In many ways, Mount Sinai’s most striking feature is Cedar Beach, which is framed by Mount Sinai Harbor and the Long Island Sound less than 3 miles from Port Jefferson and 64 miles from Manhattan. Most residents live in spacious homes surrounded by towering trees, just minutes from the beach’s sand and rock shores. It’s a magnetic lifestyle, but for those who live here, it’s not the only part of life in Mount Sinai that matters — so does the community that has formed in the hamlet. “It’s very friendly. Maybe sometimes a little too friendly,” says Dina Powers, an associate broker at Signature Premier Properties who lived in the area for 37 years and has sold homes here for 25 years. “I always say, if you’re in Mount Sinai and you sneeze, people know about it. It’s a small, quaint town. Everybody knows everybody.” Powers says there’s a town Facebook page where people connect, help each other out and give away things they no longer need.
Mount Sinai locals enjoy a day at Cedar beach, where oftentimes there is so much to do.
You can run to Cedar West Beach in Mount Sinai.
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Sun, water and concerts at Cedar Beach
Mount Sinai’s most magnetic outdoor space, Cedar Beach sits on the town’s northern border and features two primary areas. On the eastern end of the arm, Cedar Beach Main attracts bigger crowds because of its large parking area, playground equipment and Tiki Joe’s Beach Club. Tiki Joe’s is a popular seasonal restaurant and bar that features frequent live music on its outdoor patio, which is situated right on the sand. The restaurant also makes it easier for locals to grab a snack or meal without ever having to leave the beach. This part of Cedar Beach also features Mount Sinai’s town marina, but Cedar Beach West draws even more fishing and boating enthusiasts with its fishing pier, the Mount Sinai Yacht Club and Ralph’s Fishing Station marina. “There’s a dock where you can get lures, you can get bait,” says Mildred “Millie” Thomas, an associate broker at Signature Premier Properties who has sold homes here for over 30 years. “People go out on the jetty, and they fish with fishing rods off there, or you have the boats going out. So it’s really nice.”
For some sand-free fun, locals head to Heritage Center Park, which features running and walking paths, baseball fields, a soccer field and a recreation center. When it snows, the park is also a go-to sledding spot. Golfers book a tee time at Willow Creek Golf and Country Club. Bicyclists often head for the North Shore Rail Trail, a 10.5-mile trail that runs all the way to Wading River, and hikers drive 6 miles to Rocky Point State Pine Barrens Preserve for its acres full of wooded trails.
The fishing pier at Cedar West in Mount Sinai is the best place to fish and watch the sunset.
Don't forget your sunscreen when you head down to Cedar Beach in Mount Sinai.
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Fixer-uppers, grand houses and 55-plus communities in Mount Sinai
Home styles in Mount Sinai vary from slightly smaller ranch-style homes to larger colonials and new traditional homes. There are even a few 1980s contemporary-style houses. According to Thomas, historic homes stand along Old Country Road or Shore Road and there are a few gated communities, including The Hamlet at Willow Creek Homes. Mount Sinai’s homes also tend to have a little more land. “People like the lot sizes in Mount Sinai,” says Deloar Khan, a licensed real estate salesperson with AVS Realty. “I’ve shown clients farmhouses and horse ranches in this area as well. You can get a lot of space for the money.” Most homes have at least a third of an acre. Inland fixer-uppers and smaller homes, typically ranging from two to four bedrooms, often cost between $500,000 and $800,000. More updated or larger inland homes range between $850,000 to $1.4 million. Homes in Mount Sinai’s many 55-plus communities like Plymouth Estates and Woodbridge, tend to be a little bit smaller and sit on less land. They also tend to cost less, generally between $350,000 and $650,000.
Mount Sinai also has a few coveted waterfront homes. “There’s not a lot of homes on Harbor Beach Road, but literally, you step out the front door, put your toes in the sand, and you’re right on the beach,” Powers says. Some homes front Mount Sinai Harbor instead, and although these homes lack beach access, they may still have access to the water. Little fixer-uppers by the bay can start at around $675,000, but big, updated homes on the harbor or beach can climb to about $2 million.
While there’s surprisingly only a minor risk of flooding in this waterfront hamlet, hurricane season still brings a major risk of damage from high winds during storms. Most homebuyers need to get insurance to protect against this. The CAP Index crime score is 2 out of 10, compared to the national average of 4.
Gorgeous ranch style homes in Mount Sinai.
Ranches and colonials are among the most popular home types within the Mount Sinai region.
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Summer concerts on the beach, weekly food trucks at Heritage Center Park
During the summer, Tiki Joe’s at Cedar Beach hosts frequent outdoor concerts that draw crowds, and toward the end of summer, there’s the annual Cedar Beach Music and Arts Festival. The Heritage Center also keeps a full calendar of events to bring residents together. “They’ll have Friday night food trucks and they’ll have movies there during the summer at night for kids to watch,” Powers says. The most popular events are Breakfast with Santa, where visitors purchase tickets for the meet-and-eat, and the Christmas tree lighting, a free event where guests warm up with hot cocoa and listen to carolers. Hundreds of people come out for the Memorial Day MURPH event to work out with professional trainers or shop with local health and wellness vendors in honor of Michael Murphy, a Navy lieutenant who died in Afghanistan in 2005.
