Amagansett · The Hamptons neighborhood guide
Things to Do in Amagansett
For travelers who want a quieter Hamptons: ocean beaches, farm stands, a tiny live-music room. Here's what's actually worth your time, ranked and judged.
Amagansett in brief
Is Amagansett worth visiting?
Yes, if you want the Hamptons at a slower pace: a walkable Main Street, ocean beaches, farm stands, restaurants, and less polished bustle than East Hampton or Southampton.
What is Amagansett known for?
Amagansett is known for ocean beaches, farm stands, seasonal food, walkable shopping, and a relaxed Hamptons character that feels more rural than resort-like.
Does Amagansett have a downtown?
It has a compact Main Street center with shops, cafés, restaurants, and local food businesses, not a large urban downtown. That small scale is the appeal.
Get oriented
How Amagansett fits together
Amagansett is a small hamlet between East Hampton and Montauk, with Main Street inland and Atlantic beaches at the ocean edge.
Route 27 becomes Main Street through the compact historic center, running from Amagansett Square toward the South Fork Country Club. The Amagansett Farmers Market and Amber Waves Farm sit on or near Main Street, making the food side of town easy to combine with a walk through the older houses, barns, community buildings, and modest shops. Atlantic Avenue leads south to Atlantic Avenue Beach and the Life-Saving Station Museum. Indian Wells Beach is farther east at the end of Indian Wells Highway. The Stephen Talkhouse is the nighttime exception: a small Main Street music room rather than a destination you visit in daylight. Amagansett LIRR station provides rail access, but the beaches are easier with a car or ride.
A sensible Amagansett day starts with Main Street and farm food, continues to the museum or beach, and ends with live music:
See & do, ranked
The best things to do in Amagansett
Our honest ranking of Amagansett's beaches, food stops, small museum, historic center, and legendary music room.
Must-see
The essentials, ranked.- 1
Atlantic Avenue Worth itAtlantic Avenue Beach
The classic Amagansett ocean beach, with surf, sand, lifeguards, and unusually thoughtful accessibility equipment.
Atlantic Avenue is the Amagansett beach to choose when you want the straightforward ocean version of the Hamptons: a wide shoreline, surf, a concession stand, restrooms, and a designated swimming area. The town lists it at 191 Atlantic Avenue, at the end of the road, and keeps the beach open year-round. When lifeguards are on duty, generally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., swimming is limited to their area. Weekday daily parking is listed at $50, while vehicular access requires a Town of East Hampton drive-on pass. The detail that changes the experience is the surf wheelchair, available through lifeguards, alongside ADA-accessible restrooms. It is not a secret beach, but it is the most complete public beach stop here.
Good for families, couples, friends
Sourcesehamptonny.govehamptonny.gov
- 2
Indian Wells Highway Worth the hypeIndian Wells Beach
The family-leaning Amagansett beach where the town's cleanup restored the soft, pillowy sand people came for.
Indian Wells is the better Amagansett beach for families and low-drama beach days, with soft sand, seasonal lifeguards, food trucks or a concession stand, volleyball, accessible restrooms, and a surf wheelchair available through the lifeguards. It sits at the end of Indian Wells Highway and is open year-round, but access is tightly managed: parking requires a Town of East Hampton resident parking permit, and driving onto the beach needs a separate drive-on pass. Lifeguards cover the swimming area from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seasonally, with daily coverage through Labor Day weekend. The telling detail is its recent history. After alcohol-fueled parties left charcoal and overflowing trash, 2014 reforms had, by 2016, eliminated the former weekend disorder. Go for the sand, not the scene.
Good for families, couples, friends
- 3
Main Street Worth itAmagansett Farmers Market
A year-round Main Street food stop whose best credential is that it began on a front-lawn card table in 1954.
The Amagansett Farmers Market is the easiest way to taste the working-farm side of this otherwise expensive-looking place. At 367 Main Street, it sells produce, meat, cheese, bread, grains, pantry goods, and vegetarian and vegan grab-and-go food. Amber Waves says more than 500 varieties of produce are grown on-site, and the market operates year-round from 8 a.m. The history is unusually intimate: Pat Struk started it on a card table on her front lawn in 1954. After she sold the market and farmland in 2008, Amber Waves eventually opened the market as its own in 2016. Buy provisions for the beach or order food to eat at the farm. It is a better use of a morning than chasing a polished brunch reservation, though no closing time is supplied.
