Teens

Independent picks for ages 14, 16 or 19—under-18 first, then 18 and up.

2 picks

Only 2 picks still standing — drop a filter before you lose them.

Filters2 picks

Under 1818 and upAll ages

Under 18 · 2 picks (all-ages picks appear in both lists)

Kids, tweens, and high-school age

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.

2 picks

PLAY · 1

Riverhead · 1

Sport · Riverhead

Riverhead Skate Park

Under 18Free

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.

LEARN & CHILL · 1

Riverhead · 1

Camp · Riverhead

Cornell Cooperative Extension 4-H

Under 18Moderate

The old-school option, administered from the county extension office on Griffing Avenue in Riverhead. The East End camp itself is Peconic Dunes in Southold — sleepaway plus the Sea Adventures day camp at Cedar Beach — and the marine program runs separate weeks at Tiana Bayside in Hampton Bays.

For parents: Summer 2026 registration launched 13 January at 10am. The extension publishes no dates or fees on its own camp pages; both live on the Peconic Dunes booking site.

18 and up · 0 picks (all-ages picks appear in both lists)

High school grads, college, young adults

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.

What’s strictly enforced out here

The legal stuff, honestly

🪪 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.