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1 ACCABONAC HARBOR

OVERVIEW Ask any group of paddlers on Long Island to name their favorite place to paddle, and, if they’ve ever been there, most of them will say Accabonac Harbor. And rightly so. This small harbor has a lot that makes it such a special place.

First and foremost are its miles of undeveloped shoreline. Though just a short distance from the heart of East Hampton, in a fairly populated part of town known as Springs, Accabonac somehow has managed to evade extensive development. Instead of encountering large waterfront homes replete with Adirondack chairs, barbecues, and boats tied up at docks, visitors to the harbor are greeted by an extensive salt-marsh ecosystem, complete with the usual wildlife species that call such areas home. Accabonac’s serene waters flow along low-lying grassy islands, through strands of spartina marsh, and within the mazes of channels in between. The beautiful sandy beaches separating the harbor from the bay are perfect for a short rest, a quick swim, or a long and lazy picnic lunch.

But none of the features that make the harbor so amazing would mean anything if it were inaccessible to paddlers. Thankfully, this is not the case, as two excellent launch sites exist at the end of Landing Lane and Shipyard Lane, respectively. Although neither location boasts more than a safe place to launch a kayak and parking spaces for a handful of cars, both put you on the water—in the southern portion of the harbor—primed and ready to paddle. So while not just anyone can be considered a “Bonacker,” as a local is affectionately known, everyone can—and should—come and experience Accabonac Harbor for themselves.

USGS Quadrangles

GARDINERS ISLAND WEST (NY),

GARDINERS ISLAND EAST (NY)

Landing Lane to Cartwright Island and Back

Level		1B
Distance		8.7 miles round-trip
Time		4 hours
Navigable months		Year-round
Hazards		Open water
Portages		None
Rescue Rescue		Easy
Tidal Tidals		3 hours before or after high tide
Scenery		A+

1 DESCRIPTION The beauty of Accabonac Harbor is obvious, even if you’re just sitting on the beach at the end of Landing Lane. From here, only a small cluster of homes is visible in the distance, with an amazingly vast salt marsh spreading out everywhere in between. Though breathtaking from the sand, this view should be enough to make you jump into your boat as quickly as possible and hit the water.

Once you’ve launched, paddling out of the small cove and hugging the left (west) shore will bring you to a secluded stretch of water. Here you’ll see a handful of homes on the southern shore and the Merrill Lake Sanctuary on the northern side. The latter, owned by The Nature Conservancy, houses one of the most beautiful sections of marsh on Long Island. It serves as an important habitat for many juvenile fish and marine invertebrates while also providing a home for ospreys, terns, and many species of waterfowl. Stay alert while paddling along its shores, and you may be lucky enough to spy willets, black-bellied plovers, or even a glossy ibis or two.

Besides observing the conservancy property, you can also check out another remarkable landmark within this small stretch of water. The home of abstract painter Jackson Pollock sits in the northeasternmost corner, albeit a bit far back from the water’s edge. Heading up the small creek present there during high tides may allow you to get close enough to get a good view of the modest but historic residence.

Head back out onto the main body of the harbor, and you’ll see Wood Tick Island to the east. If you look beyond the island as you pass its northern tip, the harbor’s inlet should come into view. Paddling out the inlet will bring you into Napeague Bay, with Gardiners Island and its smaller sibling, Cartwright, off in the distance. On calm days, the crossing to Cartwright can be a pleasant side trip, though it seems a shame to head out onto the bay from here without first exploring Accabonac Harbor’s relatively unspoiled northern reaches.

Looking north from the Merrill Lake Sanctuary, the scattering of houses along the narrow causeway to the east will be visible, as will what appears to be a long, unbroken stretch of salt marsh to the west. Study the area using Google Earth, though, and the vast network of mosquito ditches that break up the marsh will also be evident. These ditches were dug, like those in 90 percent of the marshes along the East Coast, to promote a greater flow of water into and out of the marsh areas. The thought behind this was that mosquitoes rely on standing water to lay eggs and produce larvae. Thus, if water could be kept from standing, the insects could be kept from laying eggs, effectively stopping the spread of these nuisance critters and the sicknesses they carry.

