Riverhead NY Real Estate & Homes for Sale

Riverhead is a community on the North Fork of Long Island’s prestigious East End, nestled at the mouth of the Peconic River. There are many opportunities for shopping, dining and unwinding in this Town of Riverhead hamlet, including its downtown with a thriving business center, the charming art-deco Suffolk Theater, Long Island Aquarium, luxuriant vineyards and impressive sandy beaches along the lovely Long Island Sound.

Local Area Information

Riverhead is an unincorporated neighborhood and census-designated place (CDP) in the heart of the township also named Riverhead in Suffolk County on the North Fork of Long Island, New York’s renowned East End. Its immediate neighbors are Calverton and Baiting Hollow to the west, Northville and Aquebogue to the east and Riverside in the Town of Southampton to the south. The Long Island Sound to the north and the Peconic River and Flanders Bay to the south offer magnificent water views.

With an area of 15 square miles in the 2020 US Census, Riverhead was the second largest CDP in the Town of Riverhead, next to Calverton, and the fifth largest among Long Island’s 194 CDPs yet remains one of its least densely populated areas.

Single-family homes mainly constitute Riverhead’s residential districts, along with nearly 30 multifamily housing sites, about a third or so of which offer homes for the 55 and over, like the gated communities of Saddle Lakes and Sunken Pond Estates. Both offer 2-bedroom condos and homes with a garage, though the former also has 3-bedroom condos with a basement.

Many of its homes have pools, first-floor bedrooms and other features, and there is a considerable stock of beach houses and other waterfront properties. Besides attractive 4-bedroom homes, rentals and luxury houses, the thriving property market also includes vacant lots and historic properties in Riverhead’s historic district.

The area was referred to as Suffolk County Court House after the establishment of a court and jail in the 1720s and became the designated county seat. It began to grow as a community with the advent of railroad service in 1844. At the turn of the century, a large number of Polish immigrants settled in the hamlet, forming the present-day Polish Town.

Today, Riverhead has an enviable downtown with walkable wide pavements and charming tree-lined avenues featuring bustling restaurants, bars, fashionable cafés, premium bakeries and a host of shopping options. All of its neighborhoods use the 11901 ZIP code.

General Information

Township: Town of Riverhead | Riverhead, New York

County: Suffolk County

Population: 14,993 (2020)

Classification: Hamlet, CDP

Chamber of Commerce: Riverhead Chamber of Commerce

LIRR Train Station/Schedule: MTA.info/lirr
The LIRR serves Riverhead via the Riverhead Station.
Travel time to Manhattan, Penn Station is about
2 hours 14 minutes to 2 hours 29 minutes.

Beaches & Parks

Ammann Park, also known as Peconic Riverfront Park, is a scenic waterfront recreational facility along the longest river on Long Island, Peconic River. The park is equipped with picnic tables, two gazebos, boat slips with riverfront docking available for a fee, a large parking area, restrooms, and park benches overlooking the spectacular river.

Cranberry Bog Nature Preserve is a 165-acre Suffolk County park that is home to a rich variety of local animal and plant species that now inhabit this area, where cranberries were once cultivated. There is a 1.1-mile loop trail on which park visitors may hike and take in a range of splendid sights, sounds and smells of nature during different seasons, including the scent of Sweet Pepper Bush in the summer and the changing views of the Peconic River.

The Indian Island County Park is a 275-acre waterfront property with captivating vistas of Flanders Bay. The park has trailer and tent campgrounds equipped with restrooms, showers, picnic tables, grills, and benches, and is publicly open year-round to individuals and groups. This Suffolk County park on Cross River Drive also has a playground and activity field, and allows fishing, hiking, and bird watching.

The Long Island Aquarium is one of the major attractions in the Town of Riverhead that offers indoor and outdoor exhibits, as well as a myriad of adventures and interactive features. Activities offered include aquatic-themed birthday parties, educational tours aboard the Atlantis Explorer, arcade games at the Family Fun Center, close-up encounters with penguins, porcupines, sea lions, seals, and even sharks, and so much more.

The Milton L. Burns Park, once known as Grangebel Park, is best known for being the site of an interactive art experience called Reflextions. It uses the park’s accessible, beautiful space to display a mix of light art and sculptures for the enjoyment of the public.

Nadel Drive Park, Horton Avenue Park, Unity Drive Park, and Millbrook Gables Park are neighborhood parks that all contain a playground and a number of parking slots. The last three parks, though, also have a basketball court and picnic area.

Reeves Beach is a Town of Riverhead recreational facility that offers swimming in the cool and calm waters of the Long Island Sound. There is a gazebo, restrooms, and a parking lot at this beach located on the northern end of Park Road, off the historic Sound Avenue.

Stotzky Park, home of the Riverhead Little League, is another recreational facility maintained by the Town of Riverhead. Aside from the lighted baseball/softball fields, the park has lots of other amenities, such as basketball courts, handball courts, tennis courts, fitness trail with stations, horseshoe pits, a skate park, street hockey rink, bocce court, playground, picnic area, dog park, concessions, restrooms, and parking spaces.