Fire Island as a Manhattan day trip, possible?

[Rod Hagen]

If so, how? I have no desire to overnight, but a curiosity to do a QUICK tour/dip this summer if I hit the city.

[Kevin Slater]

If you're asking whether you can make a day trip to Fire Island from Manhattan, the answer is absolutely. Keep in mind the trip is almost three hours each way, though, typically involving a train from Penn Station to a shuttle van which schleps you to a ferry to the island. There are no private cars on the island and it's usually a bit of a wait between the train and the ferry. It's about $40 all tolled each way.

 

I don't know if you're looking to work on FI, but that's dicey. Phone service is mostly weak and no real place to check your email. But a lot of folk have fun on day trips to the island. The primarily gay male community on the island is called the Pines, and Cherry Grove is somewhat less chic and more diverse/ less gay male.

 

Feel free to private me if there's anything more specific I can answer for you.

 

Kevin Slater

[Steven_Draker]

A trip to Fire Island Pines is a religious experience. However, I think a day trip might be too short to fully enjoy.

 

(even though you indicated your initial thought for a QUICK tour/dip you might change your mind once you get there)

 

If so, how?

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2353389_cherry-grove-new-york-city.html

 

1. PLAN YOUR TRIP!

-The easiest trips to Fire Island are the planned ones. That means, you don't spent a lot of time waiting around for a train or a ferry because they all connect well. To do that, make sure you get a convenient train that matches up with a ferry. Since both the train and ferry schedule vary depending on the time you go, you'll need to use the links below to research before you head out.

-link (http://lirr42.mta.info/index.asp) to research the train schedule from Penn Station to Sayville.

-link (http://www.pagelinx.com/sayvferry/index.shtml) to research the ferry schedule.

 

*What you want is a train that arrives in Sayville about 30 minutes before your chosen ferry.*

 

2. SUBWAY TO PENN STATION

Take the 1,2,3 (Red Line) or the A,C,E (Blue Line) to Penn Station which is on West 34th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues.

 

Cost: $2.00

Time: Variable

Tips: If you have a choice take the 1,2,3 since that puts you closer to the side of Penn Station you need for the LIRR.

Helpful Link: http://www.mta.info/nyct/subway/index.html

 

3. PENN STATION TO SAYVILLE

From Penn Station you need to take the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Sayville. At Penn Station you want to head toward tracks 15-18 which is where your train will be.

 

-Once at the tracks, purchase your ticket from the sales windows or the Kiosks. The 3 kiosks in the back (closer to track 18) tend to have the smallest lines.

-The large board will flash with the track number when your train has arrived and is ready for boarding. There will usually also be an overhead announcement. Boarding can be a bit of a stampede, particularly on Friday, Saturday or Sunday in the summer.

-Remember, your train will connect through Jamaica or Babylon. Make sure to reference the online schedule or ask the conductor to make sure you don't miss the connection.

 

Cost: $9.75 (One way/Off-Peak), $13.50 (One way/Peak)

Time: 90 minutes (+/- 10 minutes) assuming normal operations

Tips: None

Helpful Link: http://lirr42.mta.info/index.asp

 

4. SAYVILLE STATION TO THE FERRY

Once off the train at Sayville station, you need to take a shuttle bus to the ferry dock. There are several white vans parked in front of the platform all going to the ferry.

 

Cost: $5.00

Time: 5-10 minutes

Tips: This is cash only so make sure you've got some money on you.

 

5. FERRY TO FIRE ISLAND

The shuttle buses drop you off right in front of the dock which has two sides. Facing the water, the Cherry Grove Ferry is on the left and the Pines Ferry is on the right. You can buy tickets at the ticket windows in front of the boarding area. There is almost always a queue formed for boarding either ferry. The ferry drops you at the dock in Fire Island and the beach a short walk across the island!

 

Cost: $14.00 (Round Trip)

Time: 15 minutes

Tips: On a warm day sitting on the upper deck is a great experience.

Helpful Link: http://www.pagelinx.com/sayvferry/index.shtml

 

6. RETURNING TO NYC

Having your return trip planned is also helpful so you don't wait. I like to print out the schedules on the day/time I plan to return. Nothing about the return trip is particularly different though. Enjoy!

[RockHard]

Don't miss it.

