Charging an EV in the Hamptons is easy as long as you plan it out. If you’re driving an EV from JFK to the Hamptons, it’s 92 miles to East Hampton and 106 to Montauk, so leave the airport full and you won’t need to stop. Out east, Teslas can charge at the Supercharger in East Hampton and in Water Mill; any brand can fast-charge at the Bridgehampton lot on School Street, the Montauk municipal lot and the Rivian outpost in Southampton.
Leaving the airport with a full charge also provides some cushion in case traffic snarls up your route, whatever you drive. If you’re renting an EV, it might not be handed to you at 100%. Check the state of charge before driving off — you don’t want to find that you have a half-empty battery on the Belt Parkway.
Most EVs in use today can make that journey on a single charge, but if you need to charge up, it’s easy to do so. Your route is the Belt Parkway to the Southern State, merging with the Sunrise Highway (NY-27) and cruising on. The LIE runs in parallel, to the north. Both corridors have fast chargers along the way. Coming from the city, a summer-Friday traffic jam is no time to charge an EV. Look to charge before or after the congested stretch.
The East End Is Better Equipped for Electric Vehicles
Once you’re across the Shinnecock Canal, the East End is better equipped for electric vehicles than you’d expect. For starters, the East Hampton Village has Tesla’s 12 Superchargers in the village lot on Osborne Lane, which are capable of up to 250 kW, and open 24/7, giving you a short walk to downtown shops. And Water Mill also has a Supercharger. So, if you own a Tesla, these are your fastest, most reliable options out there.
If you’re not in a Tesla, there’s a fast-charging hub in the municipal lot in Bridgehampton, on School Street, a site of EVolve NY’s buildout of fast chargers; it’s open to all brands. In Southampton, the Rivian Hamptons Charging Outpost on Montauk Highway has six DC-fast chargers, one of which is a pull-through stall designed for towing a trailer; the chargers are open to any EV — not just Rivians — and other brands pay by tapping to pay in the Rivian app.
Montauk’s municipal lot has roughly a dozen fast chargers. It matters because Montauk is farthest out, where you’re likeliest to arrive with a low battery. Back in East Hampton, in October 2024 the Village board approved four Electrify America chargers for any brand at the 24-hour Lumber Lane lot.
Can a non-Tesla use the Superchargers? Yes, at the V3 or newer stations set up for other brands. A non-Tesla needs an adapter for its CCS plug to access the NACS connector on Superchargers. If you’re in another brand, the best locations to save in your phone as fast-charging possibilities are Rivian, Bridgehampton and Montauk.
There are many slower Level 2 chargers at town lots, hotels and shops. If you’re staying at a rental house with a charger, or use a charger in a town lot overnight, or at the beach or pool all day, the battery keeps going up and you’ll rarely think about range during the day. One rule: Under New York law (Vehicle and Traffic Law 1202), you may park in a marked EV charging space only if your EV is plugged in. Once unplugged, you get up to 30 minutes to vacate the spot.
Anxiety About Range
There’s really one place you might have anxiety about range: Montauk. It’s about 14 miles past East Hampton on two-lane Montauk Highway, which means it’s slow going in summer and takes longer than it should. So it’s best to keep enough buffer to get there and back. Use the Montauk municipal lot fast chargers to top up while visiting — don’t gamble on a one-way range estimate.
Whatever EV you drive, you know that real-world range takes the usual hits: highway speed, air conditioning in July, a car full of luggage and passengers. Build in a margin — don’t run it down to the floor.
Fill up Before the Shinnecock Canal
If your rental car is gasoline-powered instead, and you’re coming from the airport on the same route, fill up before the Shinnecock Canal. West of the canal, stations are plentiful along Sunrise Highway and all around Hampton Bays. Then, once you cross the canal, gasoline stations get sparser, pricier and busier, sitting on the congested two-lane Montauk Highway. Top off near Hampton Bays.
