Where to Go from the Hamptons: The North Fork

There are no schmancy towns filled with flagship boutiques, no hot-then-not nightclubs. Pure pastoral charm remains. Large plots of farmland, farmstands, U-picks, wineries, and tiny town centers dot the Main Road (Route 25) and Sound Avenue (Route 48).

Get There

If you are already in the Hamptons, you'll need to get in your car. if your coming from the city you catch the Hampton Jitney or Long Island Rail Road (Ronkonoma branch). The trip will take two to three hours.

Where to Stay

The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold
Shinn Estate Farm House, Mattituck
The Morning Glory, Greenport
The Silver Sands Motel, Greenport (for the private beach & oysters)
The Harborfront Inn, Greenport
Red Barn Bed & Breakfast, Jamesport
Jedediah Hawkins Inn, Jamesport

Where to Eat

Jamesport Manor Inn, Jamesport
Love Lane Kitchen, Mattituck
Luce & Hawkins, Jamesport
Magic Fountain, Mattituck
Scrimschaw, Greenport
The Frisky Oyster, Greenport
The North Fork Table & Inn, Southold
The Old Mill Inn, Mattituck
Vine, Greenport

What to Do

1. Tour and taste the vineyards
The Old Field, Southold
Baiting Hollow, Baiting Hollow
Bedell Cellars, Cutchogue
Croteaux, Southold
Lenz Winery, Peconic
Macari, Mattituck
One Woman, Southold
Paumanok, Aquebogue

2. Shop farms and farmstands
Briermere Farms, Riverhead
Catapano Dairy Farm, Peconic
Garden of Eve, Aquebogue
Harbes Family Farm, Jamesport and Mattituck
Wickham's Fruit Farm, Cutchogue

3. Walk the trails and hit the water
Downs Farm Preserve, Cutchogue
Goldsmith Inlet Park, Southold
Inlet Pond Park, Greenport
Kenny's Beach and McCabe's Beach have lifeguards and restrooms (but you'll need to get your hands on a permit)
Laurel Lake Preserve, Laurel
Orient Point County Park, Orient

4. Star Gaze
Custer Observatory, open every Saturday from dusk to midnight

Local Color

North Frkd, restaurants, B&Bs, wine tasting posts
Long Island Wine Council, printable maps of wine country

For Your Bedside Table

Edible East End, afree magazine celebrating local food