Sunken Meadow State Park

Great beach. Great Boardwalk. Great facilities — bathrooms, snack bar, picnic areas.
Running & hiking trails.
Fishing.
Launch sites (canoes & kayaks).
Gets very crowded on weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

We take the family here for short-​medium hikes. The scenery is great, the distance from woods to beach is great, and it’s an all around good time.

AWESOME PLACE!
I’m so happy I found it. It’s the best beach to go to outside of the city. It never gets too crowded, the water is calm and the best part is that it doesn’t close until 8 or so. The only drawback is that it’s inaccessible by public transportation so you have to have a car.

I am having mixed feelings about this place. I love the area to picnic and the beach is enjoyable too. BUT there has been a few unfortunate events.
The first incident was my friend’s windshield. She parked in the parking lot and later returned to find that her windshield has been hit (possibly a ball of some sort). The person who hit her car did not leave a note. She contacted the park police to file a report. There was nothing they could do. Second incident was my stolen phone. This is my fault in that I left my phone on the table when my friends needed a person to help move a bench. I was able to track my stolen phone to the parking lot. Once again, we called the park police and filed a report. The officer was only able to help us report the issue but even with my tracking information, he was not allowed to search any of the cars without a warrant.
I understand this isn’t exactly the parks fault but I think there should really be more security enforcement, at least in the parking lot areas. There should also be some security presence. There are a couple park carts that drive around emptying garbage but that’s all I ever really see. Until the security is better in sunken meadow, I won’t be returning. Which sucks because I actually like this location a lot for what it offers.

Gross! People are really disgusting. They need to clean up after themselves and change in the bathrooms especially when their underwear has holes and skid marks. Yup just slipped in a pair of shorts right over those and dove in. Which reminds me I’ve never seen so many people in the water in regular clothes. Bathing suits people! Oh and if my feet can touch your towel, blanket or chair you are setting up too close. Respect personal space epically when you’re gonna set up shop and talk a mile a minute extremely loudly on the phone. I get that it’s hot and the beach is crowded but it ain’t that crowded. Back up! Very disappointed overall especially since the water looked so nice but I was way too grossed out to go in.

Excellent boardwalk to catch a glimpse of the rising sun and also get your morning exercise routine completed. Not crowded at all and has plenty of well-​maintained restrooms.

Very disappointed, some people do not clean up after themselves! We went to watch the sunset on Saturday, nearly every parked car was surrounded by garbage. There are plenty of pails around the parking lot, boardwalk and beach! As we walked the boardwalk we could see the beach was littered with empty bottles, bags and even diapers. :p It is such a shame! I also do not remember seeing so many people fishing at the shore. That leaves behind hooks, I feel for the little feet that might get pricked on the lost hooks.

Not sure if I went on a bad day but I went to the beach on a Sunday and it had a lot of people. There were too many seaweed in the water and also other aquatic plant life. And the bathrooms and changing rooms were very dirty! Also there were no waves and the sea shore was way too rocky. I would not recommend this beach to anyone and I doubt I will come back again…

Pretty nice walk in sunken meadow. With nice scenic bridge and water. Plenty of parking. And nice boardwalk on the sound front. The barbecue area and facilities was great. Some staff came to setup trash can for us even !!! Even the bathroom was nice and looks new !!!

The true MELTING POT of the North Shore! Even coming here as a little kid, I was amazed at the cornucopia of languages we’d hear as we made our way through the classic beach pavilion, over the busy boardwalk, to the crystal shores of the Long Island Sound. Swim, sunbathe, people-​watch, hike, picnic, bird and nature watch, take hundreds of gorgeous photos, and with half an ear open, you can imagine you’re either at some tropical getaway, or maybe a far off Baltic Sea resort!
I confess I also under-​appreciated this gem while I grew up on LI, but now LOVE coming back here for a nostalgic walk on the boardwalk or along the shore. No matter what time of year, the boardwalk is busy (never over-​crowded) with young and old, from babies pushed in strollers to octogenarians with their walkers. I confess to not knowing the hiking trails well, as when I’m back, I never want to stray too far from the shore, but there truly is something here for everyone. If I were still local, I’d come here every night after work to wind down, and also try to take advantage of the many special events (hikes, concerts, seafood grills…) that seem to happen on a pretty regular basis. Ahhhhhhh, you can take the girl away from the water, but you can never take the water away from me! Check this place out!!!

