May 18, 2026 · Updated May 18, 2026
Heckscher State Park sits on 1,657 acres along the Great South Bay in East Islip, with two swimming beaches, more than 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, and one of the few public campgrounds on the South Shore. Here is how to make the most of a visit.
Most people driving down Heckscher State Parkway know the park at the end of the road as the place with the beach and the picnic tables. They are right, but they are leaving out the campground, the seven miles of flat hiking trails, the fishing pier over the Great South Bay, and a marina that puts you within a short boat ride of Fire Island National Seashore.
Heckscher is a 1,657-acre park on the southern shore of Islip, bounded by the Great South Bay to the south and the Connetquot River State Park Preserve to the east. The park entrance is at the end of Heckscher State Parkway off Veterans Memorial Highway in East Islip. Parking runs $10 per vehicle on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
The park's two bayside beaches, designated Beach 1 and Beach 2, sit along the Great South Bay facing south toward Fire Island. Bay water here is calm, shallow, and much warmer than the ocean by early June, typically reaching 72 to 74 degrees by the Fourth of July. Lifeguards are on duty from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends through Labor Day. The bay is not generally safe for young children during tidal rips, so check the posted flags before entering.
Bathhouse and concession facilities are clustered between the two beaches. The concession stand sells basics: hot dogs, burgers, water, sunscreen. It is not a full-service restaurant, so pack a cooler for a full day.
Ten miles of marked trails loop through the park's interior, most of them flat and wide enough for side-by-side walking or a mountain bike. The Yellow Trail, roughly 3.5 miles long, runs the park's eastern perimeter through a mix of pitch pine, red maple, and Atlantic white cedar typical of the Long Island coastal plain. The Blue Trail cuts through open meadow sections where you are likely to see red-tailed hawks and, in May and early June, migrating warblers moving through the tree canopy.
The trails are not marked on Google Maps, so download the park's trail map from parks.ny.gov/parks/heckscher before you go. Cell service is limited in the interior.
Heckscher has 69 tent and trailer campsites, clustered in two loops near the park's northern edge off the main parkway. Sites run $25 per night on weekdays and $30 on weekends. Reservations open 9 months in advance through ReserveAmerica.com and popular summer weekends sell out within hours of the window opening. A handful of walk-in sites are held for same-day use at the park office, first-come. The campground has flush toilets and a dump station. No electrical hookups, no water at sites. Showers are available at the nearby bathhouse from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
A fishing pier extends about 200 feet over the Great South Bay at the park's southwest corner, accessible without paying the vehicle admission fee if you walk in from the parkway shoulder. Striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish are the primary targets in the bay from April through October. The park's small marina at the southern end rents rowboats and kayaks from Memorial Day through Labor Day, with two-hour rentals starting at $18 per boat. The launch ramp is also available to trailered boats for a $10 fee.
The park is roughly 50 miles from Midtown Manhattan. By car, take the Southern State Parkway to Exit 45 (Heckscher State Parkway south) and follow the parkway to its end. By train, the LIRR's Babylon branch stops at Great River station, a 1.3-mile walk or short cab ride from the park entrance.
The best months are May, June, and September, when the parking lots rarely fill before 11 a.m. and the mosquito pressure in the interior trails is manageable. July and August weekends often see the lots capacity by 10 a.m. Arrive before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m. to find a spot without circling.
