For teenagers
What to actually do on the East End if you are 14, 16, or 19 and you do not want to spend the day with your parents. Organized by the legal age cutoff: under 18 first, then 18 and up. Honest about the legal stuff — the East End enforces the drinking age hard — and honest about what is actually cool versus what is a tourist trap.
Concierge: practical year-round answersSafety: ticks, rip currents, lifeguard hoursTransport: how to get around without a parentLibraries: quiet rooms, free wifi, and late hoursPools: lap lanes and day passes
Under 18 · 29 picks
Beaches, skate parks, mini-golf, arcades, movie houses, surf lessons, ice cream worth the wait, public courts, library teen rooms, and the summer day camps worth a weekly drop-off.
BEACH & WATER · 3
The surf classroom of the East End. Gentle reforms on the inside bar most summer mornings, lifeguards on the central stretch, and a rotating cast of kids on foam boards taking their first waves. Park in the lot at the bluff or walk down from Otis Road.
For parents: Lifeguarded in summer. Rip currents show up on bigger swells — beginners should stick to the guarded stretch.
The social beach. You come to hang, not to surf. The pavilion has bathrooms, a snack bar, and the concrete stage where families park themselves all afternoon. Lifeguards are serious about the rip currents.
For parents: Strictest lifeguards on the South Fork. Daily non-resident parking runs high in season — drop off and walk from the village if you can.
The South Fork's cleanest break for a straight swim. Wide, flat, and the cleanest sandbars between Georgica and Napeague. Lifeguards on the main stretch, volleyball nets at the east end.
For parents: The parking-lot scene gets loud after 6pm in July — under-18s should plan on leaving by sundown.
WATCH · 3
The historic Main Street theater. Rebuilt after the 2016 fire as a nonprofit arthouse. Three screens, a lobby cafe, and a programming slate that mixes first-run indies, restorations, and teen-friendly classics.
For parents: Member screenings are cheaper. Cafe lets you kill time before a show.
Six screens on Main Street showing the wide releases. The only place on the South Fork you can catch a Friday-night blockbuster at 10pm. Matinees are the cheap move.
For parents: Drop-off friendly — the village is walkable for pickup.
Year-round film series plus live music and theater. The kids' film program runs through summer with weekly matinees. Cheaper than the multiplex and the room is a proper 1930s movie house.
For parents: Seasonal kids' film series and family matinees; check schedule.
EAT & DRINK · 3
The Sag Harbor line is the line. Cash, Main Street, 30 flavors, and a wait that stretches down the block on July Saturdays. Worth it if you haven't had the pistachio.
For parents: Cash only at the window. Expect a 20-minute line in peak weeks.
The Newtown Lane scoop shop across from the cinema — Hershey's hard pack, a house soft-serve, and milkshakes that are the real move. The pre- and post-movie crowd is the whole day.
For parents: Walk-up window plus a few indoor stools; fast turnover.
The 1958 soda fountain on Hampton Road. Homemade ice cream, egg creams, grilled cheese — the breakfast-and-lunch counter that hasn't changed the menu in fifty years. A proper teen hangout before and after the beach.
For parents: Cash-friendly, no bar, breakfast-through-lunch only.
PLAY · 9
Concrete bowl, hips, flat-bar rails, and a quarter-pipe at the back of Herrick Park behind the village. Free, open dawn to dusk, and the one place in East Hampton Village where teenagers actually outnumber retirees.
For parents: Helmets recommended. No supervision on site.
The bigger of the two public parks on the East End — street section with ledges, a full bowl, and a mini ramp. Worth the drive from the forks if you want transitions to work on.
For parents: Town park, open sunrise to sunset, no staff on site.
The Fort Pond mini-golf course that has been Montauk's summer tradition since the 1970s. 18 holes on a grass hillside, paddle-boat rentals on the pond, a batting cage out back. Cash only, no reservations.
For parents: Cash only. Lines are long on rainy afternoons — go early.
