Every Long Island parent knows the routine. School ends, the kids are home, and the clock starts ticking on filling eleven weeks with something — anything — that doesn’t involve a screen, a complaint about being bored, or another afternoon at the same crowded beach you’ve been going to since 2009.
The beach is great. Nobody’s saying it isn’t. But it’s also everywhere, it’s always crowded in July, and it’s not exactly the kind of thing your kids come home from and immediately start describing in detail to anyone who will listen.
These are the summer activities that actually stick. The ones that become the story at the dinner table, the first thing they tell their friends about in September, the highlight of the whole summer. We’ve put together a list of the best things to do on Long Island with kids this summer — and right at the top of it is something most Long Island families haven’t tried yet.
1. Water Tubing on Huntington Bay
What happens next is the part parents don’t fully anticipate until they see it. The boat picks up speed, the tube starts bouncing off the wake, and the screaming begins. Not scared screaming — the other kind. Pure, involuntary, I-can’t-believe-this-is-happening joy.
Over the Top Watersports runs tubing sessions out of Northport on Huntington Bay, and it has become one of the most popular family activities on Long Island’s North Shore for exactly this reason. It works for every age — the five-year-old and the fifty-year-old, the fearless kid and the cautious one. Everybody’s equally good at it from minute one.
Long Island boat tubing on Huntington Bay also comes with some of the best scenery the Island has to offer — Northport Harbor in the background, calm protected water, and a bay that’s genuinely beautiful. You’re not just doing an activity. You’re having an experience.
2. Wakeboarding Lessons for Kids and Teens
For older kids, teens, and parents who want something with a little more challenge, wakeboarding lessons in Northport are one of the best investments you can make in your kid’s summer.
Wakeboarding has a learning curve — but it’s shorter than most people expect, and the payoff when a kid gets up for the first time is enormous. There’s a specific kind of pride that comes from mastering something physical that felt impossible twenty minutes earlier. Wakeboarding delivers that feeling reliably, and the instructors at Over the Top are genuinely skilled at getting beginners upright and smiling.
Huntington Bay’s calm, protected water makes it one of the best wakeboarding spots on Long Island for beginners. No choppy ocean conditions, no unpredictable surf — just smooth water and a great boat. For kids who love skateboarding, snowboarding, or anything board-related, this is the summer sport that’s going to take over their lives.
3. Wakesurfing — The Sport They’ll Become Obsessed With
If your family hasn’t heard of wakesurfing yet, get ready. It’s the fastest-growing watersport on the water right now, and once someone in your family tries it, everyone else is going to want a turn.
Wakesurfing is surfing — real surfing, on a real wave — behind a boat. You start with a rope to get up, and then you drop it. No rope, no bindings, just you and a wave that travels with the boat indefinitely. It’s accessible enough for beginners and deep enough to keep experienced riders engaged for years.
Over the Top offers wake surfing lessons and full wakesurf charters on Huntington Bay out of Northport. For teenagers especially, this is the activity that replaces everything else on the summer agenda. Fair warning: they will ask to go back every week.
4. A Private Boat Charter for the Whole Family
For families who want to do it all in one day, a private family boat charter with Over the Top is the move. You get the boat to yourselves — no sharing with strangers, no schedule set by someone else. Mix tubing, wakeboarding, and wakesurfing into a single outing, with a cruise around Huntington Bay built in.
Family-friendly boat charters on Long Island don’t get better than this. Over the Top has the experience and the flexibility to build a day that works for every age in your group, from the youngest kids to the grandparents who swear they’re just going to watch and then end up on the tube.
5. A Sunset Cruise for the Whole Family
Not every summer memory needs to be high-speed. The sunset cruise is the quiet, beautiful version of a day on the water — a private boat ride out on Huntington Bay as the sun drops and the North Shore goes gold.
It’s the kind of thing that slows everyone down. Phones come out for a minute, photos get taken, and then they get put away — because the real thing is better. Families who do the sunset cruise tend to describe it the same way: peaceful, beautiful, and genuinely one of the best evenings of the summer.
Why Huntington Bay Is the Right Choice
Long Island has a lot of water, but not all of it is equally suited for watersports and family boat activities. Huntington Bay on the North Shore checks every box.
The water is calm and protected — none of the chop and unpredictability of open ocean. The scenery is exceptional — Northport Village is one of the most charming waterfronts on the Island. It’s centrally located for most of Long Island. And it’s significantly less crowded than South Shore or Hamptons alternatives.
Over the Top Watersports has been operating on Huntington Bay long enough to know exactly how to make the most of it. The captains know the water, the equipment is excellent, and the experience is designed to be genuinely memorable rather than just adequate.
Book Before Summer Fills Up
Here’s the thing about summer on Long Island: it goes fast, and the best dates go fastest. June and July weekends fill up well in advance, especially for popular time slots. If you’re planning a family outing for July, you should be booking in June. If you want a specific Saturday in August, you should probably be booking right now.
Over the Top Watersports keeps experiences personal and high-quality — which means availability is limited by design. The families who get the sessions they want are the ones who don’t wait.
Visit overthetopwatersports.com to explore everything on offer and lock in your date. Summer is happening right now. Get out on the water while it lasts.