Parks and Beaches

Here are links and information about the various parks, beaches and facilities available here in West Islip. You'll find that each one has it's own special features. So, have fun exploring.

Secatogue Indian Village and West Islip Beach - To the west of the Robert Moses Twin Spans Bridges is an area of land that borders the Great South Bay, known as West Islip Beach. Many residents use this area to either dock or launch their boats. Just to the north of the beach area is a memorial marking the graves of 13 native indians. An Indian villiage was discovered here on June 5, 1960 by George Milliken, Jr. and David Lyons who were in the area when the nearby Little League fields were being constructed. The skeletons of the 13 indians were tested and discovered to be more than 5000 years old. A plaque was donated by Mr. & Mrs. Ward Melville which was embedded into a boulder which was situated on this site.

To get there: From the intersection of Higbie Lane and Udall Road, head south on Higbie Lane to Montauk Highway. Make a left onto Montauk and head east about 1 and 1/4 miles. Make the 1st right onto Beach Drive just after you pass the good Samaritan Hospital. Head south all the way to the end of Beach Drive. West Islip Beach is at the end of the road and the Indian Memorial is before the dock area on the left hand side of the street. Back to the top.

Captree Bridge and Captree State Park - In 1779, Richard Willets (son of the original patentee Thomas Willets) sold an area of shorefront land to Colonel Platt Conklin. Today this area is known as Conklin's Point and is the location of the Captree Bridge footings. It is an interesting fact to learn that of the many shipwrecks that took place in the Great South Bay, two of them occurred just offshore from Conklin's Point. The keels from the two ships, the Thames and the Fair Helen, are still embeddeed in the sand.

If you take Captree Bridge south, you will go to Captree Island, upon which Captree State Park is located. Captree Island, with an area of 298 acres, was acquired by New York State in 1930. Prior to this time, the island was the summer destination of many famouns artists and writers. Captree State Park opened to the public in 1954. In 1964, Captree Bridge was built and in 1968, a twin span to the Bridge was opened.

Today Captree State Park is a haven for the wildlife native to the Island. It is also a large recreational facility with many charter boats available for fishing.

To get there - From the intersection of Higbie Lane and Udall Road, head south on Higbie Lane about 1/2 mile to Montauk Highway (Route 27A). Make a left turn and head east about 1/2 mile. Look ahead for the stone bridge overpass and make a right turn onto the on-ramp for the Robert Moses Causeway. Head south over the Robert Moses Twin Causeway (Twin Span Bridges) onto Captree Island. Continue heading south for the Captree State Park. Back to the top.