Meschutt is the stillwater beach. It is a supervised bathing beach on Great Peconic Bay, on the east side of the Shinnecock Canal, with a windsurfing and sailing area. Stillwater is the useful word: no surf, little current on a calm day and water that warms faster than the ocean. For small children and nervous swimmers it is one of the few places on the South Fork where that can be said about a public beach.
County parks add amenities that the town beaches often lack: a playground, a food concession, restrooms and kayak rentals. The beach is at Canal Road and Old North Highway in Hampton Bays, and the county phone is 631-852-8205. It is working water, with boats using the canal, so keep children inside the swimming area and away from the channel. The calm water guide ranks it with the other bay options.
Parking fees run Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and can change with the lifeguard season. Suffolk County tests bathing beaches on a risk-based schedule, and the water quality guide explains what the results mean. Permits and parking are on Hamptons Beach Pass.
