Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to
Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay is a small arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 10 mi (16 km) long and 8 mi (13 km) wide in the U.S. state of New York between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island. It is bounded o ...
and
Block Island Sound
Block Island Sound is a strait in the open Atlantic Ocean, approximately wide, separating Block Island from the coast of mainland Rhode Island. On the west, it extends to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, as well as Plum Is ...
. The park is located on either side of the Montauk Highway ( New York Route 27) on the "Napeague Stretch" between
Amagansett
Amagansett is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, t ...
Napeague
Napeague (, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP population was 200 at the 2010 census.
Napeague is locate ...
is located on the park's edge.
History
Napeague State Park's land was initially purchased by the
Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
in 1976 and conveyed to
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
Great Hurricane of 1938
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...
.
Napeague was the location of the crash of
American Airlines Flight 1502
American Airlines Flight 1502 was a crew training flight from Idlewild International Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport). On January 28, 1961, the Boeing 707 operating the flight crashed out of control into the Atlantic Ocean o ...
in 1961, resulting in the deaths of 6 aboard.
Description
There is virtually no infrastructure or permitted camping at the park, which is administered by nearby Hither Hills State Park. Its most distinguishing natural feature, a pristine
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
beach, is usually closed during the summer because the endangered piping plover nests near the beach.
A landmark within the park is the huge abandoned Smith Meal fish factory in an area on Gardiners Bay called Promised Land. A controversy rages after Cross Sound Ferry said it wanted to start ferry service from the Promised Land terminal across Long Island Sound to
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...
. There is currently no service connecting the South Fork of Long Island to
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and its
Foxwoods
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel and casino complex owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on their reservation located in Ledyard, Connecticut. Including six casinos, the resort covers an area of . The casinos have more th ...
and Mohegan Sun casinos. The only ferry service on the east end of Long Island goes from Orient Point on the North Fork and North Fork residents said this creates traffic jams on its two-lane roads. The Town of East Hampton has so far successfully fought any proposal to start ferry service there.