I visited an abandoned Air Force base in New York that inspired 'Stranger Things,' and it was even creepier than I imagined

Gabbi ShawAug 30, 2023, 01:11 IST

The radar tower at Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Camp Hero is a state park in Montauk, the easternmost tip of Long Island, New York.
It used to be Montauk Air Force Station, which reportedly inspired Netflix's "Stranger Things."

Fans of "Stranger Things" know that all the interdimensional problems that have befallen our friends in Hawkins, Indiana, are because of the secret government facility known as the Hawkins Lab.

But did you know that Netflix's "Stranger Things" was originally called "Montauk," named after the real-life New York town that's at the center of multiple conspiracy theories?

Camp Hero, formerly known as the Montauk Air Force Station, has been plagued with conspiracy theories since the book "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time," written by Preston Nichols, was published in 1992. Its unsubstantiated claims included that researchers at the base had repressed the memories of employees who'd been subjected to experiments throughout the '70s and '80s.

Today, it's possible to visit Camp Hero, which opened to the public as a state park in 2002. As someone who has been to Montauk dozens of times, but never to Camp Hero — and as someone going through "Stranger Things" withdrawal as we await a release date for season five — I jumped at the chance to check out the base, which is now abandoned.

I came away from my visit understanding where the Duffer brothers, who created "Stranger Things," got their inspiration. Camp Hero would certainly be on my list of the creepiest places I've visited.

Take a look inside the park, from its beautiful views of the ocean to the mysterious 90-foot radar tower that still stands today.

If you've seen an episode of the Netflix smash-hit "Stranger Things," the creepiness of Hawkins Lab has probably stuck with you.

The inside of the mysterious and sinister Hawkins Lab in "Stranger Things."Netflix

The show's creators, the Duffer brothers, were inspired by a real-life government base in Montauk, New York, called Camp Hero.

Ross Duffer and Matt Duffer in 2016.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic/Getty Images

The base shut down in 1982 and reopened to the public as Camp Hero State Park in 2002.

A sign welcoming visitors to Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Naturally, I had to check it out.

Outside the radar tower.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Camp Hero — and Montauk — are on the easternmost tip of Long Island, New York.

New York City, Long Island, and Montauk.Google Maps

The park is 123 miles outside of New York City. I'm from a town on Long Island that's 99 miles west of Montauk, so it took me around two hours to drive out there.

Signs led the way to Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Camp Hero is located past the town center of Montauk, a favorite of celebrities and locals alike.

A store in Montauk's bustling center.Molly O'Brien

When you turn off the highway to drive into the park, you have a good view of the Montauk Lighthouse, which is a Long Island landmark and part of the adjacent Montauk Point State Park.

The lighthouse and the sign for Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

When you turn off the highway to drive into the park, you have a good view of the Montauk Lighthouse, which is a Long Island landmark and part of the adjacent Montauk Point State Park.

There are plenty of signs, so you won't get lost on your way in.

Another sign.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The park is open every day from sunrise to sunset, and costs $8 to get in — or, if you're a New York resident with an Empire Pass like I am, it's free.

The entrance to Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

When you pull in, you're greeted with a map of the park, which covers 754 acres of land.

A map of the park.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

One of the first places to park puts you right in front of some of Montauk's famous bluffs and a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

One of the first areas you see in Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

And just to the right of the water is one of the many trails throughout the park — along with a caution sign warning people to stay away from the cliffs.

A caution sign next to a trail.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

There were plenty of signs about the steep edges of the bluffs posted throughout the park. Erosion is also a huge problem on Long Island's beaches, so I opted to stay as far back as I could.

Another caution sign.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

There were plenty of signs about the steep edges of the bluffs posted throughout the park. Erosion is also a huge problem on Long Island's beaches, so I opted to stay as far back as I could.

When I turned around to go back to my car, I spotted the base's defunct radar tower, which is at the center of many of the conspiracy theories about the camp.

The radar tower from a distance.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

We hopped in our car to find the radio tower. Along the way, we saw signs for picnic areas, bathrooms, and places to park.

Signs pointing out various places to picnic, park, and pee.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

One of the first remnants of the base we saw was this concrete battery, built for artillery when the US Army commissioned the base in the '40s.

One of the batteries.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

We drove around for a while encountering many roads that were closed to vehicles.

