Five of our family stayed here for most of a week in mid-springtime. If you are familiar with the Long Island Southold, Greenport Harbor area, you know that Orient is close by these but in a quieter area nearer the end of the North Fork. This gives it a very nice balance of peace and calm and with easy access to things to do. When we were at the cottage, we enjoyed the bay view and breeze, sounds of waves and birds and some glorious sunsets from the porch. Osprey where frequent flyers by the bay.
Bayside Cottage is on the beach and has no immediate neighbor house on one side, helps with the feeling of a place just for you. A short walk down the street brings you to the Orient Country Store for easy breakfast or tasty lunch sandwiches and salads. Don't miss some of their selection of house made cookies for desert.
We enjoyed the attractions of the area for oysters (Little Creek Oyster Farm); clams, fresh fish, oysters and IGA bought onion rolls filled seafood salad (shrimp-crab-lobster) from Southold Seafood Market, good times beer and food at Greenport Harbor Brewery (Southold), and tastings at a select few of the many excellent local wineries.
Nearby nature preserves we visited included Orient Point State Park and Mashomack Preserve. The latter features a system of trials with viewing of wildlife and local flora (labelled for your interest).
Tim, our host, was very helpful and likeable, easily accessible whenever we needed something, more of a friend than a host in the way we were treated.
I'd like to go back to Bayside Cottage for my next visit to the North Fork area just to see the sunsets again.