Fire Island Lighthouse — Attraction in Town of Islip

All it takes one staff to ruin a persons experience and day. After driving roughly an hour and a half to arrive, I am excited explore the light house, especially as an artist and photographer who's main art is light painting, of which there are not many of on the east coast. I'm wearing a bandana that is double wrapped, and also have been vaccinated and carry my card with me. The park is co operated by both the NYS parks and the National Park Service. I was able to explore part of the museum in the light house area with no issue. I am exploring and learning and asking questions and I inquire about the tours and climbing the light house, it's no problem, then minutes later, I am asked to leave by the same staff that was answering my questions because I am not allowed to be wearing a double wrapped bandana as a mask inside the building and instead tells me I can purchase a cheap flimsy disposable mask that offers less protection for a dollar outside the building at the window. I am beyond upset, especially given that many people were wearing their masks with their noses exposed and it was not an issue and this was something I was really looking forward to exploring and learning about. Due to this factor, i would also have to say that the light house area is not ADA Compliant, as it's not wheelchair friendly which can be expected given its ablight house, but even more than that is the mindset and mentality of asking me to leave after I've already been invited in and allowed to explore and learn due to a change in mindset. It makes a beautiful trip and location look incredibly ugly. I have included photos as proof that I was able to explore and even be shown some of the light exhibits before being asked to leave due to my mask not being acceptable even though my full face from the nose down was covered and it offered more protection than the...

The view, should you make it to the top, is lovely. But don't expect to get there quickly. I'm giving it 4 stars because I feel there is an opportunity to improve signage directing people how to get there. It wasn't clear which parking lot we needed to go to, how to get to the lighthouse from from the parking lot, or about how long someone should expect the walk to take. I think these are important details for those who have handicapped, children, or elderly in their parties. Should you manage to acquire some parking (that was its own little challenge for us given that we went on a nice weather weekend) a little hike required to get to the lighthouse since motor traffic is not allowed (which is awesome because it helps to encourage wildlife to inhabit the area). This place has a nice little gift shop and museum at the base, which thankfully carries drinks for those who didn't realize they'd need some source of rehydration. I liked that they require masks. They seem to have their logistics down well, as they monitor how many people are in the stairwell and on the ledge and closely manage these numbers by asking guests to hold at the bottom until there is adequate capacity. As should be expected, the trip up is a bit of a challenge, especially if you're out-of-shape. I don't envy the individual who had to replenish the gallons of oil every day. Also- thank goodness for the hand rope. That's something that other high landmarks I've been to lack. Last thing I'll say: if anyone representing the lighthouse should read this I think there's definitely an opportunity to obtain a more appealing logo which would drive more sales. With a name like "Fire Island" I would be...

Social distancing at its finest here. Fire Island was about a 2 hour drive for us from Brooklyn and a perfect oasis from the stresses of life, pandemic and everything in between. This place has only specific areas to park and drive so it was a bit confusing to explore. We only managed to explore the lighthouse from the original areas we wanted to check out, which the walk from the parking lot was an adventure within itself. We saw deers, which my friend’s dog almost chased to oblivion, and different types of flowers. The lighthouse happened to be open, with $10 entrance fee to climb the lighthouse. After about 20 minutes of climbing, huffing, puffing and taking breaks in between, we managed to reach the top. There were two workers up there, one who actually worked in the lighthouse and another a guide, who were one of the most friendliest people ever. They told us about the history and they function of the lighthouse and had small talk of where they were from. The view from above was absolutely breathtaking, but because we had to wear plastic gloves, holding my phone was a bit nerve wracking.

Highly recommend if you want to explore for the day and relax. Though be aware that there are specific roads you are allowed to travel, and places to park. It takes about 13 hours to travel the whole island by walking, but there are ferries stations that can take you to different parts...