TWO OF ACCABONAC’S BIRDS

Although the effectiveness of the ditches is arguable, their detrimental effects on ecosystems have become widely known—they’ve been found to increased the flow of both pollutants into marsh areas and desirable nutrients out of them. For these reasons, many conservation groups, The Nature Conservancy included, have recently begun taking steps to remedy this problem.

Look up the ditches you’ll pass while paddling north along Accabonac’s western shore, and you’ll see one such effort. Small dams made of sandbags and branches have been erected at the ends of many ditches, slowing down the flow of water and allowing it to remain in the marsh during low tide. This may allow more mosquito larvae to survive in the area, but it also gives predatory fish greater access to the juvenile insects. Unfortunately, these makeshift dams require constant upkeep if expected to continue functioning. Witnessing the breakdown of some of the dams makes it obvious that the conservation groups have a long road ahead of them.

You can paddle more than 1 mile north along this marsh before you reach the harbor’s northern tip. Only a few houses, set back a bit from the water, can be seen along the way, allowing you to focus instead on the large groups of diving terns, swimming cormorants, and wading bitterns and egrets that are quite common here in the spring and summer. Once you’ve reached the harbor’s end, turn around and head south; just 0.5 mile ahead, a narrow bridge provides another access point to Napeague Bay and Gardiners Island, 2 miles distant.

All of Gardiners Island is private property and, as such, is off-limits for boaters. That said, it still makes for an excellent paddling destination, especially the last little piece of land along its southward-stretching archipelago known as Cartwright Island. With an isolated location, a lack of predators, and an abundant supply of food, Cartwright has become home to an astonishing assortment of birds ranging from oystercatchers to terns and black skimmers. Binoculars and cameras are a must for anyone making the crossing. The 2-mile trip should be attempted only during optimal weather conditions, however, as the wind, waves, and tidal currents here can all combine to make the crossing quite dangerous. Remember, too, that landing on the island is prohibited. It is a great spot to observe nature, but not to stop and have a quick bite to eat.

Heading almost due west from Cartwright will bring you back to the mainland and Accabonac Harbor’s inlet. This opening can be quite shallow, especially during low tides, and can be crowded with swimmers during hot summer days. Stick to its right (north) side, though, and you should be able to slip through with little trouble. Once you’re back in the harbor, Wood Tick Island will lie directly ahead, with the beach on Landing Lane just beyond that. You may opt to turn left (south) here rather than head back to your car, though, as long as the tide is high enough to allow passage. While nothing more than a mudflat at low tide, this section of the harbor, known as East Harbor, is completely undeveloped and provides another 1.5 miles of shoreline to explore. Just pass around Louse Point, on the inlet’s southern shore, head beyond the small flotilla of working boats floating at their moorings, and the area’s serenity will be yours.

Just as it will be easy to lose yourself in your surroundings, it may be easy to lose your way back to your put-in. Should this happen, heading back to Wood Tick Island is the best way to find an open route to the beach. Skirt around the island to the left and you should see the beach at Landing Lane a few paddle strokes later.

SHUTTLE DIRECTIONS To get to the put-in at the end of Landing Lane, take NY 27 (Montauk Highway) into the town of East Hampton. Continue heading through town on NY 27 until North Main Street branches off just south of the large windmill. Head north on North Main Street 0.3 mile before turning right onto Accabonac Road. Continue north on Accabonac Road 3.6 miles until it ends. Turn left onto Old Stone Highway and take your first right onto Landing Lane. Look for the small beach and parking area at the road’s end.

GPS COORDINATES

Put-in/take-out

N41° 01.115′ W72° 08.738′

Tide station

Promised Land, Napeague Bay, NY

N40° 59.898′ W72° 04.902′