{"id":54006,"date":"2017-07-18T09:05:30","date_gmt":"2017-07-18T13:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/?p=54006"},"modified":"2025-09-02T00:17:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T04:17:52","slug":"long-islands-car-free-paradise-fire-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/54006\/long-islands-car-free-paradise-fire-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Island&#8217;s Car-free Paradise: Fire Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most obvious car-free getaways from New York City is the one that doesn\u2019t even allow cars: Fire Island National Seashore. This 31-mile long barrier island stretches along the southern coast of Long Island, offering easy access from multiple LIRR stations. Once you arrive on the island you\u2019ll understand why this has long been a getaway for the famous, from John Lennon to Tina Fey. Quiet streets and small bungalows create an intimate environment and the lack of cars communicates the slower pace of the island. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-54008 size-medium aligncenter lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fire-Island-Beachscape-e1488908946458-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"Fire Island National Seashore\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-54008 size-medium aligncenter lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fire-Island-Beachscape-e1488908946458-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"Fire Island National Seashore\" width=\"350\" height=\"233\"><\/noscript>Get Outdoors:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fire Island is a perfect place to grab a bike and explore. Head to&nbsp;the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ocean-Beach-Hardware-1395410397404753\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ocean Beach Hardware Store<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;to&nbsp;rent bikes for a day of cruising around the island ($30\/day, bring your ID). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or&nbsp;set your sites on&nbsp;the eastern end of the island where you\u2019ll find <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2012\/02\/20\/hiking-trails-long-island\/\">Sunken Forest<\/a>,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;home to hiking trails and 300-year old American Holly trees. Note: since there are a few private communities between Ocean Beach and Sunken Forest you won\u2019t be able to bike directly, instead head to the beach for an hour-long walk on public land. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Eat &amp; Drink:<\/b><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_56312\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56312\" style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-56312 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"Fried Shrimp on Fire Island \" width=\"350\" height=\"233\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-56312\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-56312 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708-350x233.jpg\" alt=\"Fried Shrimp on Fire Island \" width=\"350\" height=\"233\" srcset=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fried-Shrimp-e1488909100708.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/noscript> <em>Kurt Bauschardt<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the best views and delicious garden-to-table eats, head to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.maguiresbayfrontrestaurant.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maguires<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where the seating offers direct views of the water and the epic Fire Island sunsets. Their set menu options range from clam chowder to lobster, or sample their rotating specials of fresh creations made with produce from their own garden.&nbsp;If you can\u2019t manage to snag a reservation at&nbsp;Maguires, head to The Hideaway for a casual atmosphere, a myriad of local seafood options, and live music. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53831 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/10552357_10100666660783267_691159348987838059_n-e1472671086795-350x280.jpg\" alt=\"Vacation Rental on Fire Island\" width=\"350\" height=\"280\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-53831 size-medium lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/10552357_10100666660783267_691159348987838059_n-e1472671086795-350x280.jpg\" alt=\"Vacation Rental on Fire Island\" width=\"350\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/10552357_10100666660783267_691159348987838059_n-e1472671086795-350x280.jpg 350w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/10552357_10100666660783267_691159348987838059_n-e1472671086795-768x614.jpg 768w, https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/10552357_10100666660783267_691159348987838059_n-e1472671086795.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><\/noscript>Stay Here<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Fire Island does have traditional hotel options such as historic bed &amp; breakfast <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/2011\/05\/16\/long-island-hotels-with-free-bike-rental\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Clegg\u2019s<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (starting at $160\/night), renting directly from the owner keeps the authentic, small town vibe. Most homeowners will list their spaces on <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">VRBO<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where you can rent everything from a full house to a cottage to a bungalow. Plus, local rentals usually include bicycles.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>How to Get to Fire Island:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/lirr42.mta.info\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LIRR <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to Bay Shore ($26.50 round trip). From there you can walk directly to the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.fireislandferries.com\/schedules\/ocean-beach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fire Island Ferry<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;that goes to Ocean Beach ($19 round trip). Once you arrive on Fire Island you can walk or bike everywhere. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Note: It is notoriously difficult to arrange for your bike to travel on the Fire Island Ferry so plan to rent or borrow one on the island.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Photos by author and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/kurt-b\/16507010215\/in\/photolist-acuKS6-cKKhVC-FTgC3Y-qs2A9V-r9EK3p-arkTB1-aqPMuq-fNz6cA-auC2LP-96BHrx-anoECh-o49ZV3-fSWjyf-fQMgXZ-b9YVAp-fSWnNa-chW8FW-bdvy4c-dn6nsD-cKKcJ5-96EKpb-9aF86g-bLr9KF-e5eXTx-e6ZiNX-G15Vzw-9msimK-FPCfsf-pDBzUS-ecnb4r-96ELQb-bpfZmP-cDPtJu-96EKFU-ebkHtD-9fu4oo-c1siJY-e5KY8b-bpfZJi-ahAgFT-FMS4bb-8cpKPs-8cQwQV-96EL1s-7PoHgP-GGVbdf-8d4uLh-doLV35-8YpKap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kurt Bauschardt<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most obvious car-free getaways from New York City is the one that doesn\u2019t even allow cars: Fire Island National Seashore. This 31-mile long barrier island stretches along the southern coast of Long Island, offering easy access from multiple LIRR stations. Once you arrive on the island you\u2019ll understand why this has long [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":110,"featured_media":54007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[325,757,784,785,750,817,749,1869,1940,949,770,790,319,781,774,780,748,1867,316,782],"tags":[238,21,176,381,145,125,212,22,299,418,133,449,360],"class_list":{"0":"post-54006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"category-activity-2","9":"category-adventure-activity-2","10":"category-beaches-adventure-activity-2","11":"category-bike-2","12":"category-biking-adventure-activity-2","13":"category-boat-2","14":"category-editors-picks","15":"category-editors-picks-summer","16":"category-fire-island-new-york-2","17":"category-food-drink","18":"category-hiking-adventure-activity-2","19":"category-long-island-destination","20":"category-outdoor-dining","21":"category-restaurants-food-drink","22":"category-seafood-food-drink","23":"category-train-2","24":"category-transit-type","25":"category-weekend-getaways","26":"category-wine-food-drink","27":"tag-adventure","28":"tag-beach","29":"tag-bed-and-breakfast","30":"tag-biking","31":"tag-dining","32":"tag-food","33":"tag-hiking","34":"tag-lirr","35":"tag-locally-sourced","36":"tag-ocean","37":"tag-outdoors","38":"tag-restaurants","39":"tag-seafood"},"acf":[],"mv":{"thumbnail_id":54007,"thumbnail_uri":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Fire-Island-Biking-e1472562413141-350x198.jpg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/110"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/offmetro.com\/ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}