Montauk Point Lighthouse is the image most people carry home from Montauk: a white tower on the bluff, Atlantic water on three sides, and surf breaking over the rocks below. It was commissioned under George Washington in 1792 and remains the oldest lighthouse in New York State.
The museum and tower make the history concrete, but the setting is the real reason to come. Walk the shoreline paths around Montauk Point State Park, watch the tide race where the Atlantic meets Block Island Sound, and leave time for the view back toward the lighthouse from the rocks.