 

Reading about Fire Island from non-New Yorkers is interesting. I don't think the residents of Cherry Grove would appreciate the term "somewhat less chic," although I'm sure Slater did not mean to offend. And the thought of 16 queens sharing every other weekend in a house not one of them can afford in the Pines is hardly what I would call "chic." IMO, too many guys who cling to the Pines also cling to the allusion of feeling chic by association. (Yes, real estate is more expensive in the Pines but life ain't cheap on Cherry Grove.)

 

I haven't done a day trip since the early 80's (yes, a Geffen invite) and I remember being blown away upon first sight. Ah, those misty memories. I have sincere fondness for both the Pines and Cherry Grove. If the weather forecast looks good, I highly recommend a very early start (you can get there by as late as 11 but I love eating breakfast at 9 with the queens who don't sleep in) and plan to leave around sundown. I have no doubt you will meet some fun people and be invited to spend a night or two (hopefully, for free in a house that actually has a spare bedroom or two).

 

I've rented homes in both Cherry Grove and the Pines (with pool) but I've never done one of those 16-guy shares. A college frat house is fine for a party but a whole season of that nonsense is not my idea of fun. Each island location has it charms even though they are quite similar. Cherry Grove is more eclectic, architecture and people, and I have to say, many of the lesbians who took root there after the AIDS crisis hit have done wonderful things with those cute shanty beach homes they got for a steal. You'll find less women (and lesbians) in the Pines and too many gay men who are addicted to drugs. But, still, both places are quite special and should be visited, and they both attract some lovely people.

 

You have to absolutely love the East Coast beach life to invest there. And you need money to burn. Those shack-like homes are in constant need of repair. Old-timers like me (not age but experience) have burned out on the Fire Island experience. And, frankly, considering what you get for your money, some of us would rather spend our time elsewhere. I've never enjoyed sand in the crack of my ass or in my bed. And shopping is a disaster. But those things won't bother you on a first visit.

 

Have fun!

[Poolboy21409]

Kudos to M. Draker for a great reply to the initial post. That is really customer service...with a smile!! WELL DONE monsieur.

[Guest Rich.]

Rod,

 

Ignore Kevin and Steven, just call Shoreline, 20 minutes each way.

 

Richard

[Poolboy21409]

Rod,

 

Ignore Kevin and Steven, just call Shoreline, 20 minutes each way.

 

Richard

 

Rich-

 

Do you pilot for them. That WOULD be fun!!

[Guest Rich.]

I'll PM you Poolboy, my experience is not for public consumption!

 

Richard

[Guest thedolphinsofaugust]

So as someone who has never been to Fire Island, I'm curious about this legendary place. I've been to a few "gay villages" and came back underwhelmed. New Hope, Pa. seemed just as straight than my hometown. Its exotic ice cream shop served vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Not exotic. Not bursting with gayness. Even the Bucks County Playhouse shut down.

 

Provincetown was beautiful, but I was only there for one night and didn't get to see most of it. It was much more crowded than I thought it would be.

 

Fire Island, from my understanding, is basically the place that gay men in the 1970s went to have sex. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I would imagine that Fire Island's not as gay as it was in the 70s and that, like most gay villages, it is a commercialized, extremely expensive place that caters to upper middle class gay men who can afford to eat there, sleep there, and stay there for more than a day.

 

For someone coming from Pa., it's also a heck of a drive, and from what I understand you need to take a boat to get there.

 

I'm curious enough about it to take a trip though and see for myself what it is. I'd hate though to arrive on an island full of shirtless hunks and feel lonelier there than I was before I left home.

[JT Brooklyn]

Reading about Fire Island from non-New Yorkers is interesting. I don't think the residents of Cherry Grove would appreciate the term "somewhat less chic," although I'm sure Slater did not mean to offend. And the thought of 16 queens sharing every other weekend in a house not one of them can afford in the Pines is hardly what I would call "chic." IMO, too many guys who cling to the Pines also cling to the allusion of feeling chic by association. (Yes, real estate is more expensive in the Pines but life ain't cheap on Cherry Grove.)

 

I haven't done a day trip since the early 80's (yes, a Geffen invite) and I remember being blown away upon first sight. Ah, those misty memories. I have sincere fondness for both the Pines and Cherry Grove. If the weather forecast looks good, I highly recommend a very early start (you can get there by as late as 11 but I love eating breakfast at 9 with the queens who don't sleep in) and plan to leave around sundown. I have no doubt you will meet some fun people and be invited to spend a night or two (hopefully, for free in a house that actually has a spare bedroom or two).

