The History 

 Also known as Fort Hero or the Montauk Air Force Station, Camp Hero was a military base at the eastern tip of Long Island.  It was given to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Society in the 1980's.  Camp Hero State Park consists of 415 acres of diverse landscape which includes miles of heavily wooded areas, an historic military instillation and a long expanse of beachfront along the Atlantic Ocean.

Specific features found in this park are the magnificent pristine maritime forest, natural freshwater wetlands, spectacular ocean vistas and dramatic bluffs rising from the ocean.  This day use recreational facility offers an extensive system of trails for hiking, bicycling and horseback riding.  A bounty of wildlife may be seen in an undisturbed environment along with an abundance of birds for observation.  Specific facilities include picnic areas, a small parking field and a former military base that is registered as a National Historic Site.

Currently, Camp Hero is designated as a limited public park, but has many uses in the past 200 years, including as a revolutionary war canon practice site. During its history, there have been two major military uses for the Camp Hero.

•  In 1942, It was established to serve as a costal defense installation during World War 2, with 600 enlisted men and 37 officers stationed at its peak in 1949.

•  In 1951 the U.S Air Force began using the Camp Hero site for Antiaircraft Artillery (AAA) training which continued until 1957.

It was decommissioned in the 1980s and is now owned by the New York State Dept of Parks.

The Conspiracy

Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no evidence of any secret underground facility or of the supposed Montauk Project which supposedly occurred at the base.  The experiment was an alleged naval military test that occurred in October of 1943 in which the U.S. destroyer escort USS Eldridge was to be rendered invisible to human observers for a brief period of time.  Truth or myth?  You be the judge: Philadelphia Experiment

The Fishing

 Camp Hero