forced him to scale back his ambitions. 

Montauk was home to Army and Navy bases during and after World War II, and it became a hot spot for sportfishing in the postwar years. It remained a sleepy fishing village into the early 2000s, when wealthy New Yorkers and celebrities began to visit en masse and turned it into the vacation destination of Benson’s and Fisher’s dreams. 

GETTING THERE 

If you’re leaving from Manhattan, head to Penn Station or Grand Central Madison and take the LIRR to Jamaica, and transfer there to a Montauk-bound train. From Brooklyn, you’ll need to make your way to Atlantic Terminal, then to a Montauk-bound train from Jamaica. From Queens, you can catch the LIRR at Woodside, Hunters Point Avenue, Long Island City, Forest Hills, or Kew Gardens and transfer at Jamaica. No matter where you begin your journey, you'll be taking the LIRR to the end of the line.