"Montauk" a Montauk Travel Page by lewster

Located at the far end of NY Route 27 (or the near end I suppose, depending on how you look at it), at the very end of the southern fork of Long Island (it is further east than Orient Point, the town and state park at the end of the northern fork), this is a charming New England-style small town with a sizeable state park with short trails to explore, a lighthouse, a beach that goes all the way around the town, and even its' own airport. The New England feel is to be expected of most small eastern Long Island towns--once here you're actually closer by a hair to Boston than you are to NYC!

In town there are a variety of small-town non-chain retail shops and restaurants. Lodging options probably range from small inns to bed and breakfast. As with most towns closer to the sea than the (un)civilization of city life, you should eat seafood here when it's in season, since where else can you eat dinner that was swimming in the ocean just a few hours ago ...

Though I did not participate, two activities I noticed happening on the beach were surfcasting (Montauk is referred to, according to the state park sign, as the "surfcasting capital of the world") and surfing.

It's a shame that NY Route 27 can't handle more traffic, as getting to Montauk can be trying of the patience. Of course, once east of Riverhead one need only look out the window at the scenery and perhaps it's not all that bad. And of course if more people knew about, or cared to venture to, Montauk, perhaps it wouldn't have the small town feel anymore. That it what makes this place so special.

Incidentally, the town and park can also be reached via air to Montauk Airport (though probably only by regional carrier or private plane), and the Montauk branch of the Long Island Railroad (so all you Manhattanites without cars don't actually need to borrow or rent one to visit).