Cedar Beach is a public beach on the North Shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, located within the

Town of Brookhaven Brookhaven is a large suburban town in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it is the second most populous town in New York (after Hempstead, in the adjacent Nassau County) and the third most popu ...

in Suffolk County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The beach itself spans 3,450 feet on a peninsula that divides Mount Sinai Harbor from the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. Cedar Beach is located in the hamlet of

Mount Sinai Mount Sinai, also known as Jabal Musa (), is a mountain on the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. It is one of several locations claimed to be the Mount Sinai (Bible), biblical Mount Sinai, the place where, according to the sacred scriptures of the thre ...

, while the peninsula on which it sits is accessed most directly from the adjacent hamlet of Miller Place.

Geography

Cedar Beach is located on a peninsula that stretches for over a mile westward, with the

to its north and Mount Sinai Harbor to its south. The peninsula contains two popular sections of recreational beach, ''Cedar Beach Main'' and ''Cedar Beach West'', united along a continuous beachfront and adjacent nature preserve.

Cedar Beach Main is typically the most lively section of Cedar Beach and is located near its eastern entrance and the main parking areas. It includes a restaurant, bar, snack stand, restrooms, lifeguard stations, and volleyball courts. Live music performances take place in near the restaurant during the summer months. Cedar Beach West is located at the peninsula's western end, overlooking the Mount Misery Point section of

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson, also known as Port Jeff, is an Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Village, incorporated village in the Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town, town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New Y ...

. This sections contains a popular fishing pier. Nearer to Cedar Beach's western end is a boat launch ramp and marina, with the Mount Sinai Yacht Club located on the peninsula.

Nature preserve

Connecting these sections behind the continuous beachfront is a nature preserve, which includes a paved walkway and a wooden pavilion overlooking the beach. Within the preserve is the Cedar Beach Nature Center, an educational center focused on the local marine biome with hands-on exhibits and local wildlife.

History

Origins

Prior in the mid-19th century, the mouth of Mount Sinai Harbor was on at its eastern side, with the peninsula on which Cedar Beach now sits being accessible from

. When tides and winds closed the harbor's opening, a new mouth was opened on its west side, switching the peninsula's connection from Port Jefferson to Miller Place. Dredging projects were active in Mount Sinai Harbor until the 1960s. During the Revolutionary War, Cedar Beach was the landing site of Major

Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as lead ...

and his detachment of

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

dragoons during a successful raid on British forces. Tallmadge and his men journeyed southbound from Cedar Beach along Pipestave Hollow and went on to capture and burn Manor St. George, a British stronghold located in what is currently Mastic Beach. The route of Tallmadge's march from Cedar Beach to Manor St. George is commemorated as the Benjamin Tallmadge Historic Trail.

Modern recreational use

Cedar Beach has been a popular recreational area since the expansion of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

to neighboring

in 1873 (and temporarily to Mount Sinai from 1895-1939).

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

and

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

spent time at Cedar Beach during the 1950s. In the latter half of the 20th century with the rise of suburbia, many of the summer homes near Cedar Beach were converted to full-time use. Occasionally, traveling carnivals use the parking lot. Suffolk County Department of Public Works once planned to build a spur from Patchogue-Mount Sinai Road to the beach. Cedar Beach also has a marina, an
campsites
nearby offer seasonal recreational boating and camping. The marina offers boat slips to residents and the nearby campgrounds attract families for summer weekends — in particular for those with houseboats. The camping facility offers picnic grounds, restrooms, and some fishing piers to the Long Island Sound.

References

External links

Cedar Beach (Town of Brookhaven)
{{BrookhavenNY Brookhaven, New York Long Island Sound Beaches of Suffolk County, New York Protected areas of Suffolk County, New York