18 holes on the lawn of the Hampton Maid motel off Montauk Highway. Nothing fancy — windmills, a water hazard, a fiberglass clown — but it's cheap and the turnover is fast.
For parents: Shaded holes, easy walk, fine for grade-schoolers.
Corey Senese's Ditch Plains surf school. Weekly camps for kids 8-17, private lessons for adults, and the most consistent name in Montauk instruction for twenty years. Book two weeks out in July and August.
For parents: Weekly camp format with safety briefing, foam boards, leashes.
Rentals and lessons out of the Montauk Highway shop. Group lessons at Atlantic Avenue for beginners, private at Georgica for the next step up. They also rent SUPs, kayaks, and beach cruisers.
For parents: Shop gears up the whole session — boards, wetsuits, leashes.
Morning lessons at the Lodge's Fort Pond Bay doorstep, then flat water practice at Ditch. The 18-and-up crowd comes for the scene; the under-18 classes run earlier and don't cross paths with the bar.
For parents: Morning sessions only for under-18s; the property serves alcohol in the evening.
Public tennis courts and the new pickleball lines behind the village library. Drop-in, first-come first-served. The morning pickleball crowd is serious; afternoons are open.
For parents: No reservation, no fee; bring your own paddles and balls.
Southampton Village's public tennis and pickleball courts next to the pond. Free drop-in play. Basketball hoops across the lawn. The closest public courts to the village shops.
For parents: Shared with joggers and dog walkers on the pond loop.
LEARN & CHILL · 7
The teen lounge at the back of the Main Street library has its own door, its own staff, a gaming console, and the summer programs that run all season. The only free, air-conditioned, no-adults-watching space in East Hampton Village.
For parents: Summer teen programming — book club, coding, art nights.
The teen room runs Friday-night board-game nights and a summer reading program that actually gives away good paperbacks. Free wifi, quiet study rooms, and a staff that leaves teenagers alone.
For parents: Teen Advisory Board meets weekly — worth a look for rising 8th graders.
The domed Carnegie library. A dedicated teen space upstairs, a maker lab in the basement, and the best summer reading program on the East End. Open late on weeknights.
For parents: Maker lab needs sign-up; teen space is drop-in.
The East Hampton nonprofit that runs summer and after-school programs out of the John Marshall elementary building. Scholarships available, sliding-scale fees, and a staff that has been doing it for twenty years.
For parents: Need-based scholarships; register in spring.
The Montauk nonprofit that puts middle-school girls through a triathlon training program. Swim, bike, run — the training leads to a kid-sized triathlon at the end of the summer. Free, scholarship-based, and the staff is ferocious.
For parents: Free program for girls 11-14; applications open early spring.
The old-school option — marine science, animal husbandry, gardening — run out of the county extension office in Riverhead. Day camps plus a summer residential program, and one of the few places you can learn to run a boat before you're old enough to drive a car.
For parents: Marine-science week is the sleeper pick; sign up in March.
The after-school and summer club across the border in Bellport — sliding-scale fees, swim lessons, tutoring, and the only full-day summer program under $200 a week on the South Shore.
For parents: Sliding-scale fees; pickup window flexible into early evening.
EVENTS & SHOWS · 4
The Children's Museum of the East End runs a summer family fair on its Bridgehampton grounds — pony rides, a petting zoo, a science tent, and live music for a half-day afternoon. Bigger kids hang at the edges; the main event is for younger siblings.
For parents: Half-day format, strollers fine, food trucks on site.
The Hampton Classic horse show's Sunday Family Day — free pony rides, a dog show, a petting zoo, and kids can walk through the boutique village without getting squeezed out of the tent. The Grand Prix is the same day; teen riders stick around for it.
For parents: Sunday is the designated family day; parking fills early.
East Hampton Village runs a free Friday-night film series on the Herrick Park lawn through July and August. Bring a blanket and snacks. The concert nights earlier in the week are family-friendly too.
For parents: Free outdoor screen, bring blankets, no alcohol on village park.
