Ram Island
Over the years I have been involved in over $36 million in sales just on Little Ram and Big Ram Island alone. Each property was unique to itself and ultimately an excellent investment.
Two causeways connect two land masses to Shelter Island: Little Ram Island and Ram Island (“Big Ram”). The causeways, which attract nature lovers and osprey alike, always seem to have salty breezes flowing over them from Gardiners Bay and Coecles Harbor. Their flora, which includes prickly pear cactus, replete with vibrant yellow flowers, and low slung beach plants with sage-like leaves are omnipresent in the summer months, and yet because they return each year, go unnoticed by many.
Although attached to Shelter Island, Little Ram and Big Ram seem a world away. The side facing Gardiners Bay has its bluffs and dips, wide panoramic water vistas and alternating sandy beachfront and rocky shoreline. The sides facing Coecles Harbor have views to Mashomack Preserve, Taylor’s Island, the marina and inlets, making it idyllic for boating and kayaking. In the center of Ram Island are forty acres of preserve with winding trails and the sound of bird songs echoing under the green canopy of tall trees.
“Romantic”, “dramatic” and “slightly mysterious” are three words that come to mind when I think of Little and Big Ram Islands: summer nights on a sailboat anchored in the harbor off Mashomack, having dinner on the deck lit by hurricane lanterns that rock back and forth to the waves; standing on the bluff, waiting for customers, and looking out onto the bay in the driving winds and rain of a nor’easter; walking to Taylor’s Island at low tide and exploring the old cabin prior to its renovation.
Both Little Ram and Big Ram Island have changed dramatically in the last ten years with extensive renovation, rebuilding and development. Once thought of as remote where farmers brought their sheep to graze, dotted with summer cottages, it has become, along with Nostrand Parkway and Dering Harbor Village, an area coveted by many buyers seeking an estate quality property.