Many walking trails adorn Heritage Park.
Heritage Park offers a paved walking path with beautiful views around the park, in Mount Sinai.
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Diverse dining along 25A, nearby essentials
Most of Mount Sinai’s shops and restaurants are lined up along state Route 25A. Heritage Diner is a popular choice for breakfast with its vintage vibe, and Amici serves up Italian classics with weekly trivia nights and live music on the weekends. Midori Sushi & Steakhouse has sushi and hibachi-style dining and friends often meet at Benchwarmer’s Tavern and Grill for drinks and a lively atmosphere with karaoke on Saturdays and games like shuffleboard every day of the week. Heritage Chemists Pharmacy is a small family-owned pharmacy located right next to a little clothing and skincare boutique owned by the same family. Little boutiques and other essentials like Mount Sinai Animal Hospital, a popular veterinary care facility, are also located in the community. For more shopping and dining, Port Jefferson’s bustling downtown and Port Jefferson Station are just a few minutes away. “You can go in any one direction and get whatever you want — pizza, sushi, anything,” Powers says. “You don’t have to go far to get anything you need.” There are no grocery stores in Mount Sinai itself, but ShopRite and Ideal Food Basket are both only about a mile outside the hamlet.
Stop by Cafe Spiga Ristorante and Pizzeria for their fun happy hours, right in Mount Sinai.
Grab all your local groceries from Shop Rite, close to Mount Sinai.
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Baked goods for a cause at Hope Academy
Hope Academy at Little Portion Friary is an example of locals’ desire to help one another. Once a friary, the complex is now a nonprofit rehab center that aims to help young and homeless men struggling with addiction and build career skills and experience — at no cost to them. Members of the community often volunteer there or stop in to buy things the residents make during career training in the bakery. The Grateful Bread Bakery is, in part, a holdover from its time as a friary, but one that combines its fresh purpose with locals’ long-lasting love for it. “You can go there and get the best bread and brownies and cookies,” Thomas says. On the weekends, the bakery’s doors stay unlocked even when there’s no one staffing it, following a “pay what you can” model for the bread left there.
Athletics and academics at Mount Sinai High
Mount Sinai School District earns an A from Niche and contains just three schools. According to Powers, the graduating class often numbers just 200 students. “And the high school, the middle school, and the elementary school are all on the same property,” she says. “You can just go from one to the next, which is really nice.” Mount Sinai Elementary School, which has an A, teaches kindergarten through fourth grade. Fifth through eighth graders attend Mount Sinai Middle School, which has an A-minus. Mount Sinai High School has a B-plus and was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2021. In 2023, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association named it a School of Excellence, acknowledging its students’ balance of athletic and academic achievement.
Mount Sinai High School is a public accredited, blue ribbon school.
Mount Sinai Elementary School has a student-teacher ratio of 13 to 1.
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Major highways, Port Jefferson LIRR nearby
Route 25A and Patchogue-Mount Sinai Road serve as the hamlet's main roads. The only available bus stops in this car-dependent community are on 25A, and the nearest Long Island Rail Road station is in Port Jefferson about 2 miles away. Commuters on the train reach Manhattan’s Penn Station in about two hours. Mount Sinai also has several places of worship, including the Mount Sinai Muslim Center, Temple Beth Emeth of Mount Sinai and Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Mount Sinai Congregational Church, UCC was built in 1807, and the congregation continues to hold services in the historic church. Mather Hospital and St. Charles Hospital are both about 2 miles away and Long Island MacArthur Airport is 18 miles away.
Born and grew up in beautiful southern China. Li speaks fluent Chinese, English, and Japanese. When she came to America for an adventure in 2014, she met her husband Andrew, and fell in love with him at first sight!
The first time while they drove on the Long Island expressway, she was so curious and asked her husband why every single road sign had her name LI on it, her husband laughed so hard and told her, “That’s not Li, that’s Long Island (LI), I guess it means you belong to here!” She laughed. Ever since then, she believes this beautiful land is her second home and loves living here with him.
Li firmly believes that ” Interest is your best teacher”. She has always been so passionate about real estate and watching her husband shine in real estate, do what he loves, and love what he does with all his heart, she joined him and created the Manhattan To Montauk Group real estate team under Real Broker NY.
“The secret to success is simple!” She says. “Find a way to do more for others than anyone else does. Become more valuable. Do more. Give more. Be more. Serve more! People always come first, business will follow.” She loves helping all of her clients start the big step of life — where they’re going to live and create lifelong memories. By doing so, she is creating her own fulfilled life and loving it every single day!
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