Discover Suffolk: Beaches, Nature and Culture

Suffolk combines coastal landscapes, historic sites, museums and viticulture into a varied destination on Long Island. If you are planning your trip around different interests, you will find both beaches and nature trails here, as well as insights into the region’s history. Your choice of holiday apartment or holiday home can therefore be guided by your preferred daily itinerary: for example, nature experiences, cultural sightseeing or excursions to wineries.

Beaches, Cliffs and Nature Trails

The park beaches of Suffolk County stretch along the north and south coasts. The specifically described coastal destinations include Cedar Point County Park, a beach on a bay in East Hampton, and Smith Point County Park, an ocean beach in Shirley. Those who want to combine different landscape impressions can also put Wildwood State Park on their list. There, the undeveloped deciduous forest covers 600 acres and ends at a high cliff overlooking Long Island Sound.

Numerous parks and nature preserves offer opportunities for walks and hikes, extending from the border between Nassau and Suffolk to the easternmost points of Long Island. At Sunken Meadow State Park, nature trails, a 3/4-mile-long boardwalk and the Greenbelt Trail pass through diverse topography that supports numerous plants and animals. The hiking opportunities there are available year-round from sunrise to sunset. Cedar Island Lighthouse is also home to a narrow sandy beach suitable for an afternoon stroll.

Particular orientation is important at Fire Island National Seashore: there are no paved roads there. If you include this destination in your plans, you should take the conditions of the excursion into account when choosing your accommodation and planning your daily itinerary.

Historic Houses and Museums

Suffolk County has a strong historical character. The county’s historic services manage more than 200 historic structures, including buildings, gardens and sites of cultural and historical significance. In the Yaphank Historic District, you will encounter a historic district dating from around 1850. Hawkins House was built around 1850 by Robert Hewlett Hawkins in the Italianate style. The Yaphank Historic Society offers tours of the house on weekends from spring through fall.

Cedar Island Lighthouse also tells of the region’s maritime past. Built in 1860, it guided ships into and out of the harbor during Sag Harbor’s heyday as an important port. At the Long Island Museum, the campus covers 9 acres with historic buildings and art installations. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate and holds significant collections on the regional art and history of Long Island. The 40,000-square-foot Carriage Museum is dedicated to artifacts from American horse-drawn carriages and wagon transport.

General admission to the Vanderbilt Museum provides access to Vanderbilt Mansion with its dioramas and galleries, the Hall of Fishes maritime museum, planetarium exhibitions, as well as the grounds and gardens. Exterior tours of Vanderbilt Mansion cover its distinctive architecture, the collections, the history of the Vanderbilt family and the Eagle’s Nest estate. The Walt Whitman Birthplace is a historic site of the State of New York. For another evening activity, the Reichert Planetarium offers live lectures and tours of the night sky, as well as laser shows with classical and popular music.

Viticulture, Golf and Individual Daily Itineraries

At Suffolk’s farms, visitors can find wine-tasting rooms in vineyards as agricultural visitor experiences. Since 1973, when the first vineyard was established on Long Island, Suffolk County has developed into a wine-growing region. This adds a regional culinary dimension to the nature and cultural offerings without requiring you to focus your trip on a single theme.

Golf can also be incorporated into your plans: Suffolk County’s park system includes four different golf courses, which are open, weather permitting, from mid-March through December. This allows you to choose your accommodation according to your preferred mix of beaches, hiking trails, museums, vineyards and other excursions. When searching, pay particular attention to which places you would like to visit during your stay and which regional focus fits your travel plans.

More Places for Your Suffolk Research

For further orientation, you can also include these places in your search: Copiague, Huntington, North Babylon, Smithtown, Riverhead, Ronkonkoma, Farmingville, Holbrook, Hauppauge, St. James, Commack, Melville, Calverton, Medford, Brentwood, Bellport, Holtsville, Bridgehampton, Wainscott, Montauk, Bay Shore, Islandia, Southampton, Centereach, East Hampton, Port Jefferson Station, Hampton Bays, Brookhaven, Shelter Island, Greenport, Southold, East Marion, Mattituck, Bohemia, Fire Island, Rocky Point, Cutchogue, Aquebogue, Peconic, Cold Spring Harbor, Fishers Island, Coram, Wading River, Greenlawn, Amagansett, Water Mill, Shelter Island Heights, Upton, Shirley, Quogue, Saltaire, Sagaponack, East Quogue and Sag Harbor.

For the broader travel overview: New York.