Beach · East Hampton
Main Beach
Under 18Free
The social beach.
For parents: Strictest lifeguards on the South Fork.
Teens
Independent picks for ages 14 to 19: under 18 first, then 18 and up.
- Under 18 only 20
- All ages 12
- 18 and up only 15
- Under twelve? Kids is the other page
- Concierge: practical year-round answers
- Safety: ticks, rip currents, lifeguard hours
- Transport: how to get around without a parent
- Libraries: quiet rooms, free wifi, and late hours
- Pools: lap lanes and day passes
Filters47 picks
Under 1818 and upAll ages
Under 18 · 32 picks (all-ages picks appear in both lists)
Kids, tweens, and high-school age
Beaches, skate parks, arcades, surf lessons and day camps.
27 picks
BEACH & WATER · 3
East Hampton · 1
Amagansett · 1
Beach · Amagansett
Indian Wells Beach
Under 18Free
The South Fork's cleanest break for a straight swim.
For parents: The parking-lot scene gets loud after 6pm in July — under-18s should plan on leaving…
Montauk · 1
Beach · Montauk
Ditch Plains Beach
Under 18Free
The surf classroom of the East End.
For parents: Lifeguarded in summer.
WATCH · 3
Southampton · 1
Movies · Southampton
Southampton Playhouse
All agesModerate
Restored 43 Hill Street cinema with an IMAX screen — blockbusters, indies and repertory programming plus the occasional live event.
For parents: Check the film rating and showtime before booking.
Show 27 more picks
Sag Harbor · 1
Movies · Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor Cinema
All agesModerate
The historic Main Street theater.
For parents: Member screenings are cheaper.
EAT & DRINK · 5
Southampton · 2
Coffee · Southampton
BuddhaBerry Southampton
All agesCheap
The Hampton Road branch of the same counter, and the same reason it works for a group: noon to 10pm…
For parents: Noon to 10pm daily and open year-round, unlike the Sag Harbor shop.
Coffee · Southampton
Sip 'n Soda
All agesCheap
The 1958 soda fountain on Hampton Road.
For parents: Cash-friendly, no bar, breakfast-through-lunch only.
Sag Harbor · 2
Coffee · Sag Harbor
Big Olaf Creamery
All agesCheap
The Sag Harbor line is the line.
For parents: Cash only at the window.
Coffee · Sag Harbor
BuddhaBerry
All agesCheap
Where the Sag Harbor teenagers actually are on a summer night.
For parents: Summer season only, open to 10pm most nights and 11pm on weekends.
PLAY · 7
East Hampton · 1
Sport · East Hampton
Herrick Park Courts
All agesFree
Three brand-new public tennis courts behind the village shops, drop-in and first-come first-served.
For parents: No reservation, no fee; bring your own paddles and balls.
Montauk · 3
Arcade · Montauk
Puff 'n' Putt Family Fun Center
Under 18Cheap
The Fort Pond mini-golf course that has been Montauk's summer tradition since the 1970s.
For parents: Cash only.
Sport · Montauk
CoreysWave Surf Lessons
Under 18Pricey
Corey Senese's Ditch Plains surf school.
For parents: Weekly camp format with safety briefing, foam boards, leashes.
Sport · Montauk
Surf Lodge Surf School
Under 18Pricey
Morning lessons at the Lodge's Fort Pond Bay doorstep, then flat water practice at Ditch.
For parents: Morning sessions only for under-18s; the property serves alcohol in the evening.
LEARN & CHILL · 5
East Hampton · 2
Library · East Hampton
East Hampton Library Teen Lounge
Under 18Free
The teen lounge at the back of the Main Street library has its own door, its own staff, a gaming…
For parents: Summer teen programming — book club, coding, art nights.