 

I've rented homes in both Cherry Grove and the Pines (with pool) but I've never done one of those 16-guy shares. A college frat house is fine for a party but a whole season of that nonsense is not my idea of fun. Each island location has it charms even though they are quite similar. Cherry Grove is more eclectic, architecture and people, and I have to say, many of the lesbians who took root there after the AIDS crisis hit have done wonderful things with those cute shanty beach homes they got for a steal. You'll find less women (and lesbians) in the Pines and too many gay men who are addicted to drugs. But, still, both places are quite special and should be visited, and they both attract some lovely people.

 

You have to absolutely love the East Coast beach life to invest there. And you need money to burn. Those shack-like homes are in constant need of repair. Old-timers like me (not age but experience) have burned out on the Fire Island experience. And, frankly, considering what you get for your money, some of us would rather spend our time elsewhere. I've never enjoyed sand in the crack of my ass or in my bed. And shopping is a disaster. But those things won't bother you on a first visit.

 

Have fun!

 

Totally Agree with RockHard! Is F.I. what it was in the early 80's NO But of course the answer to that is AIDS!

 

The only thing I would add is watch out for the Notorious Damn Mosquitoes! LOL

[cany10011]

I've lived in nyc for about 15 years and have frequented Fire Island Pines (FIP) for many of those years, either as a share or visitor/guest. You either love it or hate it.

 

The cons: hefty investment for a share (about 1500-2000 a week a bedroom that sleeps 2) and most times I can only spend a long weekend there instead of the full block of time, bothersome and tedious to take train, jitney, and ferry; big committment of time to get there- unless you fly on the 'copter suggested by Richard. It's costly setting up home each week (buying groceries, planning dinners, etc..) but LOTS of fun (see below).

 

The pros: nice place to enjoy with a group of friends or make new ones. It's sort of like summer camp for grown up gay boys. Lots of eye candy and parties. It's true, many of the boys conform to the "chelsea boy" look and that may bother some..

 

I've been spending less time there as i find myself less interested in partying as half of my friends take drugs and the other half drink excessively. I do neither so I often find myself lounging by the pool or hot tub, reading a book, or playing board games. It's a fun place to experience and would recommend going for at least a weekend if not a day trip. I believe the last ferry leaves Sayville at 11pm...so that should give you some flavor of FIP.

 

 

 

 

So as someone who has never been to Fire Island, I'm curious about this legendary place. I've been to a few "gay villages" and came back underwhelmed. New Hope, Pa. seemed just as straight than my hometown. Its exotic ice cream shop served vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. Not exotic. Not bursting with gayness. Even the Bucks County Playhouse shut down.

 

Provincetown was beautiful, but I was only there for one night and didn't get to see most of it. It was much more crowded than I thought it would be.

 

Fire Island, from my understanding, is basically the place that gay men in the 1970s went to have sex. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. I would imagine that Fire Island's not as gay as it was in the 70s and that, like most gay villages, it is a commercialized, extremely expensive place that caters to upper middle class gay men who can afford to eat there, sleep there, and stay there for more than a day.

 

For someone coming from Pa., it's also a heck of a drive, and from what I understand you need to take a boat to get there.

 

I'm curious enough about it to take a trip though and see for myself what it is. I'd hate though to arrive on an island full of shirtless hunks and feel lonelier there than I was before I left home.

[Steven_Draker]

I would imagine that Fire Island's not as gay as it was in the 70s and that, like most gay villages, it is a commercialized, extremely expensive place that caters to upper middle class gay men who can afford to eat there, sleep there, and stay there for more than a day.

 

Dolphin,

Fire Island has several communities, as mentioned above. The Pines (that's where the hot boys hang)

caters mostly to gay men, whereas Cherry Grove would be more lesbian and gay alternative.

 

F.I. is the opposite of highly commercialized, as there are practically no cars, three restaurants and very few hotels (most visitors share rooms in private houses and cook at home).

 

You'll do a lot of walking on wooden boardwalks. If you like wild nature and want to escape from the hustle and bustle of the City, I'd highly recommend the place.

 

http://www.loving-long-island.com/image-files/fire-island-lighthouse-looking-west.jpg

 

http://ixtayul.blogs.com/metroplus/images/FireIsland2004-175aw.jpg

 

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1226/boardwalk.jpg

[RockHard]

Drop that swimsuit, sir!

