Long Island
Located just east of New York City, Long Island is the largest island adjoining the continental USA, stretching 190km (118 miles) into the Atlantic Ocean. Long Island has been the chosen vacation resort of savvy New Yorkers for 100 years and is just being discovered by everyone else. The region is famous for the Hamptons, celebrated seaside resorts and fishing villages, and the mansions described in the books of F Scott Fitzgerald. Whale watching and deep-sea fishing, wineries and ‘pick-your-own’ produce stands are guaranteed to keep visitors occupied. Each region of Long Island – the North Shore, South Shore, South Fork, North Fork and Central Suffolk – offers something special.
For culture seekers, Long Island has 140 museums and historic sites. Sports enthusiasts can watch horse racing, horse jumping and polo, motor racing, hockey, lacrosse, major league baseball, tennis and golf. Sports participants can play golf and tennis, ride horses, hang glide, sky dive, sail and surf. Long Island offers a variety of shopping opportunities – from indoor shopping malls such as Roosevelt Field in Garden City, the East Coast’s largest shopping centre, to quaint visitor-oriented shopping villages on historic main streets – places like Sea Cliff, Syosset, Stony Brook and Huntington.
NORTH SHORE: The North Shore is known as the ‘Heritage Trail’, with areas dating back to colonial times, the Revolutionary War era and the earliest days of the nation. Tycoons like the Vanderbilts, Chryslers and Guggenheims spent their summers here in opulent Great Gatsby-era mansions and gardens, many of which are open to the public today. Port Jefferson offers a historical village, waterside dining and numerous antique shops. Walt Whitman was born on Long Island, and his 19th-century farmhouse, now a State Historic Site, stands in West Hills, Huntington Station. It includes an interpretive centre with 130 portraits of the poet, original letters, manuscripts and artefacts. Also on the North Shore are the Museums at Stony Brook. This nine-acre site includes an art museum with 19th- and 20th-century US works; a Carriage Museum, with 90 renowned horse-drawn carriages; and a history museum with changing exhibits on historical themes and 15 miniature period rooms. The Nassau County Museum of Art, located in a mansion on the former Frick estate at Roslyn Harbor has four major art exhibitions annually, while the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington has a collection spanning 500 years of European and American art.
SOUTH SHORE: The South Shore is a seaside haven, with 80km (50 miles) of ocean beaches, including the beautiful white sand of the Fire Island National Seashore and Jones Beach. Long Island has an island of its own, the famous Fire Island seaside resort with its restored lighthouse. Cars are forbidden along its 50km (32-mile) stretch of communities. This part of the island also features numerous museums, including the Long Island Maritime Museum; the Long Island Children’s Museum with hands-on exhibits and the Long Island Reptile Museum with 3000 live reptiles and amphibians (the largest collection of exhibits and reptiles in the world). A world-class aquarium will be opening in 2005.
NORTH FORK: The North Fork has preserved the tranquility of its 17th-century farming and fishing heritage, and features miles of lush farm land with ‘pick-your-own’ produce stands and acres of vineyards. There are whales to watch far out in the ocean, coastal nature trails to hike and beaches to explore. Shelter Island, reminiscent of a peaceful New England village, is located on the North Fork and is perfect for exploring by bicycle. The Railroad Museum of Long Island at Greenport commemorates the region’s railways.
SOUTH FORK: Known as The Hamptons, the South Fork offers a mix of culture, restaurants, historic sites, nightlife, shops and recreational activities. Long Island’s Native American heritage can be explored in Southampton, where the Shinnecock Indians maintain a reservation and present a public pow-wow in early September. The region features the seaside resort of Montauk, fishing villages and beaches, one of which, in East Hampton, was rated the second most beautiful in the northeastern USA. At Southampton is The Parrish Art Museum, housing a collection of American and regional art. The Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, the home and studio of abstract expressionist painters Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner, is at East Hampton.
CENTRAL SUFFOLK: In the centre of Long Island, Central Suffolk is a favourite with outdoor enthusiasts and features the Pine Barrens, 40,470 hectares (100,000 acres) of preserved forest. The area’s rivers flow through wildlife refuges and are ideal for canoeing and kayaking. The new Atlantis Marine World features 80 exhibits, including the largest live coral display in North America. Other attractions include the SplishSplash Water Park at Riverhead and the Animal Farm Petting Zoo at Manorville.
SPECIAL EVENTS: There are more than 300 annual festivals and events, such as the maritime and harvest festivals celebrating Long Island’s nautical and agricultural heritage, throughout the year. The following is a selection of events held in 2003: Jun 2003 Annual Strawberry Festival, Mattituck; Belmont Stakes (thoroughbred racing), Belmont Park. Aug Paumanok Pow Wow, Tanner Park, Copiague; Polish Town Street and Poker Festival, Riverhead; Balloon Festival, Long Island; Scottish Games, Old West Ferry Gardens; Northville Long Island Golf Classic, Jericho; Hamlet Cup Tennis Tournament, Commack; Hampton Classic Horse Show, Bridgehampton. Sep Shinnecock Pow Wow, Shinnecock Indian reservation, Southampton; Bellmore Street Fair, Bellmore. Oct Oyster Festival, Oyster Bay; Long Island Fair, Old Bethpage Restoration Village.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
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