| Montauk Point State Park | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of theMontauk Point Light and Montauk Point State Park in August 2025. | |
  Location of Montauk Point State Park within New York State | |
| Type | State park |
| Location | 2000 Montauk Highway Montauk, New York[1] |
| Nearest city | Montauk, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°04′12″N71°51′18″W / 41.07°N 71.855°W /41.07; -71.855 |
| Area | 862 acres (3.49 km2)[2] |
| Operated by | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
| Visitors | 1,247,933 (in 2024)[3] |
| Open | All year |
| Website | Montauk Point State Park |
Montauk Point State Park is a 862-acre (3.49 km2)state park[2] located in the hamlet ofMontauk, at the eastern tip ofLong Island in theTown of East Hampton,Suffolk County,New York. Montauk Point is the easternmost point of theSouth Fork of Long Island, and thus also of New York State.
The park contains theMontauk Point Light, which was authorized by theSecond Congress, under PresidentGeorge Washington in 1792. Construction began on June 7, 1796 and was completed on November 5, 1796. The lighthouse and adjacentCamp Hero were heavily fortified with huge guns duringWorld War I andWorld War II. Those gun emplacements and concrete observation bunkers (which are also at nearbyShadmoor State Park andCamp Hero State Park) are still visible.
Amistad, a Spanish ship taken over by slaves in 1839, was captured byWashington near Montauk Point. The slaves were allowed to briefly disembark here before being re-imprisoned and taken toNew London, Connecticut for trial. TheAmistad case was heard before theSupreme Court of the United States, whereJohn Quincy Adams successfully argued that the slaves had been kidnapped. Following the trial, the slaves were permitted to return to Africa. The case fanned the debate over theabolition of slavery.
Montauk Point State Park features picnic tables, a food concession, playground, fishing, seasonal hunting, and trails for hiking and cross-country skiing.[4]
Suffolk Transit'sS94 route also serves the park seasonally connecting it withMontauk Village. The park is located at the end ofNew York State Route 27.
A memory of this district is related inLydia Sigourney's poemMontauk Point,[5] published in herScenes in my Native Land, 1845.
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