| Camp Hero State Park | |
|---|---|
 Casemate for16-inch gun at Camp Hero State Park | |
  Location of Camp Hero State Park within New York State | |
| Type | State park |
| Location | 1898 Montauk Highway Montauk, New York[1] |
| Nearest city | Montauk, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°04′14″N71°52′16″W / 41.0706°N 71.8710°W /41.0706; -71.8710 |
| Area | 754 acres (3.05 km2)[2] |
| Created | 2002 (2002)[3] |
| Operated by | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
| Visitors | 353,285 (in 2024)[4] |
| Open | All year |
| Website | Camp Hero State Park{http://parks.ny.gov/parks/97/details.aspx} |
Camp Hero State Park is a 754-acre (3.05 km2)state park located onMontauk Point,New York. The park occupies a portion of the formerMontauk Air Force Station.
The site known as Camp Hero, or the Montauk Air Force Station, was initially commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1942. Camp Hero was initially a coastal defense station disguised as a fishing village, and its location was chosen to prevent a potential invasion of New York from the sea. Camp Hero was named after Major GeneralAndrew Hero, Jr., the Army's commander of coastal artillery, who died in 1942. Three gun batteries were built at Camp Hero, replacing most of the other heavy guns in theHarbor Defenses of Long Island Sound, which also includedFort H. G. Wright,Fort Michie, andFort Terry. Two batteries of two16-inch guns each were built, Batteries 112 and 113 (officially named Battery Dunn).[5] Another battery of two6-inch guns was also built, Battery 216. All three batteries consisted mainly of a large concrete bunker covered with earth, containing ammunition magazines andfire control equipment. The 16-inch guns were protected by largecasemates, and the 6-inch guns by shields.[6]
In 1992, Preston Nichols and Peter Moon wroteThe Montauk Project: Experiments in Time, in which they alleged thatsecret experiments were carried out at the Camp Hero site. The book was popular withconspiracy theorists and spawned several sequels.
In 1984, theGeneral Services Administration attempted to sell the entire facility to real estate developers.[7] Localenvironmental activists protested, claiming that the site had many uniqueecosystems and animal habitats. The remaining portions of the military reservation at Montauk were decommissioned. Most of the facility, including Camp Hero, was donated to theNational Park Service, which then turned it over to theNew York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.[3] Portions not deemed environmentally sensitive were sold off.
Camp Hero remained largely undeveloped through the 1980s and 1990s. In 1996, a feasibility study was undertaken to develop the site into a golf course. However, environmentalists were concerned that the golf course would impact rare species of plants and endangered wildlife such as theblue-spotted salamander andeastern tiger salamander, and that irrigation would deplete limited sources of groundwater on the peninsula.[8] Although there was a demand to create new golf courses on Long Island, particularly on the East End, the idea of creating a new golf course in Montauk in addition toMontauk Downs State Park was dropped in 1999.[9]
Camp Hero State Park was opened on September 18, 2002. There are plans to create a museum and an interpretive center that will focus onWorld War II andCold War history inside the radar tower.[3] Some parts of the camp remained closed off and guarded, especially the areas near the old radar installations.
Camp Hero State Park offers picnic areas, a beach, and trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing.[1] It is a popular surffishing beach due to the underwater structure that tends to hold fish. Common game fish found in this area arestriped bass andbluefish.
Portions of the former military installation within the park are registered as aNational Historic Site.[1]
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