Fire Island Pines, often referred to as The Pines, is a unique summer getaway with beautiful beaches, amazing nightlife, and a unique, almost all-gay male community. It is located on Fire Island, a barrier island on the southern side of Long Island. This truly unique place is accessible only by ferry and provides a tranquil, serene atmosphere with no cars permitted. Topographically, the Pines is virtually an extension of Sunken Forest. Situated on a narrow portion of the island, the area closer to the bay is covered with dense growth almost concealing many of the homes built unobtrusively in the background. Lacing through the Pines are its most famous features, "rollercoaster" boardwalks wending their way up, down and across the community in a pattern made to follow the land. Travel through the island is only by foot along the winding boardwalks.
Originally the site of a Coast Guard station built in 1876 and known as Lone Hill Saving Station, the area was purchased by the Home Guardian Company in 1924 but little in the way of development occurred until after World War II. There was no electricity or amenities until 1960 when a 100 unit co-op complex was built. Builders stuck close to the cautious plans drawn up a quarter century before and allowed for preservation of the area's natural state.
The results are readily apparent today: houses are modern, sleek, and stylish and blend in well with the surrounding terrain. With more than 700 homes, the Pines is not crowded for its size, large building lots helping to mitigate crowding. The careful integration of land and architecture has bequeathed a community that is modern, spacious and esthetically pleasing. In the three centuries since Isaac Stratford established his whaling station, the Island has undergone many changes . . . it has developed into a vacation-land whose few year-round inhabitants derive their living from providing goods and services to the summer visitors.
The Pines has been discovered by leaders in fashion, design, photography and the arts and rapidly became established as the center of island chic, taste and elegance. The social whirl in the Pines ends with the onset of Fall. With over 600 members, the Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association (FIPPOA) sponsors major events which raise needed funds for the community: art shows, auctions and raffles, movies, house tours, and several theater productions featuring local talent.
In addition to the tranquility of the nature and the picturesque beaches with miles of sun-drenched sand, the Pines is a hot spot for nightlife and events. In recent years, the Pines has undergone a resurgence of youthful energy and has revitalized its status as a premier gay event destination with the huge dance parties of Ascension and Bay Dance. It is home to several bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and hot private parties. Nightly tea dances bring New York's best DJs to play, and Pavilion Nightclub brings world-famous DJs to rock the Pines on weekends. Each year thousands visit Fire Island to frolic on the playground of the suntan set to see if all the things they've heard are really true. And they are.
Fire Island has a beauty all of its own -- a lonely loveliness other resorts don't possess. It's the isolation of the place, the utter aloneness. At no time do you feel less like leaving the Island than in the warm late Sunday afternoon when it's time to begin walking toward the bay, toward the ferry waiting to return you to the mainland. You will discover, as everyone who truly likes the island does, that special, secret magic of the place.
