Boardwalk links the Field 5 parking lot to the Fire Island Lighthouse, Fire Island National Seashore

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Fire Island Lighthouse Unit Home Page

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A series of boardwalks connect spots of interest at the Fire Island Lighthouse unit of Fire Island National Seashore. The longest is a .6-mile boardwalk that runs between the Field 5 parking lot at Robert Moses State Park and the Fire Island Lighthouse. There is no parking within the National Seashore, so visitors must use this parking lot (there is a fee). A boardwalk also connects the lighthouse to the Ranger Station a tenth of a mile away.

Boardwalk to the National Park Service Ranger Station near the Fire Island Lighthouse, Fire Island National Seashore

Just before arriving at the lighthouse is a boardwalk that leads down to the beaches on the Atlantic Ocean. The National Park Service does not encourage swimming at any beach other than those manned by lifeguards, and the beaches at the lighthouse do not have lifeguards. Most of the visitors to this end of Fire Island National Seashore are coming to see the lighthouse, not to swim. Keep in mind that when you pay to park at Robert Moses State Park, you are really paying the entrance fee and can swim at its beaches for the day. See the Fire Island Lighthouse Beach web page for more information about the beaches near the lighthouse.

Boardwalk through the dunes near the Fire Island Lighthouse, Fire Island National Seashore

There is also a boardwalk behind the Fire Island Lighthouse that leads to Great South Bay and an old boathouse, which today hosts a small exhibit on the United States Lifesaving Service, the precursor to the Coast Guard. The ruins of the old lighthouse dock are located along the shore, and you can still see some of the wooden piles in the water, a few concrete blocks, and an old hand crank of some sort.

Ruins of the Fire Island Lighthouse dock from the 1890s, Fire Island National Seashore

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