East Hampton maps public tennis courts, clinics expand access for families

A public-court map that actually helps you play

East Hampton’s tennis page does something the Hamptons often makes difficult: it shows where a family, a summer renter or a local without a club membership can still get on court. The network is modest, but it is real, and it stretches across Springs, Amagansett, Montauk and East Hampton instead of locking tennis behind private gates.

That matters on the East End, where the private-club scene can overwhelm the public picture. The town’s system is built around a few well-placed facilities, practical rules and seasonal instruction, which together create a path for players who want a game without an application, a waitlist or a full club buy-in.

Where the public courts are

The town’s map points to five key public tennis sites, each serving a slightly different corner of East Hampton. In Springs, the Springs Youth Association building includes three tennis and pickleball courts, alongside classrooms, an activity hall, a kitchen, an office, outside handball courts and a basketball court. That makes it more than a place to hit a few balls; it is a community hub with tennis folded into a larger rec complex.

In Amagansett, Lt. Lee Hayes Youth Park at 216 Abraham’s Path has two tennis courts, and so does the Abrahams Path Recreational Facility. That gives the hamlet a meaningful public presence, especially for families who live nearby and want a court without driving to a club. East Hampton itself has tennis courts at Lions Field, and Montauk has two courts at the end of South Emery Street, with additional stand-alone pickleball courts nearby.

The spread is useful, but it also shows the limits of the system. East Hampton Town does not have a dense public-court grid in every hamlet, so access still depends on where you are staying, what time you can play and whether you are willing to travel a bit for a court.

How the town courts work day to day

The practical rules are straightforward, which is part of what keeps the network usable. The courts are for tennis use only, unauthorized commercial activity is prohibited, dogs are not allowed, and play is limited to one hour if others are waiting. Players also use the courts at their own risk.

That last part matters because it frames these courts as shared public space, not a managed club environment with a front desk and staff supervising every session. At Lions Field, the town goes one step further: the two courts are available for play without reservation, and they are also marked for pickleball. For anyone piecing together a summer schedule, that is the kind of detail that can save an afternoon.

Lt. Lee Hayes Youth Park is the clearest access point for families

If you want the town’s public tennis story in one place, Lt. Lee Hayes Youth Park is it. The park sits at 216 Abraham’s Path in East Hampton and includes two tennis courts, an oval track, an inline hockey rink, a basketball court, a playground, a skateboard park with a half-pipe and rails, picnic tables, a clubhouse, ADA-accessible rest rooms, a changing table and parking.

The park also carries a layered local history. It was dedicated to Lieutenant Lee Archer Hayes, who local coverage identified as a Tuskegee Airman. Newsday reported that Hayes later became a town Democratic committeeman and a founding member of Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton. The renaming and dedication were reported as taking place on June 18, 2022, with the park located at the intersection of Town Lane and Abraham’s Path.

That combination of athletic space, playground infrastructure and local memory makes the park especially important for families. It is not just where tennis happens. It is where tennis sits inside a broader day at the park, which is exactly what public access should feel like in a summer town.

Clinics turn the public courts into a real pathway

The most important access story on the town page is not the courts themselves but the instruction attached to them. East Hampton Town says TOEH Tennis clinics are offered in spring, summer and fall at Lt. Lee Hayes Youth Park, and registration is handled online through Recreation Programs. That turns the park into more than a place to rally; it becomes an entry point for local children who need regular coaching and a structured place to learn.

For families, that distinction is huge. A court map tells you where to go, but clinics tell you how tennis becomes part of a child’s week. In a town where private clubs often set the tone, town-run instruction creates a more open ladder into the sport, especially for kids who are not already attached to a facility.

The Recreation Department’s mission is broader than tennis

East Hampton’s Recreation Department describes its mission as providing a wide variety of safe recreational opportunities, programs and events for all ages. It also says it continually seeks to expand accessible opportunities, uses both town and non-town facilities for programming, and invites people with sports expertise to help add new programs.

That matters because it explains why tennis shows up the way it does here. The town is not pretending to run a full-scale tennis resort. Instead, it is maintaining a public-service model: a few courts, recurring clinics and a willingness to use different spaces to keep the programs going. In practice, that is how East Hampton preserves access for residents and visitors who are outside the private-club circuit.

The scale gap with private facilities is still real

The contrast with the commercial tennis economy around the town is hard to miss. East Hampton Indoor Tennis describes itself as a premium public tennis facility and club with 20 outdoor and 8 indoor courts. SPORTIME Amagansett says it is the largest outdoor tennis facility in the Hamptons, spread across 25 acres and serving 500 to 1,000 players and campers each day during summer.

Those figures are a reminder of what the town’s network is, and what it is not. The public system is smaller, simpler and more dispersed, which is why the town map matters so much. It tells you where the true public openings are: Springs for mixed-use community access, Amagansett for the clearest family programming, Lions Field for no-reservation play, and Montauk for a western-edge option that keeps the East End from feeling completely club-bound.

For anyone trying to play public tennis on the East End, that is the real guide. Start with the town courts, watch the clinic calendar, and use the public network for what it does best: giving ordinary players a way onto the court without asking them to belong to a private club first.