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    Long Island Welcome Center

    4.1 (53 reviews)
    ModerateRest Stops
    Closed 7:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Welcome to the LI Welcome Center
    Andrea F.

    I've passed this Long Island Welcome Center many many times. I honestly never had a reason to stop there. However that all changed when they advertised that I could stop in and pick up my FREE Solar eclipse sunglasses. This Long Island Welcome Center is beautiful and so clean! It's so aesthetically pleasing that I'd definitely stop again. Why you wonder? Turns out there's way more here than just restrooms. I walked around outside noticing the cute details like the Long Island stars recognizing LI celebrities like Billy Joel, the mini replica of a lighthouse and a small children's play area with a whale. Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised to see how shiny and clean everything was. It wasn't crowded on this Tuesday afternoon. Seeing no one to ask about my free solar eclipse sunglasses, I approached an employee working in the Market. When I inquired about the free lunar Solar eclipse sunglasses, I was greeted with a warm welcome. I shared that I had never been there before and I was instantly given a tour of all the local Long Island and INY merchandise available. My tour guide (not really just a super nice employee) was so friendly and welcoming. Needless to say, there is quite an extensive LOCAL lineup from coffee to baked goods to LI grown potato chips to fresh basil to LI swag including hoodies & towels to beauty products to home decor and much more! Stop in and see it for yourself.

    THIS WAS MY RIGHT KNEE DIRECTLY AFTER THE FALL. I WEJT DOWN SO HARD I HURT MY RIBS, KNEES, RIGHT ARM, ELBOW AND SHOULDER, NECK...

    WARNING! Numerous people have fallen very seriously inside this welcome center due to the rubbery leed-certified flooring. NY state Governor's office is aware of this problem but not addressing it. i had an extremely painful and complex injury requiring medical care & pt so far, from this fall and spoke with numerous people at DOT (who owns the bldg). Reported that Welcome Center employees told me others have fallen too, and this is frequent. if you fall, know that they are aware of this problem and email me at lnj2000@aol.com. You have a civil case. But older people's ribs would never withstand this type of frontwards fall. And we worry about head injuries. I had tissue and organ bruising that never went away and hurt multiple parts of my body. I spoke with Governor's office regional director Michael Caplice who copied others on our email to "watch" as he manipulated me and refused to provide me with insurance information so I could get care. Obviously, this state is not lead by quality mentors. We encourage you to call the Governor's office directly with complaints, as she clearly doesn't care about people's well-being.

    Phil H.

    It's about time there is real rest stop on the LIE. For years you could drive the length of LI and have to get off at an exit and hope to find a fast food joint or gas station in the nick of time to pee or poop! First time visiting this rest stop and it's really nice. Clean spacious bathrooms, modern design to the building itself, LI memorabilia and historic items on display, children's playground, electric car charging ports, decent sized parking lot, dog walking area, and overall a good experience. Much needed for sure. You won't find the normal fast food shops here. There's a small cafe for sandwiches and coffee. The store here features mostly food and snack items from local farms and purveyors on the island. Seems a bit pricey to me overall, but I'm mainly here for the bathroom and to grab a coffee and continue on my way. Also, why wouldn't they build one of these in the opposite direction too as most highways have done? Still, this was something that's good to have while traveling on the LIE.

    Front

    Wow! I first saw this place being constructed eight years ago, and this is my inaugural visit. I needed to stop at a bathroom , and I was pleasantly surprised by how exceptionally clean the restrooms were--it felt like home. From the walls to the rim of the toilet bowl, everything was impeccable. Unfortunately, the food service was closed since I arrived after midnight. Overall, this is one of the cleanest welcome/rest stops I've encountered during my travels across the United States.. The attention to detail and commitment to cleanliness really sets this location apart. It's clear that the staff take pride in maintaining this space, ensuring it remains a comfortable and inviting spot for weary travelers. Despite the late hour, the atmosphere was peaceful and serene, offering a perfect place to rest and recharge before continuing on my journey. I look forward to stopping by again, hopefully when the food service is open, to experience more of what this impressive rest stop has to offer.

    Kuwana L.

