Guides · Updated September 2026
Free. Actually free.
No admission, no tickets, no catch (we flag parking fees honestly). Long Island hides an absurd amount of free: entire preserves, world-class gardens’ cheaper cousins, museums that never started charging, and villages that are the attraction.
Outdoors: preserves, boardwalks, and views
The Island’s best free rooms have no walls.
Avalon Nature Preserve
Stony Brook
Outdoors Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
Shirley
Outdoors Frank Melville Memorial Park
Setauket
Outdoors Norman J. Levy Park & Preserve
Merrick
Shu Swamp Preserve
Mill Neck
Outdoors Argyle Park
Babylon Village
Arthur J. Hendrickson Park
Valley Stream
Garden Bailey Arboretum
Lattingtown
Bayard Cutting Arboretum
Great River
Outdoors Belmont Lake State Park
North Babylon
Outdoors Bethpage State Park & Bikeway
Farmingdale
Outdoors Blydenburgh County Park
Smithtown
Culture without a ticket
Museums, galleries, and icons that cost nothing.
Museum Heckscher Museum of Art
Huntington
Icon The Big Duck
Flanders
20th Century Cycles
Oyster Bay
Museum Dia Bridgehampton (Dan Flavin Art Institute)
Bridgehampton
American Merchant Marine Museum
Kings Point
Museum Amagansett Life-Saving Station
Amagansett
Arts Center at Duck Creek
Springs (East Hampton)
Icon Babylon Village
Babylon
Icon Bald Hill Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Farmingville
Museum Bayport Aerodrome Living Aviation Museum
Bayport
Icon Camp Hero State Park
Montauk
Icon Cathedral of the Incarnation
Garden City
Free events coming up
Zero-dollar plans with actual dates.
Northport Farmers Market
through Nov 21 · Northport · Saturdays 8am-12:30pm through Nov 21 (no market Sept 19) · free
Saturday mornings by the harbor with local farms, bakers, and makers. Runs deep into November, well past the fair-weather markets.
Westhampton Beach Farmers Market
through Nov 21 · Westhampton Beach · Saturdays 9am-1pm on the Village Green, running into late November, rain or shine · free
Sixty-plus growers, baymen, and bakers on the Village Green every Saturday, and it keeps going long after the summer people leave. The late-fall markets are the ones worth the trip.
Port Washington Farmers Market
through Oct 31 · Port Washington · Saturdays 8am-noon at the Town Dock, June through October, rain or shine · free
An all-organic market on the Town Dock with Manhasset Bay as the backdrop, run by local environmental advocates who take their soil seriously. Fish, bread, flowers, and the best water view of any market in Nassau.
Islip Farmers Market
through Nov 21 · Islip · Saturdays 7am-noon, Islip Town Hall lot on Montauk Highway, through November 21 · free
A 7am start means the serious shoppers and actual Long Island farmers set the tone here, not the latte crowd. Runs deep into November when most markets have packed it in.
Sayville Farmers Market
through Nov 21 · Sayville · Saturdays 9am-2pm at the Islip Grange, Broadway Avenue, May through November · free
Nearly 40 vendors spread across the historic Islip Grange grounds, from fresh seafood to local whiskey. The rare farmers market with enough room to actually move on a Saturday.
Huntington Village Farmers Market
through Nov 29 · Huntington · Sundays 7:30am-noon on Main Street, season runs through November · free
Produce, meat, coffee, and sweets every Sunday morning in the heart of the village. Get there early, the good bread goes fast.
San Gennaro Feast of the Hamptons
Hampton Bays · Sept 12-13 on Good Ground Road · free
Zeppole, sausage and peppers, and live music. Little Italy energy, Hampton Bays zip code.
Hicks Nurseries Fall Festival
Westbury · Daily Sept 12 through Nov 1; weekend activities with Otto the Ghost · free
The 51st year of Otto the Ghost, pumpkins, and cider donuts at Long Island's oldest garden center. Free admission, free parking.