As confusing as the East End gets with its overlapping town, hamlet, and village names, Hampton Bays is self-explanatory. It’s a hamlet in the Hamptons, situated on multiple bays — Peconic and Shinnecock, to be exact. Hampton Bays is also home to the Shinnecock Canal, which connects the bays, and the Shinnecock Inlet, which links Shinnecock Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Together, they form a popular boater’s shortcut between Long Island Sound and the Atlantic’s open waters, along with a contiguous corridor of marine-centric businesses. All that amounts to serious waterfront real estate, accounting for Hampton Bays being one of the East End’s more populous year-round communities. Over the Ponquogue Bridge, Dune Road holds Ponquogue and Tiana beaches and several (permit-only) access roads along the hamlet’s three-mile stretch of pristine sands. For those who prefer warmer, calmer waters, county-run Meschutt Beach offers a supervised swim area, kayak rentals, and more.