Backcountry Camping in the Otis Pike High Dune Wilderness

• The wilderness is divided into two zones extending east and west of the Bellport Beach boundaries. Eastern Zone: Maximum number of permitted campers is 12 per night with a maximum number of four campers allowed in each site. Western Zone: Maximum number of permitted campers is 24 per night with a maximum number of eight campers allowed in each site.

Watch Hill Campground

• The Watch Hill Campground is operated by authorized concessioner LoveFINS. Reservations are highly recommended, though walk-ins are sometimes possible. Reservations can typically be made as early as mid-February. The camping season typically runs between mid-May and mid-October with the peak season being between mid-June and Labor Day weekend. Weekend dates often sell out. Rates are higher in the peak season -- see the LoveFINS website below for rates.
• Campsites extend off of a long boardwalk and sandy trail. Some campsites are tucked away into short trees and tall brush, others are placed in the center of sandy openings. To the south a large set of dunes stands, and to the north there is a small forest and large salt marsh.

Barnyard Trail: Barns

Barnyard Trail: Barnyard

Barnyard Trail: Carriage House

Barnyard Trail: Corn Crib

Barnyard Trail: Ice House

Barnyard Trail: Incinerator

Barnyard Trail: Old Shop

Barnyard Trail: Woodshed

Farewell

Fire Island Light Station Fresnel Lens Building

An exciting piece of history, this building houses the original first order Fresnel Lens which once illuminated the Fire Island Lighthouse

• A tall and large rectangular building with a curved roof, and large glass windowed sides houses the nearly two story tall first order Fresnel lens. It is composed of large glass prisms arranged as a hexagon. There are top and bottom sections that curve in like an egg, and a middle section that is relatively straight. Visitors can walk up steps in order to view directly through the lens. As they do they see that light is refracted, and that what appears through the glass is reversed upside down. Around the lens are several displays that often change. They sometime feature smaller fresnel lenses, a variety of lighting sources including a whale oil wick, and a timeline of history and technology in relation to the lighthouse.

Fire Island: A Story of Change

• A platform leads out to a sweeping view of a beautiful Fire Island landscape, including the ocean, dunes, a swale, and a distant town.

Land Use Trail: Boardwalk Landing

Land Use Trail: Farming at the William Floyd Estate

Land Use Trail: The Pikel

Land Use Trail: The Vista View

Old Mastic Camp

Old Mastic House

Sailors Haven: Dune Overlook

Dune overlook for Sunken Forest self-guided tour

• A tall flat platform sits atop the primary dune overlooking the ocean beach.

Sailors Haven: Swale

The swale at Sailors Haven.

Squirrel Lane Trail: Floyd Family Cemetery

Squirrel Lane Trail: Lon's Balk

Squirrel Lane Trail: Squirrel Lane

Squirrel Lane Trail: White Cross Memorial

Talisman/Barrett Beach

The Barrett Beach/Talisman area is a boater's paradise located near the center of Fire Island National Seashore, across the Great South Bay from Bayport and Sayville on Long Island.

• A large, flat landscape featuring scrubby pines, thickets, shrubs and short dunes. On the north side is a calm bay beach. Private boats may anchor offshore in the shallow waters. There is a single dock for loading and unloading near the center of the tract of land. At the end of the dock, and a bit south are bathrooms and washing areas, followed by a picnic area, and finally a wide open beach.

The Bayberry Dunes Beach View House

Tucked away just south of the Watch Hill marina and a short walk from the community Davis Park, the Bayberry Dunes House offers guests interested in lodging a secluded Fire Island retreat.

• A two story wood sided building feature classic beachside architecture as well as two decks and several rooms for lodging guests. It is located at Watch Hill at Fire Island National Seashore.

The Cottage at Sailors Haven

A quiet cottage nestled between a rare forest and a historic community, the Cottage at Sailors Haven offers visitors interested in overnight stays a unique and varied experience in a secluded section of Fire Island.

• A small, wooden-shingled cottage next to a sandy road. Low-growing beach vegetation grows around the cottage and its yard.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Cattail

• Another wide open space features an abundance of cattail.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Change and Preservation

The Sunken Forest Tour: Freshwater Bog

A break in the forest's canopy reveals a bit more about the ecology of Fire Island and the Sunken Forest

• The dense forest canopy gives way to a wide open space featuring flowering plants and standing water depending upon the season.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Holly Grove

• The boardwalk trail runs through a thick stand of holly trees.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Juneberry

Juneberry tree

The Sunken Forest Tour: Phragmites Stand

A wide space features tall cornstalk-like grasses.

• Another, much wider clearing features a stand of tall, cornstalk-like phragmites.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Salt Spray Dynamics

• An open platform sits behind a dune and beneath a canopy of tall tree's. There is a bench to the north, and a stand of log pillars to the south.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Sassafras

• Sassafras is a common tree in the Sunken Forest. This example of Sassafras can be found off of the boardwalk trail, just before the next clearing.

The Sunken Forest Tour: The Heart of the Forest

The heart of the Sunken Forest

• A large wooden platform gives way to three separate boardwalk trails. The platform is punctuated by several American Holly Trees.

The Sunken Forest Tour: Trailhead

• A trailhead in front of a boardwalk trail leading into a forest reads "The Sunken Forest"

The Sunken Forest at Sailors Haven

The Sunken Forest at Fire Island National Seashore is a globally rare maritime holly forest.

