For families, couples, train travelers & shorter walks
Choose the shore day your group will enjoy.
An ocean beach can mean a full swimming day, a short boardwalk walk, a lighthouse outing or simply somewhere to watch the water. Start with how you will arrive and how far you want to walk. Long Island’s state-park fees and town beach permits differ, so a pretty photograph is only the start of a usable plan.
Which shore fits your day?
Jones Beach
A flexible boardwalk outing with an indoor nature-center backup on the same state-park property. Good for families who want to shorten the walk or change the plan with the weather.
Jones Beach fees and accessLong Beach
Choose this for a rail journey, a boardwalk and a meal in town. You do not need to complete the full 2.1-mile boardwalk; decide on a turn-around point before setting out.
Long Beach planning detailsRobert Moses / Fire Island
Choose Field 5 when the lighthouse walk is the attraction. The walk is about ¾ mile each way before extra exploring, so it is a different outing from a short promenade.
Robert Moses and lighthouse routeBeach and boardwalk essentials
Jones Beach State Park
- Address
- 2400 Ocean Parkway, Wantagh, NY 11793. Pick the field for your activity rather than blindly following a generic park pin.
- Current fall fee
- $8/car, September 14–November 8, 2026; weekends and holidays 8am–4pm. Posted summer vehicle fee: $10/car.
- Audience / pace
- Families, couples and multigenerational groups; choose a short boardwalk segment and planned seated breaks.
- Access
- Confirm the open field, closest step-free boardwalk route and restroom availability with the park. Sand access needs separate planning.
Our editorial pick for a Nassau shore day with an indoor backup. Use posted field openings; some lots are seasonal.
Official Jones Beach fees, field hours and noticesLong Beach Boardwalk & Ocean Beach Park
- Starting point
- Edwards Boulevard at the boardwalk, Long Beach, NY 11561; choose a signed accessible entrance for your needs.
- Summer beach price
- 2026 non-resident daily pass $16.50 for each person age 13+; children 12 and under free. Resident daily price $12 with proof. Card only; digital convenience fees may apply.
- Seasonal cutoff
- 2026 pass/guarded season ran through September 7. These are historical summer prices for planning, not a current swimming offer.
- Transport / access
- Use LIRR TrainTime for your date and return journey. Confirm the boardwalk ramp, seasonal restrooms and any sand-access equipment with Beach Park.
A practical car-free candidate: keep the meal and stroll in town, and budget rail fares separately.
Official beach and boardwalk information · 2026 pass basis and seasonRobert Moses State Park
- Address
- 600 Robert Moses State Parkway, Babylon, NY 11702. For the lighthouse approach use Field 5.
- Current fall fee
- $8/car, September 12–November 1, 2026; weekends and holidays 8am–4pm. Follow posted field and weather closures.
- Access
- The park describes beach wheelchairs and summer mobility mats at Fields 2, 3 and 5. Confirm present-day availability; summer provision is not a promise for October.
Good for an ocean-view outing or a longer walk toward the lighthouse. Do not assume every field, concession or shower stays open after summer.
Official fees, field information and park phoneMake the lighthouse an optional extension
From the east end of Robert Moses Field 5, NPS describes roughly a ¾-mile approach by boardwalk or beach. That is about 1½ miles round trip before exploring.
Ask the Lighthouse Preservation Society about today’s tower tours, price, height restrictions and boardwalk conditions. A tower climb involves stairs. NPS describes wheelchair-accessible lens-building and ground-floor museum areas; confirm the usable approach and any closures for your visit.
Official preservation-society visit details · NPS approach and access informationTwo shore plans with honest budgets
All itinerary times are suggestions. Fuel estimates cover local movement; fares and long-distance travel from NYC or another home base are additional unless explicitly included. Check the current fee period again if using this guide after 2026.
Jones Beach: boardwalk, picnic and nature center
Family of four: two adults + two children ages 6–11 · start at an open Jones Beach boardwalk field · 3–4 hours
- Suggested 10am: start with a 30–45 minute boardwalk walk; choose a turn-around point that suits everyone. Allow a seated break and use an open restroom before moving on.
- Suggested 11:15am: enjoy your packed lunch in a permitted park picnic area. Bring your own water and food rather than assuming fall concession hours.
