Cupsogue Beach County Park is a park at the eastern end of

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lon ...

and the western end of Westhampton Island, known locally as Dune Road, one of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

's easternmost

barrier islands Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a f ...

. The

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 ...

Moriches Inlet Moriches Inlet ( ) is an inlet connecting Moriches Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck.The Indian Place-Names on Long Island and Islands Adjacent, with Their Prob ...

and

Moriches Bay Moriches Bay ( ) is a lagoon system on the south shore of Long Island, New York. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck. Two townships in Suffolk, New York ( Brookhaven and the Southampton) share ...

surround the park.

Location

Though the park exists on both sides of the Moriches Inlet and is located entirely within the Town of Brookhaven, it is only accessible from the western terminus of Dune Road, which itself is in the Town of Southampton. The closest bridge to the park is for Jessup Lane in the village of

Westhampton Beach Westhampton Beach is an incorporated village in the Town of Southampton, in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,721. History The village of Westhampton ...

between Moriches Bay and Moneybogue Bay. The park's eastern border is the Brookhaven/Southampton town line and the village of West Hampton Dunes.

Park description

This

barrier beach Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...

park offers lifeguard-supervised swimming, sunbathing, fishing, scuba diving, and special events. A food concession, restrooms, a first aid center (staffed by an EMT during the summer months), showers and changing rooms are all situated at Cupsogue's pavilion. Camping and recreational vehicles are permitted along the access road running parallel to the outer beach. Diving is permitted at

slack tide Slack water is a short period in a body of tidal water when the water is completely unstressed, and there is no movement either way in the tidal stream, and which occurs before the direction of the tidal stream reverses. Slack water can be esti ...

on the bay side of the park only, where the water depth is approximately . Most facilities at the park can be found on the east side of Moriches Inlet. The segment of the park on the west side is preserved land that is divided by a strip of town parkland separating Cupsogue from

Smith Point County Park Smith Point County Park is a beachfront park facing the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, along the central south shore of Long Island, near Shirley, New York, United States. It is the largest park owned by Suffolk County. The park ...

. This park is home to many piping plovers, a federally protected

shorebird 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

History

Dated from the 1690s, the Native American word ''Cupsogue'' means "a closed inlet". The park's land was entirely part of

until a 1931

Nor'easter A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below), or an East Coast low is a synoptic-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. The original use o ...

created the Moriches Inlet, which enlarged between 1933 and 1938. The Suffolk County Parks Department acquired the park in the 1950s, and by the 1970s Cupsogue Beach County Park was given a pavilion and

boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway built with wooden planks that enables pedestrians to cross wet, fragile, or marshy land. They are also in effect a low type of br ...

. A breach connecting the Atlantic Ocean and Great South Bay occurred on the east end of the park as a result of high tides during

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...

in 2012. The breach widened from to less than a week later when a Nor'easter hit. Officials closed the breach with a $6 million project that pumped in of sand. In 2014, The Beach Hut at Cupsogue Beach was destroyed in a large blaze that engulfed the entire shack.

References

External links

Cupsogue Beach County Park
- official site {{S-end Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Southampton (town), New York Parks in Suffolk County, New York Brookhaven, New York