No vehicles allowed.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

We eventually reached a parking lot adjacent to the radar tower — but we couldn't get too close.

The radar tower.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The 90-foot tower and its 40-foot-wide dish are visible throughout the park, and they gave me the eerie feeling I was being watched. But being up close was somehow even more unsettling.

The radar tower.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The 90-foot tower and its 40-foot-wide dish are visible throughout the park, and they gave me the eerie feeling I was being watched. But being up close was somehow even more unsettling.

The tower was built when the Air Force took over the base in the 1950s. At the peak of the Cold War, there were multiple towers like it throughout the eastern US, but now, the Montauk tower is the only one left.

The dish behind an abandoned building.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The tower was built when the Air Force took over the base in the 1950s. At the peak of the Cold War, there were multiple towers like it throughout the eastern US, but now, the Montauk tower is the only one left.

There seemed to be unofficial trails along the fence protecting the tower, but a sign warning about the dangers of ticks put me off getting any closer.

Ticks everywhere.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

According to the map and a sign, one road led to another overlook of the bluffs. But we weren't heartened by this writing on the path that declared we were in a "hazardous area."

Apparently we were in a hazardous area.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

According to the map and a sign, one road led to another overlook of the bluffs. But we weren't heartened by this writing on the path that declared we were in a "hazardous area."

We barely saw anyone else while we explored Camp Hero, but my mom told me she couldn't shake the feeling that people were watching us from the woods. At first I scoffed, but as the day went on, I started to see what she meant.

An empty path.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

We barely saw anyone else while we explored Camp Hero, but my mom told me she couldn't shake the feeling that people were watching us from the woods. At first I scoffed, but as the day went on, I started to see what she meant.

We came across another sign pointing to the overlook, so we knew we were headed in the right direction.

Another sign pointing us in the right way.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

These woods really reminded me of the woods where Eleven was discovered during the "Stranger Things" pilot episode, and later the place she'd call home.

The woods.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

After about a mile, we glimpsed the ocean and a treacherous path that seemed to lead down to the water.

A path.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

I was content to sit on this rock and take in the views from a safe distance.

The view.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

And the views were, admittedly, pretty great.

The bluffs.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

On our walk back to the car, a dog came running out of the woods and scared both of us — but he was just a friendly pet running back to his owner. Safe to say, we were both on edge.

The road.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

On our walk back to the car, a dog came running out of the woods and scared both of us — but he was just a friendly pet running back to his owner. Safe to say, we were both on edge.

Our next stop was what was known as "downtown Camp Hero." This building used to be a gymnasium.

The gymnasium.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

Here's one of the buildings that housed barracks. It's seen better days.

The barracks.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

The idea we were being watched turned out to be pretty plausible — we came across a doe and her fawn behind one of the buildings.

Two deer behind one of the buildings.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

So what exactly happened at Camp Hero? There's the official version, and then there's the conspiracy-theory version, which was popularized after the publication of "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time" in 1992.

One of the abandoned buildings.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

So what exactly happened at Camp Hero? There's the official version, and then there's the conspiracy-theory version, which was popularized after the publication of "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time" in 1992.

A Montauk local once told the New York Post that Camp Hero is "a place that's dominated my life and my nightmares."

The radar tower.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

One theory also posits that a vast network of underground tunnels still connects the structures of Camp Hero.

Another abandoned structure.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

According to the signs at Camp Hero, and other historical sources, the base was actually used as a coastal defense site.

One of the signs at Camp Hero.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

All I know for sure is that I would never want to walk around Camp Hero alone or at night. There are no lights and very little signage — I could see myself getting hopelessly lost in the woods.

One of the trails.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

All I know for sure is that I would never want to walk around Camp Hero alone or at night. There are no lights and very little signage — I could see myself getting hopelessly lost in the woods.

When we left the park, the road forced us to pass the Montauk Lighthouse, which ended up breaking the tension a little bit.

The Montauk Lighthouse.Gabbi Shaw/Insider

I don't think I'll go back to Camp Hero. If I need my conspiracy-theory fix, now I know I can just fire up "Stranger Things" and get the same experience.

"Stranger Things."Netflix

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I visited an abandoned Air Force base in New York that inspired 'Stranger Things,' and it was even creepier than I imagined

If you've seen an episode of the Netflix smash-hit "Stranger Things," the creepiness of Hawkins Lab has probably stuck with you.

