HAUPPAUGE, NY--(Marketwire - May 22, 2012) - Take a seat in the sand at any world-class Long Island beach, and when you've relaxed and recharged, the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau invites you to explore some other surprising things to do on Long Island:
1. Experience the 'real' Gold Coast. Long Island's north shore is the setting immortalized in F. Scott Fitzgerald's, The Great Gatsby. Several "Gold Coast" mansions are open for the public's enjoyment.
2. Explore a 300 year-old Sunken Forest at Fire Island National Park, where the trees won't grow any higher than the ocean dunes.
3. Uncover a conspiracy at Camp Hero, Montauk. The Philadelphia Experiment, Phoenix Project, and Montauk Project allege this site overlooking the Atlantic was used for secret government experiments including developing mind control and time travel; and some say aliens were housed there.
4. Visit a Really Big Duck. One of the most famous roadside Long Island attractions. Built in 1931. Now open as a 'duck-a-bilia' gift shop.
5. Spend a Day at the Races. Experience horseracing thrills at Belmont Park, home to horseracing's prestigious Triple Crown. Thoroughbred racing and more.
6. Discover Charles Lindbergh and Aviation History. Visit the Cradle of Aviation museum; see one of Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis planes. Visit Sand's Point Preserve where Lindbergh stayed and penned his book We.
7. Golf Where the USGA's best have battled -- if you dare. Famed architect A.W. Tillinghast designed Bethpage Park's Black, Red and Blue courses in the 1930s. The Black Course was the site of the 2002 and 2009 US Open and the upcoming 2012 Barclays tournament.
8. Tour Long Island Wine Country. An enchanting visit to Long Island's Wine Country transports you to a place where over three dozen wineries open their doors year-round.
9. If you're looking for historic things to do on Long Island, Old Bethpage Village Restoration is a pre-Civil War village with structures including a church, general store, tavern, and farm.
10. Climb the Oldest Lighthouse in NYS, commissioned under President George Washington. The ocean view at Montauk Lighthouse will take your breath away.
Plan your visit with a Free Long Island Travel Guide. www.discoverlongisland.com/tgpress
