Fire Island National Seashore

• The Fire Island Light is located near the western end of the seashore near Robert Moses State Park. • Lighthouse Beach is a beach at the extreme west end of the seashore, just east of Robert Moses State Park. Since 2013, a nudity ban has been enforced at this former clothing optional beach. • Sailor's Haven is home to a popular boardwalk trail through an area known as the Sunken Forest as well as a visitor center, general store, and a public marina. • Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness, located on the eastern end of Fire Island, is the only federally designated U.S. Wilderness Area in New York State. == Wilderness area ==

The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness, also known as Fire Island Wilderness, is a wilderness area on Fire Island. It is approximately long and located on the eastern side of Fire Island. The United States Congress designated the Otis Pike High Dune Wilderness Area in 1980. The wilderness area is named for former New York Congressman Otis G. Pike, who co-sponsored the bill which created the Fire Island National Seashore and worked hard to secure public support and the legislation's passage through Congress to establish the new national park. It is the only federally designated wilderness area in New York State and one of the smallest wilderness areas managed by the National Park Service. herons and migratory waterfowl. The wilderness area does not technically include the beaches that face the Atlantic Ocean. Hiking, back-country camping, and fishing access are available within the wilderness. Access to the Otis G. Pike Wilderness can be obtained either from Watch Hill (which is accessible seasonally by ferry or private boat) or Smith Point County Park, accessible year round by car or bus. The Wilderness Visitor Center is located on the eastern edge of the wilderness, adjacent to Smith Point County Park. == Old Inlet breach ==

Old Inlet, just west of Smith Point County Park in the wilderness, has been the site of breaches of Fire Island causing the Atlantic Ocean to join with the Great South Bay. The most recent breach occurred during the high tides associated with Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The breach was wide on the Atlantic side a week after the storm and wide on April 5, 2013. National Park Service officials have been debating whether to take action to close the breach. Contingency plans put in place to manage breaches within the wilderness area called for initial monitoring of the breach; as of 2014, the breach has stabilized and monitoring continues. along with repopulation of fish and clams that had been absent from the bay for decades due to pollution. A draft plan for action was scheduled to be released in summer 2016. The National Park Service ultimately decided not to take any action and instead let the landscape evolve naturally. By summer 2022, the breach was filling with sand, having shrunk tenfold to less than 100 feet wide. By 2024, Old Inlet had completely closed, nearly 12 years to the day since Super Storm Sandy. == Fire Island folklore ==

Fire Island has long been the subject of folklore, with its natural landscapes and maritime history inspiring numerous myths and legends over the centuries. A significant portion of this lore is rooted in the island’s association with piracy and shipwrecks, which has led to recurring themes involving lost treasure and ghostly apparitions. The Fire Island Lighthouse is a focal point in many local legends. One widely circulated story involves the spirits of a lighthouse keeper and his daughter. According to the legend, the daughter fell seriously ill and died before medical assistance could be brought from the mainland. Stricken with grief, the lighthouse keeper is said to have taken his own life by hanging himself in the lighthouse tower. On January 7, 2022, a group of seven paranormal investigators was granted overnight access to the lighthouse to search for evidence of supernatural activity with the supposedly supernatural images and videos they captured later being published by local media. ==See also==