1942 coastal artillery base disguised as a fishing village, later Cold War radar station — now a 415-acre public park whose abandoned bunkers inspired Stranger Things.
1898 Montauk Highway, Montauk, NY 11954
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Vehicle entrance fee $8/car (collected weekends April–May, daily May–October, weekends/holidays October–November). Annual Empire Pass $80 covers entry.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Mix of paved paths and rough terrain; bunkers and battery areas involve uneven ground. Beach and some trail sections accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1942 · WWII Coastal Artillery Installation Disguised as Fishing Village · Cold War AN/FPS-35 Radar Station · Inspiration for Stranger Things Netflix Series · Preserved Military Bunkers and Gun Batteries
Camp Hero was established in 1942 on the eastern end of Long Island near Montauk Point, named for Major General Andrew Hero Jr., the Army's coastal artillery commander who died that year. The installation's designers chose to disguise the base as a fishing village — buildings were given the visual character of small-town structures to reduce the base's recognizability from German submarines and aircraft operating off the Atlantic coast.
The base's primary weapons were three gun batteries: Battery 112 and Battery 113, each housing 16-inch guns capable of firing shells weighing approximately 2,100 pounds, and Battery 216, which mounted 6-inch guns. These installations were constructed in reinforced concrete bunkers with protective casemates. After the German naval threat receded, the coastal artillery mission was retired and Fort Hero was temporarily deactivated.
In the early 1950s, during the Cold War, the base was reactivated as the Montauk Air Force Station with a new radar surveillance mission. The AN/FPS-35 radar tower — a roughly 90-foot structure with a 40-foot steel dish — was constructed to scan the Atlantic for Soviet aircraft. This installation operated until the base was decommissioned in the early 1980s.
In 1984 the General Services Administration attempted to sell Camp Hero to commercial developers; environmental activists successfully blocked this, citing rare ecosystems including habitat for the blue-spotted salamander. A 1996 golf course proposal was similarly rejected. The property was transferred to the National Park Service and then to New York State, finally opening as Camp Hero State Park on September 18, 2002. The park attracts approximately 353,000 visitors annually and is the most-requested research subject at the Montauk Library Archives.
Sources
The Montauk Project mythology originated with Preston Nichols and Peter Moon's 1992 book, The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time. Nichols claimed he had suppressed memories of involvement in secret experiments at the base — memories recovered through hypnosis — and the book described a program involving CIA mind-control research, time travel experiments, inter-dimensional portals, and extra-terrestrials living in the base's underground bunkers. Sequels and related volumes followed through the 1990s.
The conspiracy theory found a durable audience among paranormal enthusiasts, Cold War skeptics, and fans of unexplained phenomena, partly because Camp Hero genuinely did house a classified radar installation whose operational details were not publicly disclosed for decades. The concrete bunkers, radar towers, and abandoned military structures provided a physical backdrop that gave the theory atmospheric plausibility regardless of its evidential basis.
Netflix's Stranger Things was originally titled Montauk and planned for Montauk as its setting before the creators moved the story to the fictional Hawkins, Indiana. The show's central premise — a secret government laboratory conducting experiments on children, resulting in inter-dimensional portals — follows the Montauk Project's outline closely. The parallel has drawn significant attention to Camp Hero from Stranger Things fans.
The Montauk Library Archives confirms that Camp Hero is the most-requested research topic in their collection. The site is documented as a dark tourism destination by Roadside America and regional travel coverage. No paranormal investigation events are offered by the state park; visitor access is self-guided.
Media Appearances
Explore the 415-acre former military base on foot, by bike, or on horseback. The park contains visible remnants of WWII coastal artillery batteries (including Batteries 112, 113, and 216), Cold War bunkers, and the distinctive AN/FPS-35 radar tower. The park also features Atlantic Ocean beachfront, hiking trails, and a forested interior.
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