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The South Fork of Suffolk County, New York is a peninsula in the southeastern section of the county on the South Shore of Long Island. The South Fork includes most of the Hamptons. The shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the North Fork.
The South Fork is composed of all of the Town of East Hampton and a substantial part of the Town of Southampton. The body of water to the south is the Atlantic Ocean.
The South Fork and North Fork split at Riverhead, New York where the Peconic River empties into Peconic Bay. It has long been noted that Long Island resembles a fish with the forks forming a tail. The native name for this is "Paumanok". This name is also used to name a trail that navigates the entirety of the South Fork (as well as parts of Long Island), the Paumanok Path.
The South Fork and North Fork are separated by Great Peconic Bay, Little Peconic Bay, and Gardiners Bay. Between the two forks lie several islands, including Gardiners Island and Shelter Island.
The eastern end of the South Fork, Montauk Point State Park, in the census-designated place of Montauk, New York, is the easternmost point in the State of New York, and of Suffolk County. The eastern end of the North Fork is Orient Point, New York, but is further west in relation to Montauk Point.
The South Fork is most commonly reached by roadways from the west, but the area also offers commuter rail service, bus service, and ferry service.
The most prominent road on the south fork is Montauk Highway (part of New York State Route 27) which traverses the entire region. However, there are numerous other roads that are heavily traveled but unknown to most. For example, Noyac Road provides a parallel route to Montauk Highway in the northern area of the region between North Sea and Sag Harbor. Sag Harbor is also served by the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (CR 79) from Bridgehampton, Sagg Road from Sagaponack, Wainscott Northwest Road from Wainscott, and the East Hampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike (NY-114) from East Hampton and points east. The area also boasts many back roads around East Hampton, the Springs, and Amagansett, such as Three Mile Harbor Road, Springs Fireplace Road, and Old Stone HIghway.
The Long Island Rail Road Montauk Branch has stops in Westhampton, Hampton Bays, Southampton, Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Amagansett, and Montauk. [1] Service is infrequent most of the time due to the fact that there is only one track. The easiest time to take the train to the South Fork is on Fridays, when most trains run out of the city, and Sundays, when most trains run into the city, although this sequence also can be applied during morning and evening rush hours.
The Hampton Jitney and the Hampton Luxury Liner provide bus service primarily between the South Fork and New York City. [2] [3] Local bus service is provided by Suffolk County Transit. [4]
Direct access between the South Fork and Shelter Island is via the South Ferry [5] (the North Ferry provides access to Shelter Island from the North Fork [6] ). Additionally, passenger ferry service runs occasionally between Montauk and Block Island, RI, New London, CT, and Martha's Vineyard, MA. [7]
Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's population was 1,525,920 making it the fourth-most populous county in the State of New York, and the largest outside New York City. Its county seat is Riverhead, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. The county was named after the county of Suffolk in England, from where its earliest European settlers came.
Hampton Bays is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. It is considered as part of the region of Long Island known as The Hamptons. The population was 13,603 at the 2010 census.
Wainscott is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet with the same name in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 650. The CDP was created for the 2000 census.
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of the historical summer colonies of the northeastern United States.
Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 United States Census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stretch of shoreline prominently known as The Hamptons.
The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains a hamlet named Southold, which was settled in 1640.
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York. At the time of the 2020 United States Census, it had a total population of 28,385.
Peconic County is a proposed new county on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York that would secede the five easternmost towns of Suffolk County: East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, plus the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.
Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for 95 miles (153 km) across the southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It extends from the Nassau County line in Amityville, where it connects to Merrick Road, to Montauk Point State Park at the very eastern end of Long Island in Montauk. The highway is known by several designations along its routing, primarily New York State Route 27A (NY 27A) from the county line to Oakdale and NY 27 east of Southampton. The portion of Montauk Highway between Oakdale and Southampton is mostly county-maintained as County Route 80 and County Route 85.
The North Fork is a 30-mile- (48 km) long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, New York, U.S., roughly parallel with a longer peninsula known as the South Fork, both on the East End of Long Island. Although the peninsula begins east of Riverhead hamlet, the term North Fork can also refer collectively to the towns of Riverhead and Southold in their entirety.
The Paumanok Path is a 125-mile (201 km) hiking trail in New York on Long Island that goes from Rocky Point to Montauk Point State Park. It travels through four towns in Suffolk County: Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southampton and East Hampton. It is marked by white trail blazes.
The 1st congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including most of Smithtown, as well as the entirety of the towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island. The district encompasses extremely wealthy enclaves such as the Hamptons, middle class suburban towns such as Selden, Centereach and Lake Grove, working-class towns such as Mastic, Shirley, and Riverhead and rural farming communities such as Mattituck and Jamesport on the North Fork. The district currently is represented by Republican Lee Zeldin. In the 2014 election, Zeldin defeated Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop, who had represented the district since 2003.
New York State Route 114 (NY 114) is a state highway, including two ferry crossings, on the far eastern sections of Long Island in New York in the United States. It serves as a connector between the two "forks" of Long Island, crossing Shelter Island in the process. This is the only connection between the North and South forks east of Riverhead. NY 114 is the easternmost signed north–south state route in all of New York. Additionally, the route is the last in a series of sequential state routes on Long Island. The series begins with NY 101 in western Nassau County and progresses eastward to NY 114.
Hampton Jitney is a family owned, premier commuter motorcoach company, based in Southampton, NY, operating three primary routes from the east end of Long Island to New York City. Hampton Jitney also operates charter and tour services, along with local transit bus service in eastern Suffolk County under contract with Twin Forks Transit which runs the routes under contract with Suffolk County Transit.
East Hampton Union Free School District is a public school district located in the Town of East Hampton on Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It includes the village of East Hampton, the unincorporated area just north of the village, and the hamlet of Northwest Harbor.
Sag Harbor was the terminus of the abandoned Sag Harbor Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, and was one of two stations within the village of Sag Harbor, New York. It opened in 1870 with the arrival of the LIRR into Sag Harbor, and was the eastern terminus of the LIRR on the south fork of Long Island until 1895, when the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad built a line from Bridgehampton to Montauk, thus converting the line into a spur north of Bridgehampton. Besides the standard passenger station, it also contained a freight house, and "express building," two yards, a spur to "Long Wharf" which was owned by the LIRR affiliated Montauk Steamboat Company, a coal trestle, a turntable, and a three-story grain storage building owned by The station was rebuilt in 1909 in a manner similar to such stations as Riverhead, Bay Shore, Manhasset, and Bayside stations, among others. During World War I, it was used to transport torpedoes to Long Wharf in order to test them. It was abandoned in 1939 along with the branch. Today, Long Wharf is Suffolk County Road 81, and the former freight house is now the headquarters of the Sag Harbor Garden Center.