 

Fire Island, from my understanding, is basically the place that gay men in the 1970s went to have sex.

Gay men in the 70's had sex everywhere. The Meat Rack, a scrub-forested section of wilderness that divides Cherry Grove from the Pines, added to its "gay" fame as an outdoor, into-the-woods sex-fest for gay men. The Meat Rack still exists but many men think it's haunted. Thousands of gay men who had sex there are dead now so, in the age of AIDS, that section of forest will never be what it once was. On the other hand, we all know a few gay guys who long for sex 24/7 like it's the old days. I hear they still linger in the Meat Rack, ignoring the baskets of condoms nailed to the trees, waiting for pre-AIDS days to return.

 

Fire Island is a series of small islands with beautiful sandy white beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean. You can only get there by boat. Restrictions are high so the place will never get commercial. There are no roads or cars in the Pines and/or Cherry Grove. There are elevated wooden decks that perform as sidewalks. It's a unique lifestyle, for sure. There are plenty of photos on the internet. (I see SD has helped out.)

 

Apart from people watching, sex, eating and drinking (mostly in your home, very few restaurants), there isn't much to do there. I always went to write, take photographs, or entertain friends. Too many go to escape summers in Manhattan, and do drugs to escape their miserable lives. If you're not doing a share, it's pretty easy to avoid the party guys or the weekenders desperate to get away from their dreary jobs in Manhattan.

 

The beach is fabulous. Many of the homes are spectacular (mostly private, you need to be invited in to see). The men can be beautiful. Nobody hassles you if you're naked. There's a lot of nudity on the beach but it's not a low-rent, orgy fuck-fest. I'm sure it's done but I've never seen anyone fuck on the beach.

 

Like Venice, Italy, everything on the islands is expensive because it costs a lot to bring stuff there. So the place tends to attract wealthy people, especially those who buy beachfront real estate and enjoy docking their yachts there. Unlike Venice, Fire Island pretty much shuts down in winter. I've never known anyone who lives there year round.

 

The Pines and the Grove are unlike anything I've experienced before and I've seen a lot. Visiting both is a very unique experience and I highly recommend it. If you like Northeastern, handsome and fit gay men, if you like beautiful sandy beaches, if you like boating, if you like the feeling of freedom, and if you love swimming naked in the ocean, what's not to like?

 

It's a perfect place to take Rod and Steven for a few days.

[+ Charlie]

If you don't like my senile nostalgic reminiscences, skip to the next post.

 

My first trip to FI was when I was 19. Late one lovely summer Saturday afternoon, I was visiting a guy named Dick, with whom I had had sex a couple of times, in Jersey City. He was 27, had a stunningly handsome face and great body from the waist up, but his legs were like sticks from childhood polio, and he needed crutches to walk. Suddenly he said, "Why don't we go to FI for the night?" I knew nothing about the place, but he said that there were always parties on Sat. nights, and we could just walk around until we found one, and crash it. I was dubious, but he finally convinced me, so we drove to Sayville, and took the ferry to Cherry Grove. We walked around in the dark on the boardwalks (there are no streets or sidewalks there) until we passed a big house with lots of music and laughter coming from the deck behind it. Dick simply walked in the front door, with me trailing uncertainly behind. We found a group of men dancing on the deck, many of them apparently drunk or on drugs, but all having a great time. To my somewhat innocent eyes, several of them looked absolutely degenerate, but Dick seemed perfectly comfortable in the scene. The host was very welcoming, and we were well treated, so I relaxed a bit, but panicked whenever someone offered me something to smoke or inhale, and I shrank into a corner when someone pulled out a needle. Finally the party was winding down, and we were asked where we were staying. Dick said that we had only come over on the ferry, and would probably sleep on the beach, because the last ferry had gone back to the mainland. The host looked at Dick's legs, and then offered us a room for the night. I was hesitant, but the door had a lock, and we slept undisturbed. The next morning we woke early and let ourselves out of the quiet house, and lay on the beach as the sun rose. It was gorgeous. Then we caught a ferry back to Sayville and went home.