Very rocky beach, seems not very suitable for kids playing in the water. Crowded on hot days. There are playground nearby for kids, surrounded by BBQ smells, close to the parking lot. Didn’t see map for exploring other part of the park. The drive way lead us directly to the beach.
$ 10 for entering the park.
Big bathroom.
More than 1 hour drive from Manhattan.

They have a secret side trail that is dog friendly. Leashed dogs are not allowed anywhere in the park but are allowed on the hiking trails if you use the entrance located on Old Dock Road. You will see parking spaces on your left once you drive all the way down. There is no fee when you park over here. Nice long loop that offered spectacular bluff views of the long island sound. Trails can become crowded later in the morning and in the afternoon. Go early and enjoy some solitude with your pup.

This review is for a sunny winter Sunday afternoon. GORGEOUS! The boardwalk is ¾ of a mile long, with runners, joggers, some bikers and a lot of walkers taking advantage of the weather and the scenery. We usually travel to Jones Beach for the boardwalk but this was just as nice, only smaller and different view. The Long Island Sound had icebergs in it which we had never seen before. SO COOL!
We were interested in the Long Island Greenbelt which starts in field 3. It was snow and ice covered so we could not explore, but to get there we traveled over a footbridge that transported us out of Long Island to a beautiful vacationland. No entrance fee in the winter, but the office was opened for questions and there was a sign indicating an open concession stand which we did not check out so I can’t confirm. The bathroom was gross, but not enough to give the whole park a three.

This place has goods and bads… On the plus side, a nice boardwalk for walking, sitting etc, with a few gazebos on it for shade and what not… Walking to the water is somewhat painful due to the abundance of rocks on the sand… The water is/​appears to be calm and decent enough for swimming or a quick dip… The beach is long/​big enough so that no one is on top of each other and able to spread out… Avoid the sea gulls

Love Sunken Meadow! It’s a unique landscape that has a lot to offer. It’s a huge park with quite an array of activities available.
You can come here for a picnic or family bbq and hang out on the field and bbq area which is huge. You can also play sports and there is a playground as well.
Or you can skip all that as I do and go directly to the beach and walk along the boardwalk. If you wish to skip that you can go to the woodland trails and hike up along the side and walk along the high trails that overlook the sandy shores down below.
I’ve taken many photos here and also just come to hike on the trails or walk along the beach. I love the unique mix of woodland trails right along the beach. There are beautiful views and the birds, particularly swans love to flock here.
And then of course if you wish you can just hang out in the park area and have a bbq or do all at once if you like!
There is a ton of parking here and the entrance price is the standard state park entry fee.
Definitely a great, versatile park, anything from a last minute drive here to a planned family party is perfect here!

¾ of a mile from one side of the boardwalk to the other. Located 5 minutes away from home, this is my afternoon/​evening chill spot from March to October. This is an idle place for a bbq/​picnic which is located before a small bridge prior to the main entrance to the «beach». I put the quotes around beach because when walking along the shoreline and in the water, the feet go through more of a acupuncture treatment than a pleasant walk (North Shore problems).
In around June, lady crabs begin to spawn and can be seen during high tide. Sunken Meadow is famous for those rocks that stick out on the West End of the beach; many fisherman go to the end to catch striped bass and a lot of seaweed!

Come for an evening swim on a Wed evening and stay for the lobster fest!
I love this park — great for running the hills! Lots of wonderful dirt trails that are used in a lot of XC races!
Fun spot for BBQs too!

This is one of my favorite parks on the North Shore. There’s a tropical feel to it, even in winter. One summer I saw thousands of fiddler crabs moving like a school of fish between the reeds.
It’s a very clean, long beach: There’s ample space to walk along the shore, the boardwalk, or up cliffs for beautiful views. Since this is a North Shore beach, there aren’t any real waves but it’s nice to know the water’s there if you want to jump in or just get your feet wet.
As for dogs, this park is definitely not dog-​friendly, at least not for the trails and wetland area, however, I’ve never been to this park without seeing at least one dog where it shouldn’t be. Apparently they are very lax despite the No Dogs signs. I wonder how it effects the ecology.