    Always saw this place in passing and always wanted to stop in to see what it is about. I stopped in for the first time. Looked fairly clean on the inside. I witnessed restrooms and one store to grab some snacks and drinks for refreshments. Prices here were pretty steep. Things were on the expensive side. I don't think that I would spend my money here unless I totally had to.

    Linda D.

    Long Island Welcome Center is open, the site eating area is not due to COVID. The staff are so friendly and courteous. Also the center is implacable clean!!!

    Map on the floor highlighting attractions
    Tracy D.

    Finally the northern expressway has a pit stop for those who are coming from a far and are heading east. This newly opened establishment a small market to purchase snacks, drinks or a small meal. There is an eating area to the left that you can rest comfortably and they also have a small multipurpose room. There is also restroom facilities and a water fountain if you need to refresh yourself. In the front they have a whale statue and a boat to the right of the entrance that can be a cute photo op. There is also a mini lighthouse to the left. The entrance path has plaques of names of famous Long Island celebrities. There is plenty of parking in the lot. The lot includes specialized parking area for electric cars. The location of the welcome center is slightly strange since you're about a quarter of he way into Suffolk county by that point to call it a "welcome center." You would think a welcome center would be in Nassau county or close to the queens border, but I assume that the location may be because it may be the first available space for the rest area.

    Potty break
    Michael E.

    OK I know we're Long Islanders and love the Island but my personal opinion is that many of the reviews are exaggerated. I will say that it's a huge improvement from what was there before. The previous rest Stop had a lot of bad stuff going on . And yes it is an attractive looking building, but it seems to end there. There is an area where you can buy food but from what I saw, it's nothing compared to rest stops along the NY Thruway, or Jersey Turnpike. There are a lot of pastries, some sandwiches and soft drinks. I noticed that they sell quarts of soup to go. Tomato soup, Minestrone soup, so where's the lobster bisque, or New England Clam Chowder. I searched the fridge but none there. There's plenty of seating, probably too much which could have been filled with another concession, say a LI tee shirt or sweatshirt store. Bathrooms are OK, but you have to walk all the way through the building to get to them. Sorry but 3 Stars is a gift as far as I'm concerned. Sure I'll stop there on occasion but primarily for the rest room.

    Overpriced cafe

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    3 years ago

    My first time and it was so cute! They have a dog park and the rest area is so clean. Would highly recommend

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    2 years ago

    Fix the bathrooms. Stalls are closed out of order. Sinks need to be fixed. This place use to be great but now it's getting run down.

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    2 years ago

    Everything beautiful place clean nice service fantastic staff what can I say? Very impressed.

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    Alexander Hamilton Rest Stop

    Alexander Hamilton Rest Stop

    (26 reviews)

    $

    This is the first rest area shortly after entering the New Jersey Turnpike heading southbound after…read moreleaving New York City and the Manhattan Cruise Terminal. My visit here was on October 5, 2019. After some issues debarking the cruise due to technical issues, we got to our driver to get us back to southern New Jersey where we would be staying for a few days before going home. All of us needed to use the restroom, so we stopped at this rest stop. This was a typical rest stop, but not like others I have seen in New Jersey along the turnpike. This rest area had a convenience store and gas. Many of the others have more options than a convenience store, such as fast food restaurants and the such. The good thing is that we weren't looking for any food items, just the restroom. The restrooms here were clean and maintained, which you don't always find at rest areas. The inside was your typical convenience store, but a bit larger. There's lots of snack and drink items here if you are looking for that kind of stuff. There is a Sunoco gas station at this rest area as well if you need gas. Gas was not needed at this time, so there was no stop there. Overall, this was just a rest stop. If you need to get some gas, use the restroom, or just get a few snack type items, this would be a place to stop. Further down, it seemed quite a few of their rest areas were closed for renovations. Although there was nothing to wow me about this place, it did get the job done and back on the road to my destination.

    Came in here briefly on the way home from NYC. We didn't stay to buy snacks or food, it was…read morestrictly a potty break. What made me decide to rate them was the bathrooms. For a rest stop, the restrooms were impressively clean and most importantly smelled great! It definitely exceeded my expectations. They seem to have a really good/big selection of snacks, and the parking lot has many spaces available.

    Long Island Welcome Center - reststops - Updated July 2026

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