18 and up · 24 picks
All-ages music nights, late coffee shops, the beach scene after the lifeguards leave, the summer job circuit, group sports that age up, and gallery openings where under-21s are welcome.
BEACH & WATER · 3
After the lifeguards knock off, the parking lot is the scene. Bonfires were banned years ago; what you get instead is tailgates, paddleball, and the last light of the day. Leave before midnight — town cops clear the lot.
Legal: Town ordinance closes the lot at midnight. Open containers on the beach are enforced. Bonfires require a permit.
The Amagansett surf beach with a food shack, bathrooms, and a boardwalk. Post-lifeguard hours this is where the 18-25 crowd ends up with a Frisbee and a speaker. Still more relaxed than Indian Wells.
Legal: No alcohol on guarded beach. Rips break hard on south swell.
The dawn patrol plus the after-work session. If you can surf, you belong. The cliff-side parking lot is where the night session decompresses — coffee from Ditch Witch, a tailgate, no drinking.
Legal: Surf leash required on guarded beach. Parking enforcement cards non-resident vehicles.
WATCH · 4
The historic Main Street theater. Rebuilt after the 2016 fire as a nonprofit arthouse. Three screens, a lobby cafe, and a programming slate that mixes first-run indies, restorations, and teen-friendly classics.
For parents: Member screenings are cheaper. Cafe lets you kill time before a show.
Six screens on Main Street showing the wide releases. The only place on the South Fork you can catch a Friday-night blockbuster at 10pm. Matinees are the cheap move.
For parents: Drop-off friendly — the village is walkable for pickup.
Year-round film series plus live music and theater. The kids' film program runs through summer with weekly matinees. Cheaper than the multiplex and the room is a proper 1930s movie house.
For parents: Seasonal kids' film series and family matinees; check schedule.
The Cinema's after-dark program — midnight cult screenings, 35mm horror, director Q&As. Ticketed, no bar issue, and the crowd skews 18-30. The quietest good time on the East End after 10pm.
EAT & DRINK · 5
The Sag Harbor line is the line. Cash, Main Street, 30 flavors, and a wait that stretches down the block on July Saturdays. Worth it if you haven't had the pistachio.
For parents: Cash only at the window. Expect a 20-minute line in peak weeks.
The Newtown Lane scoop shop across from the cinema — Hershey's hard pack, a house soft-serve, and milkshakes that are the real move. The pre- and post-movie crowd is the whole day.
For parents: Walk-up window plus a few indoor stools; fast turnover.
The 1958 soda fountain on Hampton Road. Homemade ice cream, egg creams, grilled cheese — the breakfast-and-lunch counter that hasn't changed the menu in fifty years. A proper teen hangout before and after the beach.
For parents: Cash-friendly, no bar, breakfast-through-lunch only.
The Main Street coffee bar that stays open late enough to actually be a hangout. No bar, no carding, no dress code. Cold-brew on tap, wifi, and the couches in the back room are the closest thing Sag Harbor has to a common area.
For parents: Long hours, late close in summer.
The Water Mill flagship of the local roaster. Full breakfast and lunch counter, outdoor patio, and the parking lot where the 17-and-18 year-old breakfast shift ends up around 11am. Also locations in Westhampton Beach and Aquebogue.
For parents: Drive-friendly, family-safe, full breakfast menu.
PLAY · 5
Public tennis courts and the new pickleball lines behind the village library. Drop-in, first-come first-served. The morning pickleball crowd is serious; afternoons are open.
For parents: No reservation, no fee; bring your own paddles and balls.
Southampton Village's public tennis and pickleball courts next to the pond. Free drop-in play. Basketball hoops across the lawn. The closest public courts to the village shops.
For parents: Shared with joggers and dog walkers on the pond loop.
The East Hampton and Southampton town guard corps hire for summer every year. Tryouts in May, training in June, full weeks June through Labor Day. The job pays well, you're on the beach, and the crew becomes your summer.