Camp · East Hampton
Project MOST Day Camp
Under 18Moderate
The East Hampton nonprofit whose iGrow summer lab runs out of Springs School for grades K-3 and Most Holy Trinity…
For parents: $475 a week with a sibling discount and scholarships; registration opened 5 January 2026, so…
Montauk · 1
Camp · Montauk
i-tri Girls
Under 18Free
The nonprofit that puts middle-school girls through triathlon training, open to every sixth-grade girl in participating East End schools from…
For parents: "i-tri is free for all participants" — classes, training, equipment, uniforms and race-day buses included.
EVENTS & SHOWS · 4
Bridgehampton · 2
Event · Bridgehampton
CMEE Family Fair
Under 18Cheap
The Children's Museum of the East End runs a summer family fair on its Bridgehampton grounds — pony rides, a…
For parents: Half-day format, strollers fine, food trucks on site.
Event · Bridgehampton
Hampton Classic Family Day
Under 18Cheap
The Hampton Classic horse show's Sunday Family Day — free pony rides, a dog show, a petting zoo, and kids…
For parents: Sunday is the designated family day; parking fills early.
East Hampton · 2
Event · East Hampton
Free Movies on Herrick Park
All agesFree
East Hampton Village runs a free Friday-night film series on the Herrick Park lawn through July and August.
For parents: Free outdoor screen, bring blankets, no alcohol on village park.
Event · East Hampton
Authors Night kids' programming
Under 18Moderate
The East Hampton Library's Authors Night benefit runs a dedicated children's and young-adult tent — writers who actually write for…
For parents: Middle-grade and YA authors; general admission ticket covers kids.
1 pick
PLAY · 1
2 picks
WATCH · 1
PLAY · 1
2 picks
PLAY · 1
18 and up · 27 picks (all-ages picks appear in both lists)
High school grads, college, young adults
All-ages music nights, late coffee, summer jobs and gallery openings.
26 picks
BEACH & WATER · 3
Amagansett · 2
Beach · Amagansett
Indian Wells parking lot scene
18 and upFree
After the lifeguards knock off, the parking lot is the scene.
Legal: Town ordinance closes the lot at midnight. Open containers on the beach are enforced. Bonfires require a permit.
Beach · Amagansett
Atlantic Avenue Beach
18 and upFree
The Amagansett surf beach with a food shack, bathrooms, and a boardwalk.
Legal: No alcohol on guarded beach. Rips break hard on south swell.
WATCH · 4
Southampton · 1
Movies · Southampton
Southampton Playhouse
All agesModerate
Restored 43 Hill Street cinema with an IMAX screen — blockbusters, indies and repertory programming plus the occasional live event.
For parents: Check the film rating and showtime before booking.
Show 22 more picks
Sag Harbor · 2
Movies · Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor Cinema
All agesModerate
The historic Main Street theater.
For parents: Member screenings are cheaper.
Movies · Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor Cinema cult-film nights
18 and upModerate
The Cinema's after-dark program — midnight cult screenings, 35mm horror, director Q&As.
EAT & DRINK · 7
Southampton · 2
Coffee · Southampton
BuddhaBerry Southampton
All agesCheap
The Hampton Road branch of the same counter, and the same reason it works for a group: noon to 10pm…
For parents: Noon to 10pm daily and open year-round, unlike the Sag Harbor shop.
Coffee · Southampton
Sip 'n Soda
All agesCheap
The 1958 soda fountain on Hampton Road.
For parents: Cash-friendly, no bar, breakfast-through-lunch only.
Sag Harbor · 3
Coffee · Sag Harbor
Big Olaf Creamery
All agesCheap
The Sag Harbor line is the line.
For parents: Cash only at the window.
Coffee · Sag Harbor
BuddhaBerry
All agesCheap
Where the Sag Harbor teenagers actually are on a summer night.
For parents: Summer season only, open to 10pm most nights and 11pm on weekends.
Coffee · Sag Harbor
Sag Town Coffee
18 and upCheap
The Main Street coffee bar that stays open late enough to actually be a hangout.
For parents: Long hours, late close in summer.
PLAY · 5
East Hampton · 3
Sport · East Hampton
Herrick Park Courts
All agesFree
Three brand-new public tennis courts behind the village shops, drop-in and first-come first-served.
