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Writer's pictureNoe Heivanui

I Got Lost at Camp Hero, NY

Updated: Jun 17, 2020


Montauk Point State Park - Block Island Sound side. The weather was delicious, it felt like a cold, crisp, spring day, the light was vibrant and exquisite, the air was invigorating!

My little adventure at the end of the world was supposed to only take about an hour and a half, but over four hours later, freezing and just at the end of sunset, I found myself again! LOL I am a dork, I had left my portable phone charger and my heavy coat in my car so... note to self: Next time prepare better.

Camp Hero State Park encompasses 415 acres of diverse landscape including heavily wooded areas, a long expanse of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean, and a historic military installation. Specific features of Camp Hero are magnificent pristine maritime forests, freshwater wetlands, spectacular ocean vistas and dramatic bluffs rising from the beach. An extensive system of trails is available for hiking, biking and horseback riding. The park boasts some of the best surf and fishing locations in the world. An undisturbed environment shelters bountiful wildlife and an abundance of birds.

The former military base that is in the park is registered as a National Historic Site, which used to be the Montauk Air Force Station. It was originally commissioned by the U.S. Army in 1942 as coastal defense station disguised as a fishing village, and its location was chosen to prevent a potential invasion of New York from the sea.

Camp Hero was named after Major General Andrew Hero, Jr., who was the Army's Commander of coastal artillery, who died in 1942. Three gun batteries were built there, replacing most of the other heavy guns in the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound, which also included Fort H. G. Wright, Fort Michie, and Fort Terry. Two batteries of two 16-inch guns each were built, Batteries 112 and 113 (officially named Battery Dunn - and also where I had parked my car, hence me starting my hike on the 113 Battery Trail). Another battery of two 6-inch guns was also built, Battery 216. All three batteries consisted mainly of a large concrete bunker covered with earth, containing ammunition magazines and fire control equipment.


In 1992, Preston Nichols and Peter Moon wrote The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time in which they alleged that secret experiments were carried out at the Camp Hero site. The book was popular with conspiracy theorists, and spawned several sequels. (See more on Wikipedia)


My hike at Camp Hero brought me to a whopping zero encounter with aliens (so disappointed), just my dorky self and how to get lost amidst former Air Force base batteries, giant bunkers and radar towers. All I know is that I was on the 113 Battery Trail and ended up by the lighthouse and on completely different paths on the way back to my car, which I didn’t find til end of sunset luckily lol.

I have officially done all the Hamptons trails now except for the ones west of Southampton. (Next is Sears Bellows Park in Hampton Bays.)

 

Here I’m standing on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Montauk Point State Park. Theses views are epic and the smell and the colors of this ocean are truly magnificent!



 


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