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Fire Island National Seashore

Suffolk County, Long Island

Watch Hill salt marsh and a piping plover
Watchable wildlife binoculars icon

Watch dolphins and-if you are lucky-whales and porpoises frolicking off shore, while shorebirds and other wildlife can be glimpsed on the beach and inland.

Wildlife to Watch

  • Dolphins, pilot whales and harbor seals (a winter visitor)
  • Sandpipers, four species of gulls and the piping plover
  • Jellyfish and shellfish: whelks, clams and blue crabs
  • Gray catbirds and rufous-sided towhees
  • Red foxes, white-tailed deer and cottontail rabbits
  • Fowler's toads
  • Monarch butterflies (fall migration)

Where to Watch

  • Offshore
  • Beach
  • Salt marshes, and ancient maritime forests
  • Tidal pools

Recreational Opportunities

  • Swimming
  • Camping
  • Fire Island Lighthouse
  • Visitor center with exhibits and interpretive programs (Smith Point)
  • Self-guided, boardwalk nature-trail

Size:

19,580 acres

Directions

See Google Maps for step by step directions to Fire Island national Seashore (This link will open a page outside of the DEC website. Hold Shift down while clicking on the link to open it in a new window)

Contact Information

Address: Park headquarters: 120 Laurel Street, Patchogue, NY 11772-3596

Telephone: Park headquarters: 631-687-4750

Website: Fire Island National Seashore (This link leaves the DEC website)

Return to the Watchable Wildlife main page

Photo Credits: P. Valentine, National Park Service