East Hampton beach permits expected to sell out before Memorial Day

The Town of East Hampton officially put nonresident beach permits up for sale on February 1. And maybe it seems a bit early to be scrambling down to Village Hall to grab yours, but keep in mind that they sell out every year—and they sell out quick.

The permit will allow nonresidents to park at any of the town’s five village beaches: Main, Georgica, Egypt, Wiborg’s, and Two Mile Hollow. To park, one will need the permit from May 15 to September 15.

The rush is on because, unlike resident parking permits, there are only a limited number of nonresident parking permits available for the 2017 season. Last year, about half of the available permits were sold after one week, and it took only about three more weeks to completely sell out. Bottom line: if you choose to wait to get yours until Memorial Day weekend, you’ll probably be out of luck.

Frank Eltman / Associated Press

In good news, the town did increase the number of available nonresident parking permits from 3,000 to 3,100. But that might not be a big enough increase to convince people that the sacred beach passes are going to be any easier to get your hands on.

In bad news (sorry), permits from last year are no good. This year’s permit costs $400, a slight increase from last year’s $375. If you miss out on the permits, it’s going to cost $30 a day to park at Two Mile Hollow and Main beach. You cannot pay by the day for the other three village beaches.

The moral here is that if being able to drive to these specific beaches is important to your Hamptons livelihood, head down to Village Hall or the Main Beach office (open 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Monday through Friday). If you can’t make it out to the East End, send in payment by mail or register online.

But is it really worth it? Most people agree that Main beach is practically the best beach around, but there are plenty of other beaches that you can go to. There are also stories where someone will purchase the permit thinking that it was the safe thing to do, only to not be able to make it out to the Hamptons as often as they’d hoped they would.

You can also see if you qualify for a resident parking permit.

Our suggestion? Save the $400 and gas emissions by riding your bike. And get yourself ready for summer by watching the waves on live cam of Main Beach.

• East Hampton Beach Permits Are Already 75% Sold Out? [Curbed]
• Beach Permits Going Fast [East Hampton Star]
• Village Beach Permits: Going, Going… [East Hampton Star]
• Beaches [East Hampton Village]
• Village of East Hampton Beach Permits [East Hampton Village]
• Town Clerk, residency requirements [Town of East Hampton]
• Main Beach Cam [Hamptons.com]