Sunken Meadow Beach

Sunken Meadow Beach is the Long Island Sound beach at Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, NY, and NYS Parks describes its water as generally calm and family-oriented. There are two lifeguarded swimming areas: the Main Beach at Field 1 and the East Beach at Field 3. In 2026 swimming runs from May 23 to September 20, from 10 a.m. until 6 or 7 p.m., and parking costs $10 a car in summer. Pets are not allowed.

Main Beach or East Beach?

Main Beach, Field 1 is the main swimming area. The park office is here, along with mobility mats onto the sand and the free beach wheelchairs. It has the longest lifeguard hours on summer weekends (9 a.m. to 8 p.m. from June 27 to August 9). Start a boardwalk walk from here.

East Beach, Field 3 is the beach to pick if you are also paddling. Field 3 is the only place in the park to launch a kayak, canoe, paddleboard or windsurfer, and the launches sit on its east side, so swimmers and boats share the field. It has mobility mats too. In September it is lifeguarded on weekends only.

2026 Swimming Hours

Main Beach, Field 1

• May 23 to June 26: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
• June 27 to August 9: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekends and holidays
• August 10 to September 7: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
• September 8 to September 20: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily

East Beach, Field 3

• May 23 to June 26: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily
• June 27 to September 7: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
• September 8 to September 20: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekends only

The beach itself is open all year from sunrise to sunset for walking; swim only when the lifeguards are on duty.

What It Costs

There is no beach admission. You pay the park's vehicle fee: $10 a car from May 23 to September 11, 2026, and $8 on spring and fall weekends and holidays. The $80 Empire Pass covers it. Walk-ins on the Greenbelt Trail pay nothing.

Facilities

NYS Parks lists accessible food service, showers and a swimming beach among the park's amenities, and the trail map marks a concession stand, a first-aid station and public restrooms by the beach fields. The ¾-mile boardwalk runs along the beach, and there are playgrounds and picnic lawns nearby. See picnic areas.

Accessibility

Mobility mats run across the sand at both Field 1 and Field 3. NYS Parks also lends beach wheelchairs that can roll over the sand and into the water, free, first come, first served. Ask at the park office in Field 1.

Water Quality

NYS Parks posts current beach water-quality results online, and a beach can close to swimming after a test or a storm. Check before you go on a hot day after heavy rain.

Beach Rules

• No pets on the beach or anywhere in the main park. State rules bar dogs from bathing areas. See dogs.
• Swim only in lifeguarded areas, at posted times.
• No inflatable vessels at the launch.
• No generators, PA or DJ systems, or amplified sound.
• No drones.
• Give nesting birds room. The State Department of Environmental Conservation says piping plovers and least and common terns nest or feed here. Respect any fencing.

More on the rules page.

Beaches Nearby

Kings Park Bluff and Callahan's Beach, both close by on the Sound, are Town of Smithtown beaches for town residents and taxpayers only. See Kings Park Bluff and Callahan's Beach. Sunken Meadow is open to everyone.