Just Back From: Fire Island
by Kelly Alfieri | Cookiemag.com Editor
I've spent my lifetime of summers lolling around Fire Island and am deeply in love with it. It's a barrier island that just one half mile across at its widest, so from most vantage points you can see both the bay and the ocean. It's only an hour's drive and 30-minute ferry ride from New York City, but it feels a million miles away. There are no cars and there hasn't been any new construction since it was designated as a National Seashore in 1964, which lends it a quiet, quirky charm. Riding bikes or walking is the only way to get around, and residents haul around their kids and their stuff in red wagons.
My husband also spent summers in Fire Island as a kid, and this summer, we brought our 2-year-old twins, Clementine and Nathaniel. We rented a slightly musty but charming Ocean Beach cottage built in 1936 by the family who still owns it. It was just a half a block from the ocean. The town--with three ice creams stores, eight restaurants, and a community center that screens movies at night--is Fire Island's booming metropolis. The kids ran free on the paths (no mandatory handholding since there are no cars), spent hours in the outdoor shower (a staple of Fire Island homes), and marveled at the fawn napping in the backyard.
Fire Island consists of 17 private communities --each with its own distinct identity. Renting a house is the best way for a family to vacation on Fire Island as there are only a couple of hotels and none are particularly family friendly. Check out rentals in Fair Harbor, Ocean Beach, Saltaire, or Seaview.
And it's not too late to find something for this season! Early September is the perfect time to visit--the crowds have died down, the ocean is still warm, and the sun is still shining.
For more information on Fire Island, check out:
Red Wagon Realty (ask for Molle)
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