DAY TRIP FROM NYC: SAG HARBOR, NY
The charming village of Sag Harbor is located on the eastern part of Long Island and is partly in Southampton and partly in East Hampton. Sag Harbor is the perfect summer getaway, it’s just two hours by car from New York City. You’ll find a lot of small town charm in Sag Harbor, there are so many fun things to do and it’s full of history! Sag Harbor was first settled in the 1700s and was named after the neighboring village of Sagaponack which is located south of Sag Harbor. A fun fact about Sag Harbor is that it’s mentioned in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick.
“Arrived at last in old Sag Harbor; and seeing what the sailors did there; and then going on to Nantucket, and seeing how they spent their wages in that place also, poor Queequeg gave it up for lost. Thought he, it’s a wicked world in all meridians; I’ll die a pagan.”
THINGS TO DO IN SAG HARBOR
VISIT THE WINDMILL AT THE WINDMILL BEACH
Windmill Beach is located in downtown Sag Harbor Village and is a very well known beach for locals and tourists since it’s a beautiful place to catch the sunset. This cute little beach is not so much a beach that you’d want to jump in and go for a swim rather more of a beach where you can hangout and have a picnic at. There is plenty of free parking and clean public restrooms. Restrooms and parking are located on Marine Park Drive. Another great place to park is in Parking Lot A at 31 Division St.
CATCH A MOVIE AT THE SAG HARBOR CINEMA
They also have a virtual cinema option where you can purchase a ticket to watch a movie virtually. If you are curious of what the cinema looks like from the inside, go on a photo tour of the inside, click here for the free photo tour.
VISIT A HISTORIAL MUSEUM
Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum, Main Street - The museum is set in a 1845 mansion with whaling exhibits and a gift shop with homemade nautical gifts. This historic building is located on South Main Street and open for daily guided tours 10 to 5 during the summer months. As of right now it is temporarily closed but they do have a free virtual museum tour that you can explore at home!
Sag Harbor Historical Society: The Annie Cooper Boyd House, 174 Main St - This 18th century Sag Harbor home has some amazing historic exhibits, it’s the perfect place to see a glimpse of early life Sag Harbor. Annie Cooper Boyd was a local artist who did an amazing job at documenting life in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The Sag Harbor Historical Society holds archives of historical documents, books, photography, art, and clothing from that period. This small museum is 100% worth stopping to check out!
Sag Harbor Fire Department Museum, 46 Church Street - In the 1800’s four huge fires broke out in the village which led to the first volunteer fire department in New York State. The museum is actually the original 1833 building and holds old firefighting equipment including a 1890’s hand-pulled hose cart and an early 1900’s fire trucks. There is a $1 admission fee.
WHERE TO SHOP IN SAG HARBOR
Sag Harbor Variety Store, Main Street - If you happen to visit Sag Harbor and you forgot any essential items such as sunscreen the Sag Harbor Variety Store is full stocked with anything you could possibly need. They have snacks and drinks, souvenirs such as postcards for $.39 each, and Sag Harbor merchandise.
Sylvester & Co. Modern General®, Main Street - This home goods store doesn’t just have fabulous home pieces, they are also a wonderful coffee shop with great coffee! My favorite things to browse through are the kitchen items. I’ve personally found some really great serving bowls and utensils. If you happen to visit during the holidays and you’re looking for gifts, Sylvester & Co. has some really great stuff to gift anyone who has an eye for home decor or would enjoy a thoughtful gift basket.
Sag Harbor Books, Main Street - Sag Harbor Books has a large variety of different genres of books for all ages. One really neat thing I enjoyed was browsing through the first editions and collectible books they have in the back near the register. They are very pricey ($11,500 for a Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900 first edition) if you are in the market for a first edition add Sag Harbor Books to your must-visit-list!
The Wharf Shop, Main Street - The Wharf Shop is a family owned specialty toy, gift and card store since 1968. I’ve found some really unique items here such as Long Island based chocolates, color-in postcards from The Hamptons, and unique Sag Harbor gift ideas. Located just across the street from LT Burger this cute little store is worth stopping by to take a look around.
WHERE TO EAT IN SAG HARBOR
Schiavoni's Market, 48 Main St - If you are looking to have a picnic Schiavoni's Market is the perfect stop! They have a variety of fresh baked sweet treats and a great selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Consider having a picnic at the Windmill Beach or Marine Park there are plenty of picnic tables and benches to people watch or boat watch!
LT Burger, 62 Main St - This is definitely one of the most affordable restaurants in Sag Harbor, plus you can’t go wrong with burgers and shakes! Along with their delicious burgers and shakes you can get a variety of different sweets such as deep fried oreos, floats, hot fudge sundaes, and fountain sodas all below $9 a piece! If you aren’t feeling burgers and shakes they also have brunch items like pancakes, omelets, chili, New England clam chowder, bbq nachos, and salads!
Stop by Grindstone Coffee & Donuts for a sweet treat, I personally loved the cinnamon sugar donut holes plus they’re great to snack on while walking down Main Street. Grindstone Coffee & Donuts has a variety of delicious flavors such as chocolate churro, lemon poppyseed and Nutella s’more. They also have breakfast sandwiches if you are in the food for a savory breakfast on the go. During the hot summer months stop by Big Olaf's Ice Cream for homemade ice cream! They have a wide variety of different ice cream and frozen yogurt flavors, 34 to be exact, but my favorite is the soft serve swirl of chocolate and vanilla in a waffle cone, plus they make their waffle cones homemade too!
That concludes our trip to Sag Harbor, New York! We had a blast visiting Sag Harbor and walking down Main Street, we started making out way over to Montauk soon after visiting so stay tuned for more posts on East Long Island.
If I missed any of your favorite places in Sag Harbor, comment below I’d love to check out new places next time we visit!
Enjoy this post? Pin it!
