The Atlantic beaches of the Hamptons are some of the prettiest the country has to offer: clean, wide, often completely uncrowded—even on summer weekends—and set off by patchy wild dunes with no hulking pink resort hotels to ruin the idyllic views. Finding a beautiful beach is as easy as turning down any of the small, zigzaggy lanes that run off Route 27 and following it until you find some sandy parking spots off a dead-end road. Beware the limits on that choice roadside real estate, though: Parking permits are required for most of the better beaches, and only residents can get them. That means your options often come down to risking a ticket, walking, or stashing your car a good distance from the beach. Our favorite sandy strips follow, from west to east.

Mecox Beach is a nice spot in Bridgehampton down Jobs Lane; it offers $15 daily parking (arrive early), as well as lifeguards. To the east of Mecox, Sagg Main Beach in Sagaponack is a popular social spot for a younger crowd and also offers $15 daily parking rates. Farther down the coast is Gibson Beach, a nice, small stretch with a low-key, upper-crust vibe—if the upper crust can reliably be said to have vibes—and where, supposedly, women's tops are optional (parking by permit only). Georgica Beach has an exclusive reputation and a prestigious location close to the mansions of Lily Pond Lane and Georgica Pond (parking permit only). East Hampton's Main Beach is the center of the action, with crowds and concession stands (a draw for some, a turnoff for others) and a see-and-be-seen energy (ditto); it's also the only beach in East Hampton with daily parking ($15), but only on summer weekdays. Close to the divide between East Hampton and Amagansett, Two Mile Hollow has a reputation as a gay-friendly beach. Past Amagansett, where the Old Montauk Highway breaks from Route 27, Hither Hills State Park offers camping and fishing, a long beach, and the "walking" dunes of Napeague Harbor (entrance fee is $8 per car). Youthful, fun Ditch Plains is the surfers' beach of choice in Montauk. While not quite as postcard-perfect as some East Hampton beaches, it has free parking, the Ditch Witch (a snack stand where everyone hangs out), and surfers to stare at as you while away another summer day.

Pedaling to the beach is a way to avoid the whole parking-permit dilemma and the slow torture of Route 27 traffic on a summer weekend. Bermuda Bikes rents street and hybrid bikes and will deliver them to your hotel or rental house—though delivery and pickup costs can soar up to $100 if you're as far out as Montauk (36 Gingerbread Ln., East Hampton; 631-324-6688; www.bermudabikes.com).

Established in 1931, this museum, theater, and gathering place serves as a reminder of an era when the East End was known as a magnet not just for millionaires but also for artists like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Saul Steinberg, and many others. Guild Hall hosts an annual gala as well as a members' exhibition, benefits, film series, and theater openings. There's also a small permanent collection of works by Pollock, de Kooning, Steinberg, Chuck Close, and Larry Rivers. For event tickets, call the box office at 631-324-4050.

On the East End, exercising is as fashionable as dining out. Alexis Stewart (daughter of Martha) owned this gym before selling it to Bruce Cotter, the resident trainer at the time. For $25 a day, you can work out at the East Hampton location or its outpost in Sag Harbor. Personal trainers are available. The Sag Harbor branch also has tanning beds and classes ranging from cycling and kickboxing to yoga and Pilates (classes and gym time are included in the $25 entry fee; a single class is about $20).

With over 2,000 acres of woodlands, salt marshes, and pristine coastline, the Nature Conservancy's Mashomack Preserve covers nearly a third of bucolic Shelter Island (take the car ferry to reach it). There are self-guided nature walks of various lengths, easy-to-follow maps, and the promise of a few hours of getting blissfully lost and forgetting all about the big city to the west.

Open daily 9 am to 5 pm, July and August only.

Unless you're an Argentine playboy or married to Stephanie Seymour, it's unlikely you know anything about the sport of polo (and those curious phrases like "stomping the divots"). But if you've found your way to the Hamptons, the odds are pretty good you already know something about wearing seersucker sport coats (for the gents) and oversized hats (for the ladies), drinking Champagne under a tent, and having your photo taken by Patrick McMullan for the local party pages—or at least you'd like to learn more. The Mercedes-Benz Polo Challenge at Bridgehampton's Two Trees Farm stretches over six Saturdays (July 19 through August 23 in 2008), providing one of the key glamorous tent-posing opportunities of the season. Entrance is $20 per car, and tickets are available on the day of the event.

Just because you're at the beach doesn't mean your beauty regime has to take a vacation, too. Naturopathica's 90-minute South Seas Ritual includes an exfoliating scrub, mask, and scalp massage, and gents can refresh their skin for a weekend by the sea with the 60-minute Men's Facial. A retail shop upstairs stocks Naturopathica products (free of dyes, fragrances, and synthetic solvents, so you can bliss out in holistic happiness), along with Kobo soy candles, orange-vanilla home diffusers from the Napa Soap Company, and Deep Steep rosemary-mint bath teas.

Open daily 9 am to 9 pm.

Founded by art collector and benefactor Samuel Longstreth Parrish in 1897, this museum's collection is centered around American paintings of the late 19th and 20th centuries and includes many of the artists, like Larry Rivers, who worked out of Eastern Long Island studios in the 1950s. Southampton's first art museum is also in the midst of planning a major makeover: It's expected to move to a new 46,000-square-foot space designed by the renowned duo of Herzog & de Meuron although an opening date is yet to be announced.

Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, mid-September through late May.

You'll find a few vineyards on the South Fork, namely Channing Daughters (631-537-7224; www.channingdaughters.com), Wölffer Estate (631-537-5106; www.wolffer.com), and Duck Walk (631-726-7555; www.duckwalk.com), but the real wine-tasting trail is on the North Fork. Take your car aboard the South Ferry (631-749-1200; www.southferry.com) from North Haven to Shelter Island, and then go from Shelter Island to Greenport on the North Ferry (631-749-0139; www.northferry.com). Follow roadside signs to the local wineries. Be sure to sample the Merlot at the award-winning Bedell Cellars (631-734-7537; www.bedellcellars.com) and Lenz's Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer (631-734-6010; www.lenzwine.com). The Tasting Room offers sips from a few small producers—and one of the friendliest and most informative pours on the North Fork (631-765-6404; www.tastingroomli.com).