Lighthouse Beach, Beach at Fire Island National Seashore, New York.
Lighthouse Beach is a sandy beach within Fire Island National Seashore in New York, running between Robert Moses State Park to the west and the small village of Kismet to the east. The beach is wide and open, with dunes and tall grasses on the inland side that separate it from the rest of the barrier island.
The beach owes its identity to the Fire Island Lighthouse, built in 1858 to guide ships entering New York Harbor. When the area was later designated a national seashore, the lighthouse remained the defining feature of this stretch of coast.
The beach takes its name from the nearby Fire Island Lighthouse, which still stands at the western end and acts as a natural landmark for visitors walking along the shore. Before 2013, a designated clothing-optional section drew people from across the region to this part of the coast.
The beach is reached on foot from Robert Moses State Park or from the village of Kismet, as private vehicles are not allowed within the national seashore. Sturdy shoes are worth wearing since the paths are sandy and can be uneven in places.
On clear days, the top of the nearby lighthouse offers a view of the Manhattan skyline, even though the beach itself feels remote from any city. The climb involves 182 steps and gives visitors a rare sense of how close the ocean and the city actually are.
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