urbanretreatist: Ocean Beach, Fire Island NY

Every summer, going on seven summers, we rent a house in Fire Island for a week. It's less than a 90 minute drive/train ride to Bayshore, where you can catch the ferry to Ocean Beach. 30 minutes later you arrive in utopia, where there are no cars, everyone walks barefoot through town eating ice cream cones, carts groceries and toddlers in little red wagons, and rides old beach cruisers.

What could be better?

Use craigslist or fihomes.net to find the rental house that best suits your group. The most common are 7 day stays, but there are also mid-week rentals (mon-fri), a by product of the "share house". Houses are either close to town/the bay/the ferry OR close to the ocean. I recommend a house close to the ocean, since the beach is where you will spend your days. Houses should provide linens and beach chairs, some even have bikes, umbrellas, coolers, etc. I always make sure our house has an outdoor shower, others look for a house with AC. July and Aug are peak months out there, since that is when the water is warmest. But the sun is also at it's scorchiest. A mid week rental in June can be as cheap as $1500 for a 3bedroom house, with temps in the high 70's and relatively empty beaches. A full week including 4th of July could cost as much as 3k, and expect the beach and town to be packed with day trippers.

Alternatively, there are a few hotels in Ocean Beach. We recently stayed at Cleggs which is located just feet from the ferry, right in the thick of town. The rooms are small and simple, the bathrooms are out in the hall and are communal. Weekend rates are unspeakable, but we visited on a Sunday and were give a rate of $125, while our friends (2 couples with 2 kids each) were able to rent a suite for as little as $180/night (suites have private bathrooms). There are no real amenities, but the ice cold water with lemon was appreciated, as were the beach chairs and towels. They were extremely gracious when it came to early check in and late check out, in large part because it was Sunday/Monday. If you have never been to Fire Island, this is a great way to get a taste and do some scouting for next summer's beach house!

BEACH BUM: It's a barrier island, so you have the bay on one side - which is great for kids and dogs to splash around in, and the ocean on the other. The beaches in FI are magnificent, the sand is soft and the waves are wild. Ocean Beach has some strict rules about dogs and beer on the beach, so we usually sit over in Corneille Estates.

TOWN: Ocean Beach has the most, commercially speaking, of all of the towns in FI. There are souvenir shops, food markets, restaurants, a phenom bakery, ice cream and candy shops, and plenty of bars. The town center has yoga and plays movies at night.

SITE SEEING: If you want to explore the island you can walk, bike or ride the water taxi in either direction. Every summer we walk through the Sunken Forrest to Cherry Grove, where we sit at one of the restaurants on the bay and reward ourselves with beer and seafood. It takes about 2 hours to walk from Ocean Beach to Cherry Grove, amazingly the water taxi will have you back in 15 minutes. A walk in the opposite direction will bring you through towns like Robbins Rest and Atlantique, and across some dunes. All of which leads to the Fire Island Lighthouse. Afterwards, grab a bite/drink in Kismet at The Inn or The Out, then water taxi it back. Riding bikes on the dunes is impossible, but bikes do allow you the freedom to explore towns like Kismet and Fair Harbor bay to beach.

NIGHTLIFE: Ocean Beach has just enough bars for there to be something for everyone. Maguire's is the perfect spot to watch the sun set over the bay. CJ's is the quintessential east coast dive bar - with darts and Rocket Fuel's and Brian Adam's Summer of 69 playing on the radio. I love the bar at Albatross, it's one of those classic old tavern style solid wood bars, pickled in salt air. Once you've warmed up, try Mathew's Margarita Madness on Thursday nights or see if it's reggae night at Alligator. My heart belongs to Housers, it's the type of bar that hosts your memories and feels familiar, even when it's been a year.

WORDS OF WISDOM:.There are 3 small "markets" in ocean beach, but everything costs considerably more than it does on the mainland. I recommend bringing the bulk of your food and all your alcohol. You can order beer/soda/water/ice from the beverage distributor in Bayshore and have it sent over on the freight ferry, for a nominal cost. If you are doing 7 days out there, this is definitely the best option.

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