For parents: Must pass a timed swim and CPR certification before hire.
The dawn-patrol swim that meets at Main Beach three mornings a week through summer. All ages welcome on a good day; 18+ is the core group. No sign-up, just show up with goggles and a cap.
Breakwater's junior program runs 8 to 18, and the 18+ level steps into the adult racing fleet. The gateway for anyone who wants to learn to race a boat out of Sag Harbor.
For parents: Age-progression program; aging-up kids join the adult racing fleet.
EVENTS & SHOWS · 7
East Hampton Village runs a free Friday-night film series on the Herrick Park lawn through July and August. Bring a blanket and snacks. The concert nights earlier in the week are family-friendly too.
For parents: Free outdoor screen, bring blankets, no alcohol on village park.
The Amagansett roadhouse books a handful of early-evening, all-ages shows every summer. Door staff card on entry and mark 21+ wrists, but under-21s can see the set. Worth watching the calendar in May when the lineup drops.
Legal: Door cards everyone. Under-21 wristbands mean no alcohol service at the bar. Fake IDs are taken on sight.
The Sag Harbor waterfront theater runs a summer concert series and late-night comedy — seated shows, real acoustics, and a crowd that spans every age. No bar carding issue because you're in your seat.
For parents: Seated venue, parental drop-off friendly.
The East End's summer economy runs on teenagers. Restaurant hosts, bussers, beach attendants, valet crews, retail at Bridgehampton Commons, farm stands, and the lifeguard chair — the most valuable summer job out here, hands down. Applications go up in March.
For parents: Working papers required under 18. Lifeguard certification (YMCA, Red Cross) opens the best-paid seasonal job.
Tripoli Patterson's Wainscott gallery runs summer openings that bring out the art-world crowd. Free, open to the public, and a real 18+ scene for anyone curious about the contemporary market. Show up in the first hour.
Eric Firestone's Newtown Lane gallery runs a packed summer opening calendar — mid-century rediscoveries, estate shows, and the most serious art crowd on the East End. Free, public, and the under-21s who show up get taken seriously.
What's strictly enforced out here
The drinking age in New York is 21 and the East End enforces it harder than most of the state. Every beach club, every restaurant bar, every concert venue on the South Fork cards everyone who looks under 30 — and they card a second time at the bar. Door staff at the Talkhouse, Surf Lodge, and Gurney's are trained to spot fake IDs and they confiscate them on sight. A confiscated fake ID gets handed to the county sheriff, which is how an underage drinking charge turns into a real conversation with your parents. Plan around it: pick venues that are explicitly all-ages, or pick early-evening concerts where the door policy is a wristband rather than a bounce.
Beach parking permits are a real thing. East Hampton, Southampton, and Shelter Island all issue resident stickers, and the town lots at Main Beach, Indian Wells, and Coopers cost real money for non-residents in July and August. Teens aged 16 and older who live in town can apply for a permit in their own name, which is often cheaper than the family sticker. Bring proof of residency to town hall.
New York driver's licenses come in tiers. At 16 you can take the road test and get a junior license, which has a curfew (no driving 9pm to 5am without a licensed adult) and a passenger cap. At 17 with a completed driver's-ed course the curfew is lifted for school-to-home trips. At 18 it becomes a full unrestricted license. The curfew is not a suggestion — Suffolk County cops write tickets that stick.
Finally, the beach rules. Surfing without a leash on a guarded beach is a ticketable fine at every town beach on the South Fork — not because anyone is mean but because a loose board is a real injury risk for swimmers. Bonfires need a town permit. Open containers on any town beach will get you a fine and will get the rest of your group cleared off the sand. Lifeguards leave at 6pm on most town beaches and the rip currents after that are the real reason the signs are up. Know the hours before you pick a spot.
When in doubt: see safety for tick checks, water conditions, and lifeguard hours, and see concierge for emergency contacts, urgent-care locations, and the after-hours numbers that locals keep on a fridge magnet.