• The Sunken Forest trail begins just west of the visitor center and marina at Sailors Haven. The trail includes two loops. The shorter loop is 1.25 miles, the longer loop is 1.5 miles. Both trails meander through dune, swale, marsh, and forest habitats.

The William Floyd Estate

The William Floyd Estate and Old Mastic House provide a unique glimpse into 250 years of American life. Home to William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and generations of Floyd family members, this estate is truly a unique historical artifact.

• A large white colonial estate, the Old Mastic House, stands at the center of the property. In front of it is a large open field. Beyond the field is a thick forest and moist salt-marsh. Behind the Old Mastic House are several red wooden structures. A corn-crib, a blacksmiths shop, a carriage house, a garbage furnace, an ice-house and storage for farm equipment. To the east of the Old Mastic House is a small green outbuilding staffed by rangers. Beyond it is a dirt trail leading into the forest. At the head of that trail is an old family cemetery featuring generations of Floyds.

The William Floyd Estate Historic Core

Watch Hill

Watch Hill is Fire Island National Seashore's largest visitor site. Featuring a large public marina, campgrounds, lifeguarded beaches, visitor center, small shop, restaurant, snack bar, and nature trails, Watch Hill is a popular site for recreation of all kinds.

• Watch Hill is first accessible by a large public marina. In the center of the marina is a main pavilion featuring a visitor center, small shop, dockmaster's office, bathrooms, and restaurant. Boardwalk trails head south down to a public lifeguarded beach. Bathroom and shower facilities are available on the main beach access. Just east of the marina is a salt-marsh nature trail and a large tent campground. Just west is Davis Park, the first of several private communities on Fire Island.

Watch Hill Bayview House

Tucked away just south of the Watch Hill marina and a short walk from the community Davis Park, the Watch Hill Bayview House offers guests interested in lodging a secluded Fire Island retreat.

• A wood sided building featuring classic beachside architecture as well as a deck and several rooms for lodging guests. It is located at Watch Hill at Fire Island National Seashore.

William Floyd and the American Revolution

Fire Island Lighthouse

• Fire Island Lighthouse
• The Fire Island Lighthouse is on the western part of Fire Island National Seashore, adjacent to Robert Moses State Park. The Fire Island Lighthouse area offers exhibits, a nature trail, interpretive programs and curriculum-based fourth grade education programs (school groups by reservation only). There is walking access to the Lighthouse Beach (no lifeguards).

Sailors Haven Visitor Center

• Sailors Haven Visitor Center
• In addition to a one and a half mile long boardwalk trail through the Sunken Forest, a globally rare maritime holly forest, Sailors Haven also offers a visitor center; snack bar/convenience store/gift shop; picnic tables and grills; lifeguarded beach (summer only); a 45-slip public marina with electricity, water and a free boat pump-out station; restrooms and showers.

Watch Hill Visitor Center

• Watch Hill Visitor Center
• The Watch Hill area offers a visitor center, family campground, ranger-led interpretive programs (including guided kayak trips), a 175-slip transient marina with water, electric, and pump-out station; a small convenience store, snack bar, self-guiding nature trail, restrooms, and lifeguarded beach (summer only).

Wilderness Visitor Center

• Wilderness Visitor Center
• The Fire Island Wilderness Visitor Center includes a ranger contact station, 360-degree view of barrier island, Eastern National sales outlet, and exhibit space. Permits for recreational driving and waterfowl hunting are issued in season and park ranger-led programs are offered year-round. Hiking trails into the Otis Pike High Dune Wilderness are also accessible from here.

William Floyd Estate

• William Floyd Estate
• The William Floyd Estate, which was authorized as an addition to Fire Island National Seashore in 1965, is located on the mainland of Long Island in Mastic Beach. Visitors can explore the Estate grounds, trails, twelve outbuildings, family cemetery, and enslaved crosses, no fee required. Currently, the Old Mastic House is closed to the public for renovations. Visitors are welcome to explore the Estate grounds.

• Burma Trail
• Burma Trail is a seven-mile-long footpath that spans the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area from Watch Hill to Smith Point and allows access to Fire Island's Wilderness for hikers, photographers, birders, campers, anglers, hunters, and others.

• Backcountry Camping in the Otis Pike Wilderness
• The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness offers a wilderness experience like no other. Backcountry camping is one of the best ways to experience it.

• Fishing Fire Island
• Fishing on Fire Island is a fun and easy way to experience the park. Learn more about fishing regulations before heading out.

• Boating Fire Island
• Fire Island National Seashore is one of the best, and most affordable places to boat around Long Island. Two large marinas are available with a range of amenities.

• Birding at Fire Island
• Situated along the Atlantic Flyway, Fire Island is a prime location for birdwatching. Spot year-round, nesting, and seasonal migrants from the oceans, dunes, forests and fields of Fire Island National Seashore.

• Tour the Tower!
• Climb Long Island's tallest lighthouse.

The Sunken Forest: A Story of Balance

This self-guided audio tour of the Sunken Forest will take you through the dynamic habitat of Fire Island's crown jewel to teach you about this globally rare ecosystem, it's unique natural history, and a variety of challenges to its continued preservation.

William Floyd Estate: Historic Core Walking Tour

This tour of the William Floyd Estate's Historic Core will give visitors a glimpse into the multifaceted, complex stories of American history as told through the diverse and vibrant array of historical communities which passed through the William Floyd Estate over the course of more than three centuries.