East Hampton, NY

East Hampton is a storied village in the Town of East Hampton, situated in Suffolk County on the South Fork of Long Island, New York. The village itself has a small year-round population of roughly 1,300 residents, though that number swells dramatically each summer as the Hamptons fill with seasonal visitors. Long associated with old-money estates, oceanfront cottages, and a quietly upscale village center, East Hampton is best known as the cultural and geographic heart of the Hamptons and a beloved summer escape for New Yorkers. It sits approximately 100 miles east of New York City, a drive of roughly two to two-and-a-half hours depending on traffic, and serves as a gateway to the broader South Fork, including the surfing and fishing hamlet of Montauk at Long Island's easternmost tip.

No visit to East Hampton is complete without time on its celebrated ocean beaches. Coopers Beach, a wide, white-sand stretch on the village's southern edge, is consistently ranked among the top beaches in the United States and offers calm swimming, lifeguards, and a graceful view of the historic Montauk shoreline. Just a few minutes away, Main Beach anchors the village center and is a favorite for families. Both beaches are reached within a short drive from most rental properties in the area and tend to anchor a guest's entire itinerary.

Roughly twenty-five minutes east of East Hampton, the Montauk Point Lighthouse stands at the very tip of Long Island, overlooking where the Atlantic meets Block Island Sound. Commissioned by President George Washington in 1792 and completed in 1796, it is the oldest lighthouse in New York State and a National Historic Landmark. Visitors come for the cliffside setting, the small museum inside the keeper's house, and the panoramic ocean views, and the surrounding park offers walking paths and seal-watching in winter.

For travelers interested in art and history, the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center preserves the home and barn studio where abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock and his wife, painter Lee Krasner, lived and worked from 1945 until Pollock's death in 1956. Located on a quiet stretch of Springs, just a few minutes' drive from the village, the house is administered by Stony Brook University and is open for guided tours by appointment. Nearby, Hither Hills State Park offers nearly 2,000 acres of pine forest, a popular campground, and another beautiful stretch of Atlantic beach about ten minutes from the village center.

For short-term rental owners, East Hampton offers a rare combination: a tightly defined, prestigious destination brand, a high-income seasonal demographic, and a tight cluster of marquee draws that fill a long weekend. With its walkable Main Street, world-class beaches, easy day trips to Montauk and Sag Harbor, and a steady calendar of cultural and sporting events throughout the summer season, the village supports some of the strongest nightly rates in the country while remaining an experience guests return to year after year.