Hither Hills keeps its campground loops on the ocean bluff at Montauk, close enough that the Atlantic is the night noise. Camp Hero's old batteries are still in the scrub on that same bluff, a former military installation with no swimming and no camping. The lighthouse at Montauk Point is the day at the end of the island, and Ditch Plains is the beach in between with the long right-hand break.
You spend the days on that same shoreline; Camp Hero allows surf fishing, and Montauk Point is a lighthouse stop with no overnight of its own.
The van night is Hither Hills, about 190 sites on the ocean. Book that site before the van. Reserve America takes reservations up to nine months ahead as of September 2026, with one seven-night stay per name in peak season, mid-June through mid-September. The campground stays open into late November.
Long Island's parkways
Long Island's parkways ban commercial vehicles. Northern State, Southern State, and the rest of that network post stone-bridge clearances as low as 6 feet 11 in NYSDOT's parkway brochure, as of September 2026. A tall van checks the height on the listing and takes the expressway and state routes instead. A routing app will still try the parkway line, so stay on the numbered roads.
Wildwood State Park at Wading River
North Shore weekends go to Wildwood State Park at Wading River. Select sites have electric hookups, and some have water and sewer, listed on Reserve America with RV and trailer pads from 20 to 50 feet. The season runs April into October.
April, May, and October are easy nights here.
Heckscher State Park and the Sayville ferry
Sleep at Heckscher State Park the night before the Sayville ferry, or when a peak Hither Hills stay is already used. Campsites have no electric, water, or sewer hookups, and back-in length tops out at 30 feet, with pull-throughs to 50, per Reserve America. If you need more length or sleeping space than a campervan, look at RVs for rent on Long Island.
The season runs late May through early September, and from Sayville the Sayville Ferry runs to Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines, Water Island, and Sailors Haven. Fire Island does not take vehicles. A hand-pulled wagon is how you move gear once you are across.
Jones Beach State Park stays day-use, a long Atlantic beach with no overnight. Robert Moses State Park does the same on the next stretch of sand, with a walk toward Kismet and Saltaire.
The city side of the trip is Queens's.
Smith Point and Cedar Point
Smith Point County Park puts a campground on the drive-on end of the Fire Island barrier beach. Suffolk County requires reservations, with water at every site and electric and sewer at many. That is the Fire Island overnight you can sleep in the van.
At East Hampton, Cedar Point County Park sends you down a walkable sand spit the 1938 hurricane built out toward the 1860 lighthouse, originally 200 yards offshore. The park posts a low-clearance bridge on Stephen Hands Path, under 10 feet, and an RV alternate route, as of September 2026. Sag Harbor and the Hamptons are the towns around that end of the island.
The North Fork
Drive the North Fork for wine and farms. Greenport is on that drive, and Orient Beach State Park is the stop on Gardiner's Bay, a National Natural Landmark with no camping, per the state park page. Riverhead is the town at the split.