10 Beaches You Can Visit for Free to Take a Winter Stroll

This is the time of year when a beach walk means long shadows on the sand, a pair of gloves in the pocket, and -- yippee! -- free parking. In all likelihood, you can take your dog along, too, provided you also take a leash and a plastic bag. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Parking is always free at , which is open from sunrise to sunset and where you can stroll the shore of Gardiner's Bay and take a look at the . Be advised, however, that walking the beach from sunrise to noon on Wednesday through Sunday is not recommended at this time of year, as duck hunting is allowed on the beach then.

2. is on the ocean in Montauk. In season it costs $10 just to park here for the day, but now you can visit for free and enjoy the beach, the playground, and the desolation of an unpopulated campground. Like Cedar Point, it's open sunrise to sunset.

3. Long Beach in Noyac, which is on Noyac Bay, is under the stewardship of Southampton Town. Daily parking here costs $20 from about May to Labor Day, but it's free now. Leashed dogs are allowed, too.

4. Mecox Beach in Bridgehampton normally requires a Southampton Town beach parking permit or a $20 fee for daily parking. On the ocean, this beach is open to the public without cost until the summer season strikes up.

5. Competition for parking at , on the ocean in East Hampton Village, is fierce in high season. Stickers are required, nonresident ones are hard to get, and daily parking, available on weekdays only, costs $25. However, you can park for free from Sept. 15 to May 15, according to the village's web site.

6. Ditto at , also on the ocean, which is another East Hampton Village beach. In season, daily parking costs $25. It's free for now. 

7. Technically speaking, you need a permit to park at all East Hampton Town beaches, even in winter. In practice, visitors routinely stop by in the off-season and no one bothers them a bit. One popular beach is, of course, in Montauk, where people stroll the shore, walk their dogs, watch the surfing, and admire the looming cliffs of and Rheinstein Park.

8. Another is , which is on Block Island Sound in Montauk. From the sand here you can see the two jetties framing Montauk Harbor, from which big commercial fishing boats emerge -- or return, depending on the time of day. You can walk the eastern jetty, on the west side of the beach, or head east toward the outer beach of .

9. is another East Hampton Town beach. It's on the ocean in Amagansett, which is said to be the Montaukett name for "place of good water"  -- thus the name Indian Wells.

10. Albert's Landing is on Napeague Bay in Amagansett. There's a little creek that runs out, a picnic area, and a somewhat stony beach. One again, you're technically supposed to have an East Hampton Town parking sticker.