Montauk Travel & Surf Guide

About Montauk Surf Travel

The sleepy little fishing town of Montauk awakens every summer to hoards of visitors. From June through September, Montauk is your typical tourist trap, choc full of T-shirt and souvenir shops, and rude (or, to give them the benefit of the doubt: beach-vibe-inept) city slickers. Finding a hotel/motel room in summer is impossible without a reservation, but, come winter, you’ll be all alone. And that, O blessed revenge, is when some of the most consistent waves on the East Coast show up. At such moments, the multitude of beach, reef and pointbreaks within a five-mile radius, make Montauk the envy of all the isle. 

In all of this, it is possible, in the 21st century, to get the feel of old California just a couple of hours from New York City. Seriously. Turtles, nestled beneath the Montauk Point Lighthouse, has just the same crumbly right point and craggy cliff beauty that is akin to many a West Coast seascapes. The biggest wave on Long Island, Turtles can handle faces nearing 20 feet. However, the main takeoff spot is taboo for outsiders. You are better off sticking to the middle or inside — you’ll catch better waves and avoid confrontations. The point is loaded with tricky currents and must be at least head-high to operate. If you’re going to see a shark on Long Island, it’s probably going to be here. With all the fishing boats cruising by, the spot is a chum pit.

Terrace:

Located smack in the center of Montauk, Terrace is the go-to for the local crew. While its centralized location makes for a competitive arena, there are a few different peak options to spread out the crowds. Also helping the crowd factor is Terrace’s extra juice compared to surrounding spots — its sand-covered reef producing some of the only credible tubes in Montauk. Thus longboarders tend to venture elsewhere when the swell starts pumping. 

On east swells, Terrace becomes advantage goofy; on south swells, it’s ad regular. Because Terrace is one of the best south-facing breaks in all of Long Island, summer and fall are the best times to keep an eye on Terrace, when hurricane swells are spinning off over the horizon.

Ditch Plains:

There is perhaps no better (at least consistency-wise) spot on Long Island’s wiry 100-some mile tail than Ditch Plains. Often it evokes thoughts of San Onofre in East Coast surfers who have visited the famed Southern California log haven. While drawing comparisons to San O isn’t exactly going to score a break balls points, it will occasionally delve into the realm of perfection. 

Of course, Ditch Plain’s unique ability to produce soft and shapely A-frames combined with its geographical fate in a generally wave-starved slice of Americana, makes for some absurdly crowded line-ups year-round — yes, even the below freezing winter months can see a crowd on the best days, though they can’t hold a candle to the raging stoke of all abilities in summer. And most of that stoke plants its feet squarely on the decks of big ol’ longboards. The spectacle helps to remind (and confirm) New Yorkers of the driving conditions in the region. 

Yet for all the obstacles, consistency is often on the thrifty surfer’s side. Shifting peaks break over a rock bottom and a reefy left point. Plus, Ditch Plains works on any swell, from a south-west to a north-east — best so with north-west winds. Parking is easy, right on the dunes, though, as we’ve alluded, spots will fill up nice and fast in summer.

Poles:

Good from afar, far from good. Such is the Poles brand slogan. In all fairness, it can be a lot worse on Long Island — Poles offers a variety of shifty, reef-sculpted peaks that can be plenty of fun on medium-to-large swells, you just won’t ever be scoring the barrel of your life out there, or enduring a violent flogging. Poles’ triangle-shaped peaks roll in west of Ditch Plains need significant size to keep rolling. When hurricane season kicks in, Outside Poles lines up into one of the longest (and softest) waves around. 

Formerly called Fortress, for the old WWII-era bunkers along the lengthy backbone of dunes just in front, the break later became known as Poles for the pilings rising from the beach, which have since been wiped away thanks to a major storm many years ago. So no poles or — if you want to get technical — fortress exists here any longer, so a new name perhaps? Bunkers? Anyway.

Trailer Park:

In keeping up with the easy-does-it vibe of surrounding breaks Ditch Plains and Poles, Trailer Park is a collection of crumbly rollers that are perfectly suited for either longboarders or someone riding buoyant alternative craft. When the swell is in the medium range and up, Trailer Park serves as a catch basin for Ditch Plains human overflow. 

While Trailer Park’s peaks are scattered over sand and rock bottoms, there are large boulders milling about that pose a definite health risk to both board and body. The obstacles sometimes help to deter the most novice of surfers, leaving more experienced surfers with a viable, if not lesser quality, second option when Ditch Plains is roiling with herds of buffalo.

Surf Hazards

Montauk has its fair share of sea life. Great white sharks have been known to buzz the beach from time to time, while the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, one of the world’s larges that can grow as large as 6-feet wide and 49-feet long, and leave a very painful sting. Hurricane swell can bring strong currents and turbulent ocean conditions. Other considerations are hypothermia during the cold winter months and bloated tourists in the summer.

Surf Pollution

In recent years Fort Pond and Lake Montauk have had some issues with high bacteria count and closures, but by and large, the ocean conditions are typically safe and clean for surfing and swimming.

Best Surf Seasons in Montauk

1) Fall

(September-November) Montauk in the autumn can be magic. The leaves change color with the season, the summer hustle and bustle of the tourist season is more or less over, and late-season hurricane surf can light the joint up. 

2) Winter

(December-February) these are the times that try men’s souls, as they say. Montauk in the winter is not going to be warm, but it’s also not going to be too crowded either. The winter means big storms from the North Atlantic and Nor’Easters. It also means offshore winds and solid Atlantic swells around the part of the New Jersey coastline. When the conditions come together it can be a little bit magic.

3) Spring

(March-May) suffering from the typical springtime slowdown, another one of those places that starts to go to sleep as soon as the Nor’Easters and Atlantic swell train start to slow down. True, the water and weather warms up, but that’s little consolation for a hardened Montauk local that has to contend with tourist season just a couple short months away.

4) Summer

(June-August) anybody that’s anybody summer in the Hamptons, right? Summertime in Montauk means peak tourist season, and that means a lot more soft-tops and sunburned first-timers in the lineups. Late summer can turn on with the occasional hurricane swell, but it’s after the Labor Day holiday when things really start to get interesting in Montauk…from a surf perspective, anyway.

Directions to Montauk

Well-positioned 100 miles from the heart of New York City, if you’re heading out from the Big Apple simply jump on the Long Island Express Way or the Southern State Parkway to Sunrise Highway and it’s pretty much a straight shot. There are also train and bus lines that will get you there, and if you’ve got cash to burn, there are also seaplane and helicopter services that you can hire out of New York City.