30-60 minutesGood for families, couples, friends, solo
Sourcesamberwavesfarm.org
- 4
Main Street Worth the hypeStephen Talkhouse
A tiny Amagansett music room where the chance of seeing a major touring act up close is the whole point.
Stephen Talkhouse is the rare Hamptons nightlife stop that feels like a room rather than an institution. The official site places it in Amagansett and says it has operated since 1970, while SiriusXM describes it as an intimate venue where performers have included Brandi Carlile, Coldplay, Dave Matthews, Ed Sheeran, Metallica, Mumford & Sons, and others. Shows are listed at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., with supplied event listings ranging from $20 to $214, including one performance at $78–$99. That range tells you to check the specific bill before assuming a casual night out. The useful promise is simple: the site says anyone can walk through the doors. There is no reliable general opening-hours or parking information in the supplied material, so book the show first and improvise the rest.
Good for couples, friends, solo
Worth it with more time
Good additions once you've done the icons.- 5
Atlantic Avenue Worth itAmagansett Life-Saving Station Museum
A small Atlantic Avenue museum with a real rescue-station history and one extraordinary boat built for breaking surf.
The Amagansett Life-Saving Station Museum gives the beach town a darker, more compelling history than its farm stands suggest. The present Quonochontaug-type station was built on Atlantic Avenue in 1902 and served local fishermen, shore whalers, and crews responding to shipwrecks until 1944. In 1966, Joel Carmichael bought the abandoned building for one dollar and moved it to a bluff; it returned to its original site in 2007. Restoration brought back its 1902 appearance, with the exterior completed in 2014 and interior in 2017. The museum is open May through October on Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with docent tours or appointments. The boat room's Beebe surfboat is the reason to go: it was designed to launch into Atlantic surf that could swamp an ordinary vessel.
45-90 minuteson GoogleGood for families, couples, solo
- 6
Main Street Worth itAmber Waves Farm
A working nonprofit farm and café that makes Amagansett's local-food identity feel tangible rather than decorative.
Amber Waves is more than the market counter: it is a nonprofit teaching farm whose Amagansett and East Hampton acreage grew from a one-acre CSA and weekly market into more than 45 acres. Its nearly 10-acre Amagansett home farm is protected by conservation easements requiring it to remain a working farm in perpetuity. The farm grows more than 500 varieties across 60 crops, including vegetables, grains, flowers, and herbs, and offers free farm exploration. The main farm and market at 367 Main Street are open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; the kitchen runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The telling detail is wonderfully unglamorous: three farm cats are part of the crew, handling pest control and morale. Come for breakfast or provisions, then actually look around.
1-2 hourson GoogleGood for families, couples, friends
Sourcesamberwavesfarm.orgamberwavesfarm.orgamberwavesfarm.org
- 7
Main Street MixedAmagansett Village Historic District (Main Street)
A pleasant, genuinely historic Main Street best experienced as a slow walk between stronger food and beach stops.
Amagansett's historic center is not a grand downtown and should not be approached like one. It is a compact stretch of Route 27, or Main Street, running from Amagansett Square to just south of the South Fork Country Club. The setting is made up of historic houses, barns, community buildings, and modest commercial structures in a rural landscape. Amagansett was founded in 1680, and its name comes from a Montaukett word meaning “place of good water.” That background matters more than any single landmark: the hamlet's character is in the mix of old buildings and everyday businesses, not in a concentrated monument district. Walk it before or after the market, and use the Amagansett LIRR station lot, described as free and unrestricted, if arriving by train. On its own, it is a gentle stroll, not a full afternoon.
30-60 minuteson GoogleGood for couples, solo, families
Hidden gems
Where the crowds thin out.- Hidden gem
Springs Skip itLouse Point Beach
A quiet harbor-side launch point in Springs, but not an Amagansett swimming beach and not worth crossing the district boundary for most visitors.
Louse Point is included here only as a boundary warning, not as a recommendation. The official town page places it at the end of Louse Point Road in Springs, NY, outside Amagansett proper. It is open year-round, and parking requires a Town of East Hampton permit; the harbor-side launching ramp needs either a town parking or launch permit. Vehicular access also requires a town drive-on pass and is limited to designated areas. Swimming is prohibited and there is no lifeguard. Its one telling detail is its function: this is a harbor-side launching ramp as much as it is a beach. If you are already exploring Springs and have the right permit, it may make sense for launching. If your search is things to do in Amagansett, stay with Atlantic Avenue or Indian Wells instead.
