Beach · Montauk
Ditch Plains Beach
Under 18Free
The surf classroom of the East End.
For parents: Lifeguarded in summer.
Teens
Independent picks for ages 14 to 19: under 18 first, then 18 and up.
- Under 18 only 5
- 18 and up only 1
- 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
Filters6 picks
Under 1818 and upAll ages
Under 18 · 5 picks (all-ages picks appear in both lists)
Kids, tweens, and high-school age
Beaches, skate parks, arcades, surf lessons and day camps.
5 picks
BEACH & WATER · 1
Montauk · 1
PLAY · 3
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 · 1
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.
18 and up · 1 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.
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.