 

I didn't return for years. When I did, it was with my friend Dale, who was trying to hide from a Chicago mobster whose boyfriend he had stolen. We stayed at the Cherry Grove Inn under assumed names (it was easier to do in those days). The highlight of the visit was an offer from Martha Raye to share a pizza with her one night on the dock after the bars closed. Over the following years I went to FI often, generally preferring the Grove to the Pines. One night in the Meat Rack between the two settlements, I was treated to the scene of Alice Ghostley searching through the bushes for Paul Lynde, trying to persuade him to come back to their house and go to bed. I was also there the night of the first moon landing, lying on the beach in the dark, stoned, staring up at the heavens and thinking that for the first time in history, someone could be staring back.

 

I stopped going there just as the AIDS epidemic was starting, so I don't know what it is like now. I probably will never go back, because it wouldn't be the same for me.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

You can also rent a car in Manhattan (you can get very inexpensive one-day rentals). Both the Cherry Grove and the Pines ferries have parking lots right next to them, where a day of parking is not that expensive (maybe $10). It's about an hour drive from the city...so you'll be cutting your commute time WAY down by renting a car at probably about the same cost as all the trains, etc., and get a lot more time on the island. Believe me, when you get there you will want to spend as much of your day on the beach as possible and won't want to be spending hours and hours in transit! I'm lucky enough to have a car and a freelance job where my schedule is totally flexible, so whenever I can I'll head out there in the middle of the week for lunch and a swim and it couldn't be easier if you go by car. It's a total mob-scene on the weekends, which is also a blast, but if you want a quiet beach day go in the middle of the week...very relaxing, very good for the soul.

[+ Gar1eth]

A trip to Fire Island Pines is a religious experience. However, I think a day trip might be too short to fully enjoy.

 

(even though you indicated your initial thought for a QUICK tour/dip you might change your mind once you get there)[/color]

 

 

 

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_2353389_cherry-grove-new-york-city.html

 

 

Steven,

 

That was wonderfully complete. Thank you! The only problem I have with it is that Americans ( at least most most United States Americans) don't queue--or at least don't 'queue' well ( esp not in comparison to the English:rolleyes:)-- we do occasionally, however, manage to stand in line :o!!!!

 

Gman

[edjames]

First, make a decision on whick part of fire Island you want to visit. Cherry Grove or the Pines.

 

Here is some useful advice on how to get to Fire Island and the estimated cost:

http://www.ehow.com/how_2353389_cherry-grove-new-york-city.html

 

"Limited" Shuttle bus service is available from mid Manhattan locations directly to the Fire Island ferry.

http://www.islanderstravel.com/bus.html

 

Fire Island is definitely doable for a day trip.

[Guest thedolphinsofaugust]

The highlight of the visit was an offer from Martha Raye to share a pizza with her one night on the dock after the bars closed. Over the following years I went to FI often, generally preferring the Grove to the Pines. One night in the Meat Rack between the two settlements, I was treated to the scene of Alice Ghostley searching through the bushes for Paul Lynde, trying to persuade him to come back to their house and go to bed. I was also there the night of the first moon landing, lying on the beach in the dark, stoned, staring up at the heavens and thinking that for the first time in history, someone could be staring back.

 

Wow, you met celebrities there? Lol Alice Ghostley chasing after Paul Lynde in the bushes? My God! What a great place to be on the night of the first moon landing, that was in 1969 right? The Stonewall Riots were in 1969 too.

[Guest thedolphinsofaugust]

It's a total mob-scene on the weekends, which is also a blast, but if you want a quiet beach day go in the middle of the week...very relaxing, very good for the soul.

 

I can't stand crowds so I'd be better off going on a Tuesday.

[RexAll]

' but panicked whenever someone offered me something to smoke or inhale, and I shrank into a corner when someone pulled out a needle.

 

Charlie,

 

It sounds like you have some lovely memories mixed in with the horror that is AIDS. However I have to tell that if people around me started taking drugs openly even at my current advanced state of decrepitude, I'd probably still panic. Not being from a large cosmopolitan area-- while I've been around weed before-- I have never seen anyone shoot-up in front of me. I am thinking that being the kind of naive country-bumpkin, out of shape, not knowing anyone from the Northeast, dork, perpetual outsider that I am that the Pines will have to stay an out of reach fantasy for me. Heck if I hadn't started reading this Forum, there is a good chance that I would never have heard of Fire Island, Provincetown, Rehoboth Beach, De, or Saugatuck, Mi.

 

Rex

[+ Charlie]

Wow, you met celebrities there? Lol Alice Ghostley chasing after Paul Lynde in the bushes? My God! What a great place to be on the night of the first moon landing, that was in 1969 right? The Stonewall Riots were in 1969 too.

