Thousands head to the beach Wednesday as temperatures soar

All four state park beaches on Long Island will extend lifeguard hours until about 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., depending on crowd sizes.

Jon Dowding

Jun 20, 2024, 2:39 AM

Updated 100 days ago

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As temps began to rise on the Juneteenth holiday, many Long Islanders flocked to the beach to soak up the sun and cool down.
All state park beaches had free admission Wednesday. Robert Moses State Park was nearly at capacity with more than 35,000 people soaking up the sun there. All four state park beaches on Long Island will extend lifeguard hours until about 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., depending on crowd sizes.
Jolie Ilchert, from Mineola, says she barely found a place to sit at Jones Beach.
"We walked on and there were like hundreds of people and then we get to the sand, and there was just not a single spot,” she said.
Further west, Lido West Beach was at capacity and plenty of people soaked up the sun in Long Beach before volleyball players took to the sand.
State park beaches will have free admission again Thursday.