Your Guide to Summer Fun on Long Island

In the summer months, Long Island becomes New York’s go-to beach town. Flip-flops and beach cover-ups are the typical attire of choice, and evenings are filled with picturesque sunsets and waterfront dining. While the beach provides ideal surroundings for rest and relaxation, there are plenty of other unique things to do on Long Island that many tourists don’t even know about. This summer, hop in your rental car from Empire Rent A Car and enjoy all that Long Island has to offer.

Enjoy Garden Concerts

There are several historic estates along Long Island that are now used as beautiful public gardens. The Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park in Oyster Bay puts on an outdoor summer concert series every Friday, featuring jazz, blues, and swing music.

Old Westbury Gardens also hosts a Picnic Pops Summer Concert Series on their main lawn on Wednesday nights in July and August, along with a variety of other indoor and outdoor concerts and events throughout the summer.

Explore Museums

It does rain every once in a while on Long Island, so for those rainy days or sweltering hot days when you're ready for some indoor activites, check out these awesome museums:

Long Island Children's Museum
The Cradle of Aviation Museum
Nassau County Museum of Art
Vanderbilt Museum
Heckscher Museum of Art
Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum

Visit a Lighthouse

Long Island lighthouses are a special and unique experience for beach-lovers and sightseers of all ages. Check out these top lighthouse destinations:

Montauk Lighthouse – The oldest lighthouse in New York State (authorized by President George Washington in 1792) and a National Historic Landmark.
Fire Island Lighthouse – Take the 182-step tour of this iconic black and white tower and enjoy the panoramic view of the ocean and surrounding region which, on a clear day, extends all the way to the New York City skyline.
Horton Point Lighthouse – See the lighthouse, tour the exhibits, and have a picnic on the grounds. Head 120 steps down to the beach, or walk the nature trail.

As you can see, Long Island is chock-full of fun summer experiences that you won't want to miss. Now that you have an idea of what to do on your day-trips, you just need to secure transportation. Contact Empire Rent A Car today at (800) 750-8782 to make a reservation, or book online anytime. We proudly serve New York with several locations, including Brooklyn, College Point, and Floral Park, with quality and affordable rental cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs.

Sources:

magazine.northeast.aaa.com

Ian Kusinitz