On the Water · Montauk
Surfing at Ditch Plains
The most reliable beach break on the East End and the spiritual home of New York surfing — long, soft-shouldered rights that peel toward the Ditch jetty on a SW swell. Four operators teach here, with shuttle pickups from Wainscott to Edgemere.
- Skill level
- Beginner-Advanced
- Season
- Apr-Nov (wetsuit Dec-Mar)
- Duration
- 90 min
- Cost
- $225/hr lesson (+$75 each additional student), $50-70/day board rental
- Group size
- 1-6
- Age
- 8+
- Gear
- 3/2 wetsuit summer, 4/3 spring/fall, longboard or shortboard
- Weather
- S/SW swell, light offshore N wind
Safety
Strong rips on outgoing tide; surf inside the lifeguard zone Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Where it happens
Operators (3)
CoreysWave Surf Lessons
Beginner to advanced — Corey Senese has taught Ditch Plains since 1995
Ditch Plains Beach, Montauk, NY 11954
Price: Rates are not published online — neither the FAQ nor the surf-lessons page lists a price; 60, 90 and 120-minute lessons are quoted on enquiry by text or email
Note: lat/lng uses the Town of East Hampton's Ditch Plains Beach point at the operator's stated lifeguard-tower meeting beach; the prior point was 1.9 km west of Ditch Plains
Main Beach Surf Camp (MBX Surf Camp)
Surf camps for kids from about seven to their mid-teens, guided tours and a full rental fleet. The East Hampton brick-and-mortar shop closed after COVID; the business is now camps, outfitting and rentals with no storefront.
352 Montauk Hwy, Wainscott, NY 11975
Price: $225/hr surf lesson (+$75 each additional student); $50/day soft top, $70/day epoxy, $40/day wetsuit
Air + Speed Surf Shop
Walk-in Montauk surf shop on Main Street — rentals, lessons and a 7-14 surf camp. Trades as "Air + Speed"; the old airandspeed.com domain is now a parked GoDaddy lander.
795 Montauk Highway, Montauk, NY 11954
Price: Rentals of surfboards, wetsuits, boogie boards and beach cruisers; rates are not published online. Surf lessons and a surf camp for ages 7-14, booked by phone.
Note: lat/lng needs re-anchoring — the shop is at 795 Montauk Hwy, not the 740 previously recorded