 

I met other celebrities as well, including Calvin Culver/Casey Donovan, but I will not name those who are still living. 1969 was indeed the summer of both the moon landing and Stonewall--which will eventually be the more important historical event?

[Guest Rich.]

Rod,

 

Read Rockhard's and Charlie's posts. You'll probably laugh. I read them and ended up with tears running down my face. Everyone thinks of San Francisco as the beginning of the gay universe. I don't. I remember New York, and Fire Island. For a brief, glittering moment. c.1978.

 

At school, I'd been beaten up for being being effeminate. I'd listened, and taken to heart, words like filthy, dirty, disgusting, in relationship to me. I believed that shit.

 

I was standing on the corner of Conduit Street in London, where I'd heard there was a gay nightclub, called Roland's. I was 15 years-old. And shaking with fear. Why was I shaking? I was born into an era when being 'gay' was a criminal offence. OK, after they took that off the books, you had to be 21. Then 18. Now 16. I guess, if I wait long enough I reckon it'll become compulsory.

 

Right, back to Conduit Street and me being fifteen. An 'old' Queen passed me by, looked me up and down, sneered and asked "lost your pearls, ducks?". I so knew I was supposed to respond with a witty retort. I tried to answer and then thought better of it. I did what I had to do. I threw up on the kerb!

 

His name was Ray. He laughed at me, and said "Roland's isn't the right place for a debut". I got grabbed by the shoulder, and he walked me through Berkeley Square, past Annabel's (yup, where the Nightingales sing!) to Bonaparte's restaurant on Bond Street. He bought me supper. Then took me out the door, round the back into Lancaster Gate, and into Napolean's nightclub.

 

A year later, I was a permanent fixture at Bang's, The Embassy, Scandals, et al and catching the SkyTrain to New York most weekends, where my then boyfriend frequently had to carry me out over his shoulder from 'Save The Robots' to hop on a seaplane to Fire Island.

 

So Rod, before you go, flick through Dancer from the Dance, and play back Parting Glances. Then go to Fire Island, stand on the beach and hear the ghosts of parties past. Yes, it's a parade gone by. But IMHO it's a parade worth remembering.

 

Richard

[JT Brooklyn]

P.S. IF your going to Day Trip... Pray it doesn't Rain and Donot Miss the Last Ferry!

 

Then again you might like doing Indoor Activities like "Drinking and Shacking Up" with someone because you missed the Ferry!

 

Year's Ago Hunting Down Cute Day Tripper's was a Favorite Pastime for the Summer Locals It might still be but I'm sure the Pickin's are not what they were then.

[+ Charlie]

Bangs!! I hadn't thought about that place in years. I danced there one night with Nureyev--no, we did not do Swan Lake.

[+ nycman]

Ahhh…my luxury top brother is coming to Fire Island!

 

Love it or hate it (and I’ve done both at various times in my life) there is no denying Fire Island

is like no other place on earth. When I was younger, I mostly hated it. It can be a very closed

society and unless you have friends with a house there, it can be pretty boring.

 

It’s practically an NYC rite of passage to spend your early 20’s heading out to Fire Island with

no place to stay. Just about every house takes in pretty strangers on a regular basis. When I

was younger I spent the night in everything from ocean side castles to random seaside hammocks.

 

You’ve already have been given an excellent “lay of the land”, so to speak. To paraphrase Eric

Cartmann, “Poor people tend to live in clusters”…and in Cherry Grove. The Pines is certainly the

more chic destination, but the crowd tends to be older as well. When I was young I liked the

younger and less pretentious Cherry Grove more. Now that I’m older and more pretentious…the Pines is home.

 

There are lots of drugs and drinking, but like any gay scene, it’s pretty easy to avoid them.

Unlike a previous poster, I haven’t seen any needles being used at parties. That sounds very 60-70’s

to this child of the 80’s.

 

Day tripping is easy to do and fun if you just want to see the place. It isn’t really built for random visits though.

The restaurants are bad, and the hotels even worse. You won’t really get a feel for Fire Island unless you spend

a couple of days at a friend’s house. Like all things gay…it can be magical...and tragic.

 

Just learn to squint a little…and it all looks magical. Some of my fondest memories are of waking up on Fire Island,

feeling the warm ocean breeze drifting across the bed, while lying in the arms of a beautiful naked man.

 

Hope you have fun!