- Suggested noon: drive within the park to the Energy & Nature Center, West End 2, 150 Bay Parkway. General admission is free; separately priced programs require their own registration.
Rainy-day swap: make the nature center the main stop, then have lunch in an appropriate sheltered location. The center’s published regular hours are 9am–4:30pm daily; check any day-specific closure. Allow roughly 10–15 minutes for the field-to-center drive as a planning estimate. Retain your parking receipt and ask about same-day re-entry when moving fields.
- General park / nature-center admission — verified
- $0
- One fall weekend vehicle fee — verified
- $8
- Packed meal for four — estimated grocery cost
- $20–30
- Local fuel — estimate
- $10–15
- Planning total
- $38–53
Long Beach: a boardwalk date with a town lunch
Two adults · start at Long Beach LIRR station · 3–4 hours in town, plus rail journey
- Suggested 11am: arrive by a train you checked in TrainTime. Walk toward Edwards Boulevard and the boardwalk; allow roughly 10–15 minutes at an easy pace, more for breaks.
- Suggested 11:30am: choose a short out-and-back boardwalk section. Stop when the wind, distance or available seating makes a break preferable; the full boardwalk is optional.
- Suggested 12:30pm: have a seated town lunch, then coffee or a short shop browse before your planned return train.
Rainy-day swap: shorten or skip the boardwalk and choose a confirmed open café/restaurant near the station. Do not rely on a summer beach package outside its published season. Use the official station/TrainTime planner for fare, changes and station access; rail tickets have not been priced in this guide.
- Boardwalk-only stroll — no beach ticket selected
- $0
- Lunch for two — estimate
- $35–50
- Tax / gratuity — estimate
- $9–15
- Optional coffee for two — estimate
- $8–12
- Return rail fares — live quote required
- Add actual fares
- Planning total
- $44–65 + rail; $52–77 + rail with coffee
The indoor backup: Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center
150 Bay Parkway, West End 2, Wantagh, Nassau County. The center lists daily regular hours of 9am–4:30pm and free general admission, with parking separate. Standard programs are $4 per person unless a listing says otherwise; children 0–2 are free for that standard fee.
The center describes its building as ADA-accessible, with subtitled videos and selected tactile/Braille exhibits. Ask about the particular exhibit, seating or quiet time your group needs; no sensory-friendly session is claimed here.
Official hours, program registration and address · Official access details
Save your outing checklist
Tick these off as you plan. Checks are saved only on this device when your browser permits local storage. Share a plan using its copy-link button; print this guide for a paper copy.
Pack for the day you planned
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A picnic bag, refillable bottle and spare layer solve more problems than a large beach shopping list. Use a familiar stroller or mobility aid and confirm paved routes before deciding to go onto sand; a boardwalk does not make the beach itself step-free.
Use what you already own. If a rain layer is missing, compare packable hooded rain layers on Amazon (paid link). For sheltered town walks, compare compact umbrellas (paid link). In strong coastal wind, a hooded layer is usually more practical than an umbrella. Prices and availability appear at the retailer.
Questions to settle before you go
Are all Long Island beaches open to non-residents?
No. State parks, city beaches and town/resident beaches use different admission and parking systems. This guide gives the identified venue’s rules. Before choosing a Hamptons town beach, verify visitor eligibility and vehicle permits with that exact municipality.
Is an October beach walk free?
It depends on how you arrive and where you park. Jones Beach and Robert Moses publish fall weekend vehicle fees. A walk with no separate attraction ticket can still be a paid outing after parking, transport and food.
Where should we go if the group needs a shorter, seated outing?
Choose a brief boardwalk segment and the Jones Beach nature center, or a waterfront village day with a seated meal. Confirm the actual entrance, restrooms and route surface rather than assuming everyone wants the same distance.
Keep planning nearby
Long Island family weekends and indoor favorites
Open this guideWaterfront villages and shorter town walks
Open this guideMontauk scenery and South Fork planning
Open this guideSources and keeping this guide useful
Prices and operating facts come from the official pages linked alongside the relevant stop. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. Suggested times, walking bands, food and accommodation budgets are editorial estimates. Before setting out, open the official venue page again for closures, fees and the actual booking total.