30-60 minuteson GoogleGood for friends, solo
Sourcesehamptonny.gov
- Hidden gem
Gardiner's Bay OverratedDevon Yacht Club
A distinctive private sailing club with Gardiner's Bay views, but not a realistic public attraction unless a member brings you in.
Devon Yacht Club is the most exclusive entry on this list and the least useful to an ordinary visitor. The club sits on Gardiner's Bay with unobstructed water views, eight clay tennis courts, seasonal dining, and a junior sailing program for children ages 5–16. Its roots reach back to the Gardiner's Bay Boat Club in 1908; it was incorporated in 1916, and the junior sailing program has operated since 1934. One-design racing runs from June through September, while the club operates seasonally from May through October. Access is the catch: prospective members generally need a personal connection to a current member, and the supplied material gives no public day-visit route. Reported initiation fees are around $100,000, and a major master plan is projected to exceed $30 million. Admire the idea, but do not plan a sightseeing stop.
Good for couples, friends
Sourcesdenehyctp.comnymag.com
Verdicts and rankings are our own; ratings open each place on Google. Prices, where shown, are an approximate per-person guide in USD.
Eat & drink
Where to eat in Amagansett
Amagansett's strongest food stops are farm-connected: buy provisions, eat at the farm, and keep the beach picnic simple.
Amagansett Farmers Market
367 Main StreetThe practical picnic stop, with on-site produce, locally sourced meat, cheese, bread, grains, pantry goods, and vegetarian and vegan grab-and-go options. Food can be ordered to eat at the farm or taken away.
on Google
Amber Waves Farm Kitchen
Main StreetA farm kitchen attached to a working nonprofit farm, open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The supplied material confirms online ordering and Uber Eats, but does not provide menu prices.
on GoogleAmber Waves Farm Market
367 Main StreetShop more than 500 varieties of produce grown on-site, then add locally sourced bread, cheese, meat, grains, or flowers before heading to the beach.
on Google
Getting around
Getting around Amagansett
Use the LIRR for Main Street
The Amagansett LIRR station serves the hamlet, and its lot is described as free and unrestricted. Service is on the Montauk Branch, with limited year-round and expanded seasonal schedules.
Walk the Main Street core
Route 27 runs as Main Street from Amagansett Square to just south of the South Fork Country Club. The historic center is compact enough to combine with the market and farm stops.
Drive to the beaches
Atlantic Avenue Beach is at the end of Atlantic Avenue; Indian Wells Beach is at the end of Indian Wells Highway. Beach parking and drive-on access require town permits or, at Atlantic Avenue on weekdays, the listed daily fee.
Check seasonal access
The Life-Saving Station Museum is open May through October on weekends, and beach lifeguard coverage, restrooms, concessions, and accessibility equipment operate seasonally.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Amagansett
Main Street
The most convenient base for the historic center, Amagansett Farmers Market, Amber Waves, and Stephen Talkhouse. Best for an itinerary built around walking and food.
Atlantic Avenue
The beach-oriented choice, close to Atlantic Avenue Beach and the Life-Saving Station Museum. More practical for ocean time than for nightlife.
East Amagansett
A quieter base toward Indian Wells Beach and Devon, with a more residential feel and less immediate access to the Main Street cluster.
Where to stay in The Hamptons
Compare the Hamptons' towns and find the right base for your trip.
View the guideWho it's for
Amagansett for families, couples, and solo
- Amagansett for families
- Indian Wells is the best family beach in the supplied research, while Amber Waves adds food, farm exploration, and a less passive morning. Atlantic Avenue also has lifeguards and a surf wheelchair when on duty.
- Amagansett for couples
- Walk Main Street, pick up farm provisions, spend the afternoon at Atlantic Avenue Beach, then see who is playing at Stephen Talkhouse. The appeal is quiet texture rather than a packed attraction schedule.
- Amagansett for solo travelers
- The market, historic center, museum, and beach are easy to build into a self-directed day. The Life-Saving Station Museum is particularly rewarding if you like small places with a serious local story.
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