A Walk Outside: Ponquogue Beach

Each week James Lane Post will highlight a different spot to explore outdoors on the East End in our series “A Walk Outside.” This week: The Ocean.

We couldn’t let our series of spots to explore outdoors go on without a walk at an ocean beach. It may be an obvious choice for the East End, but one we are particularly fond of. Our miles of coastline from Westhampton to Montauk offer some of the East End’s most spectacular scenes. Bundle up, it can be cold and windy this time of years, but the cold can also be exhilarating. Is there anything better than watching the waves crash in front of you?

For our “Walk Outside” this week, we explored Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays. As one of the most popular beaches on the East End, Ponquogue sees 106,000 visitors each summer, but in the winter you’ll have it (mostly) all to yourself.

The site has seen major renovations to its pavilion, completed in 2019. The new, eco-friendly facility utilizes sustainable products, even harvesting rain-water for irrigation and restrooms.

Jessica Mackin-Cipro

Co-Publisher/Editor

Jessica Mackin-Cipro is an editor and lifestyle writer from the East End of Long Island. She was previously the Executive Editor of The Independent Newspaper and co-founded James Lane Post in 2020. She has won multiple NYPA and PCLI awards for journalism, design, and social media, including the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence. In 2023, she was a recipient of the President's Volunteer Service Award at the United Nations 67th Annual Commission on the Status of Women. She aims to share the stories of inspirational people and places on the East End and beyond.