In January, we decided to drive out to Montauk! Since it was a pretty cold day outside, so we knew we probably weren’t going to do too much exploring, but we still wanted to take the drive out!

Montauk is about an hour and a half away from us. Since it was winter, Main Street in Montauk was pretty empty with almost everything closed. Even as we were driving there, the further east we got, the less congested it was. Once we got to Montauk, we parked at Camp Hero State Park so we could walk along the rocks and around the Montauk Lighthouse.

Camp Hero has a lot of history (and a lot of conspiracy theories!) surrounding it. The U.S. Army used Camp Hero as a coastal defense station starting from around 1942. The camp was designed to look like a fishing village from afar so it could fool enemy aircraft flying overhead. Now, it has been turned into a state park that has hiking and biking trails, and is also a popular fishing spot.

The view alone from where we parked in Camp Hero was already beautiful! Looking out over the bluffs was unreal. We walked through a wooded path towards the huge boulders that surround the lighthouse. It didn’t take long for us to reach the boulders.

The Montauk Lighthouse is a National Historic Landmark. It is the oldest lighthouse in New York State, and was completed in 1796. It is also the fourth oldest active lighthouse in the US! We only saw about 5 other people there when we were there (probably because it was so COLD!), so it was nice feeling like we had the place to ourselves! We walked along the boulders around the lighthouse, and then made our way down to the ocean. We enjoyed the views and the fresh air!!

It was a cold trip, but we are looking forward to going back when it gets warmer to explore more of Camp Hero, to climb to the top of the lighthouse, to check out Montauk Brewing Company, and to explore more of the little town of Montauk!!

Check out some more photos in the slideshow below!!