The show's creators, the Duffer brothers, were inspired by a real-life government base in Montauk, New York, called Camp Hero.

The base shut down in 1982 and reopened to the public as Camp Hero State Park in 2002.

Naturally, I had to check it out.

Camp Hero — and Montauk — are on the easternmost tip of Long Island, New York.

The park is 123 miles outside of New York City. I'm from a town on Long Island that's 99 miles west of Montauk, so it took me around two hours to drive out there.

Camp Hero is located past the town center of Montauk, a favorite of celebrities and locals alike.

When you turn off the highway to drive into the park, you have a good view of the Montauk Lighthouse, which is a Long Island landmark and part of the adjacent Montauk Point State Park.

There are plenty of signs, so you won't get lost on your way in.

The park is open every day from sunrise to sunset, and costs $8 to get in — or, if you're a New York resident with an Empire Pass like I am, it's free.

When you pull in, you're greeted with a map of the park, which covers 754 acres of land.

One of the first places to park puts you right in front of some of Montauk's famous bluffs and a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

And just to the right of the water is one of the many trails throughout the park — along with a caution sign warning people to stay away from the cliffs.

There were plenty of signs about the steep edges of the bluffs posted throughout the park. Erosion is also a huge problem on Long Island's beaches, so I opted to stay as far back as I could.

When I turned around to go back to my car, I spotted the base's defunct radar tower, which is at the center of many of the conspiracy theories about the camp.

We hopped in our car to find the radio tower. Along the way, we saw signs for picnic areas, bathrooms, and places to park.

One of the first remnants of the base we saw was this concrete battery, built for artillery when the US Army commissioned the base in the '40s.

We drove around for a while encountering many roads that were closed to vehicles.

We eventually reached a parking lot adjacent to the radar tower — but we couldn't get too close.

The 90-foot tower and its 40-foot-wide dish are visible throughout the park, and they gave me the eerie feeling I was being watched. But being up close was somehow even more unsettling.

The tower was built when the Air Force took over the base in the 1950s. At the peak of the Cold War, there were multiple towers like it throughout the eastern US, but now, the Montauk tower is the only one left.

There seemed to be unofficial trails along the fence protecting the tower, but a sign warning about the dangers of ticks put me off getting any closer.

According to the map and a sign, one road led to another overlook of the bluffs. But we weren't heartened by this writing on the path that declared we were in a "hazardous area."

We barely saw anyone else while we explored Camp Hero, but my mom told me she couldn't shake the feeling that people were watching us from the woods. At first I scoffed, but as the day went on, I started to see what she meant.

We came across another sign pointing to the overlook, so we knew we were headed in the right direction.

These woods really reminded me of the woods where Eleven was discovered during the "Stranger Things" pilot episode, and later the place she'd call home.

After about a mile, we glimpsed the ocean and a treacherous path that seemed to lead down to the water.

I was content to sit on this rock and take in the views from a safe distance.

And the views were, admittedly, pretty great.

On our walk back to the car, a dog came running out of the woods and scared both of us — but he was just a friendly pet running back to his owner. Safe to say, we were both on edge.

Our next stop was what was known as "downtown Camp Hero." This building used to be a gymnasium.

Here's one of the buildings that housed barracks. It's seen better days.

The idea we were being watched turned out to be pretty plausible — we came across a doe and her fawn behind one of the buildings.

So what exactly happened at Camp Hero? There's the official version, and then there's the conspiracy-theory version, which was popularized after the publication of "The Montauk Project: Experiments in Time" in 1992.

A Montauk local once told the New York Post that Camp Hero is "a place that's dominated my life and my nightmares."

One theory also posits that a vast network of underground tunnels still connects the structures of Camp Hero.

According to the signs at Camp Hero, and other historical sources, the base was actually used as a coastal defense site.

All I know for sure is that I would never want to walk around Camp Hero alone or at night. There are no lights and very little signage — I could see myself getting hopelessly lost in the woods.

When we left the park, the road forced us to pass the Montauk Lighthouse, which ended up breaking the tension a little bit.

I don't think I'll go back to Camp Hero. If I need my conspiracy-theory fix, now I know I can just fire up "Stranger Things" and get the same experience.