Cupsogue Beach County Park (Westhampton Beach, NY)

"Cupsogue Beach County Park is a 296 acre barrier beach park in Westhampton Beach, NY which offers lifeguard supervised swimming & sunbathing on white sand beaches and some saltwater bass fishing. Campers & recreational vehicles are permitted along the access road running parallel to the outer beach. A recreational vehicle permit is required for outer beach access & camping. The park is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Moriches Inlet and Moriches Bay. During the season, day parking passes are $9 per vehicle and seasonal parking passes (for residents only) are $75."

* There are no designated/marked hiking trails

* There are restricted areas to protect the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover and the Atlantic Harbor & Gray Seals

* The Coastal Research and Education Society of Long Island (CRESLI) offers Seal Walks

     - The Seal Walks are approximately 1.2 miles round trip for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours

* Registration is required & donations are recommended

* You might possibly see humpback whales are well

* Go to CRESLI.org for more info about organized/scheduled Seal Walks 

We did not go on an organized/scheduled Seal Walk on January 25, 2022. We took about an hours drive from home. When we arrived at Cupsogue Beach County Park we were the only ones there. We walked up the access road that runs parallel to the outer beach. On the north side of the access road in Moriches Bay we spotted a sandbar several hundred yards away where we saw approximately 100 or more seals huddled together trying to stay warm on this frigid day. We also saw several swimming together in the distance. Fortunately, we had binoculars so we could get a close up view of the seals. After watching the seals for a brief period, we continued to the end of the access road and then turned toward the outer beach. The Atlantic Ocean was churning up pretty good with some powerful waves. We walked along the beach to the levy at the end that creates an inlet to Moriches Bay. We some piping plovers running along the beach but we didn't see any more seals, which we had hoped to see hanging out of the rocks of the levy. We turned around and made our way back to the parking lot. By this time, the sun had broken through and it actually felt warm. All in all, we had walked a good 3 miles in mostly sand. It was a fun day! Looking forward to returning in the early spring and taking an organized/scheduled Seal Walk with our grandson.