For parents: No reservation, no fee; bring your own paddles and balls.
Sport · East Hampton
Town Beach Lifeguard Corps
18 and upFree
The East Hampton and Southampton town guard corps hire for summer every year.
For parents: Must pass a timed swim and CPR certification before hire.
Sport · East Hampton
Main Beach Open Water Swim
18 and upCheap
The dawn-patrol swim that meets at Main Beach three mornings a week through summer.
Sag Harbor · 1
Sport · Sag Harbor
Breakwater Yacht Club Junior Sailing
18 and upPricey
Breakwater's junior program runs 8 to 18, and the 18+ level steps into the adult racing fleet.
For parents: Age-progression program; aging-up kids join the adult racing fleet.
EVENTS & SHOWS · 7
East Hampton · 4
Event · East Hampton
Free Movies on Herrick Park
All agesFree
East Hampton Village runs a free Friday-night film series on the Herrick Park lawn through July and August.
For parents: Free outdoor screen, bring blankets, no alcohol on village park.
Event · East Hampton
The Summer Job Circuit
18 and upFree
The East End's summer economy runs on teenagers.
For parents: Working papers required under 18.
Event · East Hampton
Eric Firestone Gallery openings
18 and upFree
Eric Firestone's Newtown Lane gallery runs a packed summer opening calendar — mid-century rediscoveries, estate shows, and the most serious…
Event · East Hampton
Authors Night (main tent)
18 and upPricey
The East Hampton Library's August benefit — a hundred-plus authors under a tent, a general-admission ticket, and the dinners afterward…
Amagansett · 1
Event · Amagansett
Stephen Talkhouse (all-ages shows)
18 and upPricey
The Amagansett roadhouse books a handful of early-evening, all-ages shows every summer.
Legal: Door cards everyone. Under-21 wristbands mean no alcohol service at the bar. Fake IDs are taken on sight.
Sag Harbor · 1
Event · Sag Harbor
Bay Street Theater Concerts
18 and upPricey
The Sag Harbor waterfront theater runs a summer concert series and late-night comedy — seated shows, real acoustics, and a…
For parents: Seated venue, parental drop-off friendly.
What’s strictly enforced out here
The legal stuff, honestly
🪪 Drinking age 21 · beach permits · licence curfews · beach rules
🪪 Drinking age is 21, and the East End enforces it harder than most of the state.
- Everyone under about 30 gets carded — at the door, then again at the bar. Every beach club, restaurant bar and concert venue on the South Fork.
- Fake IDs are confiscated on sight. Door staff at the Talkhouse, Surf Lodge and Gurney's are trained to spot them, and a confiscated ID goes to the county sheriff.
- So plan around it: explicitly all-ages venues, or early-evening concerts where the door is a wristband rather than a bounce.
🏖️ Beach parking permits are real — and at 16 you can hold your own.
- Resident stickers — East Hampton, Southampton and Shelter Island all issue them. Main Beach, Indian Wells and Coopers cost real money for non-residents in July and August.
- 16 and older can apply in their own name, often cheaper than the family sticker. Bring proof of residency to town hall.
🚗 Licences come in tiers, and the curfew is not a suggestion — Suffolk County cops write tickets that stick.
- 16 — road test, junior licence. No driving 9pm to 5am without a licensed adult, plus a passenger cap.
- 17 — with driver's ed completed, the curfew lifts for school-to-home trips.
- 18 — full unrestricted licence.
🌊 Beach rules worth knowing before you pick a spot.
- Surf leash — going without one on a guarded beach is ticketable at every South Fork town beach. A loose board is a real injury risk for swimmers.
- Bonfires need a town permit.
- Open containers mean a fine, and the rest of your group cleared off the sand.
- Lifeguards go off duty in the afternoon — at most guarded beaches by 5pm, each beach posts its own hours, and not every beach is guarded at all. The rip currents after the guards leave are why the signs are up.
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.