A tour to the top of the Fire Island Lighthouse culminates the 3-day Fire Island Trek this year.

Sponsored by Fire Island National Seashore and its partners, the Trek began during a celebration of the park's 40th anniversary in 2004.

Program support and staffing is expanded through the National Park Service Centennial Initiative 2016.

Fire Island National Seashore is hosting its 20-mile 3-day Fire Island Trek this year on September 9 - 11, 2009. 

A shorter 15-mile Mid-day Hike is scheduled for June 25, 2009, from noon to 9:00 p.m.

Limited logistical support is available, but you must provide for your own transportation and parking, and pay for your own meals along the way. You will need to provide your own sleeping bag for overnight stays. 

There is a nominal cost for lodging and logistical support.

The Fire Island Trek may be canceled at anytime due to inclement weather. For more information, contact the Interpretation office at 631-687-4765.

Follow the sun as it traverses the length of Fire Island on this full-day hike.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 – Fire Island Mid-day Hike
15 miles (sand and boardwalk)
Reservations Required; No Fee

One-day hike will leave from the Wilderness Visitor Center at noon for a 15-mile non-stop hike, concluding at the Sunken Forest in Sailors Haven, and leaving Fire Island by 9:00 p.m.

This is a great way to see Fire Island and perhaps catch a glimpse of barrier wildlife. This is recommended only for hikers who are in good physical condition and can walk on sand for 15 miles in 9 hours.

Afterwards you'll take the ferry from Cherry Grove to Sayville, on Long Island, making additional arrangements necessary to get back home. All participants are responsible for their own transportation and meals.

Fire Island Trekkers marveled over the exposed remains of an historic shipwreck in June 2006. Every year provides new opportunities for discovery on a dynamic barrier island shoreline.

Traditional Fire Island Trek
Day 1 – Wednesday
September 9, 2009
10 miles (sand)
Reservations required; $30 program fee 

Most of Day 1 will be spent walking along the beach, where you can experience first-hand the dynamic nature of a barrier island. You'll see several wash-overs, where sand was carried by recent storms through the dunes and into the wilderness.

You may see piping plovers on this stretch of beach, as they are making their way back south. This threatened bird prefers to nest on open sandy beaches, where it forages for food near the shoreline.

By mid-day, you will arrive at Watch Hill where you can rest your feet and purchase lunch from the Watch Hill snack bar. Afterwards all hikers will participate in a guided canoe trip into the Watch Hill salt marsh.

Then it’s on to Talisman/Barrett Beach, the final 3½-mile leg of this hike. On the way, you'll pass Fire Island's easternmost community, Davis Park, which participated in the Fire Island community beach nourishment project this winter.  

All overnight participants must be able to tolerate a “sleep-over” in National Park Service housing. Dinner will be provided and afterwards, you can enjoy a sunset over the ocean and rest.

A tour of the Sunken Forest allows you to explore a barrier island habitat that has been allowed to grow behind a well-developed secondary dune system.

Traditional Fire Island Trek
Day 2 – Thursday
September 10, 2009
7 miles (sand and boardwalk)
Reservations required; $60 program fee

The second day includes about 7 miles of walking, but more of the Trek will be on boardwalks and there are a few opportunities to shorten your trip if you're not able to walk the entire distance. After breakfast, the group will work its way past the mid-island communities of Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove to Sailors Haven. Lunch may be purchased at the Sailors Haven snack bar, to be followed by a stroll through the Sunken Forest.

The Sunken Forest is a rare maritime holly forest habitat—with its centuries-old holly trees, sassafras and shadblow (serviceberry) trees—and was preserved by The Nature Conservancy a decade before Fire Island National Seashore was established. 

U. S. Coast Guard, Blue Point Station.

After the tour through the Sunken Forest, you'll hike past the oldest Fire Island community, Point O’Woods, and through one of the largest communities, Ocean Beach, before your stop at the Fire Island Summer Club. At the Summer Club, you'll see one of the former U. S. Coast Guard Station buildings, moved from its original Fire Island location in the late 1940s and adapted for private use today. A long-time resident will share stories about the history of the lifesaving service and the communities located on Fire Island. 

Afterwards it's a short walk to the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) in the community of Atlantique. AMC maintains a cabin on Fire Island, where participants can enjoy the relaxation of watching a sunset, a late afternoon snack, dinner, and lodging. (AMC is charging a special rate of $60 which includes snack, dinner, lodging and breakfast.)

While in Kismet, look for the marker commemorating the site of the first hotel on Fire Island: the Dominy House, built in 1844. Proprietor Felix Dominy was the first keeper of the original 1826 Fire Island Lighthouse.

Traditional Fire Island Trek
Day 3 – Friday
September 11, 2009
3½ miles (sand and boardwalk)
Reservations required; no fee for Day 3

This year's Fire Island Trek ends with a short hike to the Fire Island Lighthouse (3 miles), where you can enjoy the spectacular view from atop the tallest lighthouse in New York.

This date is also Fire Island National Seashore's 45th anniversary. 

After a two hour tour and walk to the site of the old Surf Hotel, built in 1855, you'll be able to hike back to Kismet, where the Bay Shore Ferry will transport you back to the mainland. Or you may make arrangements to have someone pick you up at Robert Moses State Park Field #5. All participants are responsible for their own transportation and meals.

For more information about the Fire Island Trek or to get a reservation form, contact Fire Island National Seashore's Interpretation Office by e-mail or by phone at 631-687-4765.