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 Fire Island Lighthouse is a boardwalk that leads 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 for the day at its beaches, which have lifeguards and other amenities (during the summer). See the Fire Island Lighthouse Beach web page here on National Park Planner 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 the 1939 Boathouse, which today hosts a small exhibit on the United States Lifesaving Service, the precursor to the Coast Guard. From there, a boardwalk connects to the bay beach. To the right are the ruins of the old 1890s lighthouse dock, 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.

Bayside beach near the 1939 Boathouse at the Fire Island Lighthouse, Fire Island National Seashore

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

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