Driving to Fire Island
dallasvoice.comBoardwalk through the dunes A beach, a lighthouse and a walk through the dunes await visitors to the island’s western extreme DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writertaffet@dallasvoice.com I never knew you could drive to Fire Island — not to Cherry Grove or The Pines, the two very gay towns further out on the island, but to Robert Moses State Park and the western tip of the Fire Island National Seashore.
Typically, you take a ferry from Sayville, Long Island, to get to the best-known settlements on the island. But for a quick trip and a deep dive into the island’s history, drive to Robert Moses State Park, where the dunes and beach of the national seashore begin.
The centerpiece of this portion of the 32-mile long barrier island, which protects Long Island from rough ocean currents, is the Fire Island Lighthouse.
It was built on what was the western tip of the island in 1858, but sand deposits have lengthened the island westward by about five miles during the past two centuries.
