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Long Island's Green Places

Bethpage State Park

Best know for its five golf-courses, Bethpage State Park also has picnic facilities, playing fields, bridle paths, hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails.

Caumsett Park

Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, situated on a scenic peninsula extending into Long Island Sound, offers miles of bridle paths, walking, jogging, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and nature trails over acres of woodland, meadows, rock shoreline and salt marsh. Excellent fishing & scuba diving by permit.

Jayne's Hill, Walt Whitman Trail

The hike on the Walt Whitman Trail in Melville, NY is approximately 4 miles. Start your hike at the Walt Whitman Homestead 246 Old Walt Whitman Road, West Hills, NY. Learn a bit about Walt Whitman in the Interpretive Center. The cozy museum will give you a timeline of his life and just enough information to make you feel like you are walking along in Walt's footsteps.The hike starts out on a beautiful path that is lined with Lycopodium obscurum (clubmoss).

Long Island Greenbelt

200 miles of trails include:

Long Island Greenbelt trail
Nassau-Suffolk trail
Walt Whitman trail
Long Island Seashore Trail
Pine Barrens Trail

Don't miss the bluff-top hiking trails on the north end of the LI Greenbelt Trail system.

Sunken Forest

The ancient history of Fire Island is alive at the Sunken Forest, an enchanting 300 year old primeval holly forest, which is the only one of its kind on the East Coast. Under a diverse canopy of leaves, a 1.5 mile board walk meanders through freshwater bogs filled with a variety of trees and shrubs, such as blueberry and red maples; the maritime forest with its American holly and catbrier; and the swale between the dunes, with its grasses and low growing evergreens.

Teddy Roosevelt Sanctuary

Oldest National Audubon Society Bird Sanctuary offers a wide variety of nature programs. On October 24th, the Sanctuary will be holding a gala celebration in honor of its 75th anniversary.

Bailey Arboretum

42 acres of beauty, featuring exotic trees, rare shrubs, a graceful iris garden, an exquisite rose garden, a blanket of unusual plantings, a broad spectrum of chrysanthemums, and a perennial garden of 150 to 500 labelled varieties. It also features a unique Sensory Garden for the disabled and an interpretive nature trail.

Cantiague Park

84 acres for horseshoes, bocci court, softball and soccer fields, handball, paddleball, basketball, golf, outdoor pool, indoor ice rink, jogging course.

Cedar Creek Park

265 acres: Bicycle path, aerodrome field (for radio-controlled model planes), archery, basketball, handball, paddleball, tennis, soccer and softball fields, outdoor rollerskating rink, jogging course.

Cow Meadow Park

28 acres: Jogging course, salt water fishing, marina, tennis, basketball courts, handball/paddleball, softball field, shuffleboard

CW Post Arboretum

CW Post Campus - LIU Post is famous for its magnificent formal gardens, rolling green lawns and 4,000 trees. 40-acres of the campus are designated as an arboretum which features more than 125 trees. The trees are located along a self-guided walking trail that encircles the campus' main academic buildings. The Tudor revival mansion was once the home of cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. The arboretum is open to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk, free of charge.

Eisenhower Park

930 acres: Jogging path, bicycle paths, golf, driving range, baseball, softball, football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, cricket, tennis, horseshoes, shuffleboard, croquet, badminton, lawn bowling, bocci, model boating, cross country skiing.

Hempstead Harbor

60 acres for golf, volleyball, badminton, softball, basketball, handball, paddleball, shuffleboard, aerodrome (for radio-controlled model airplanes), salt water fishing, beach.

Garden City Bird Sanctuary

Founded in 1995, it is a 9 acre nature preserve\bird sanctuary in northwest Garden City, open to the public on Sundays from 1-5 or by arrangement. It is the pilot program in Nassau for dual use of "sumps" for community benefit. Approx 100 nesting boxes, 3/4 miles of walking trails, re-landscaping in progress with native plants.

Grant Park

35 acres: Outdoor roller skating, outdoor ice rink, horseshoes, shuffleboard, basketball, tennis, handball, softball.

Hofstra Arboretum

This 238-acre campus was officially designated an arboretum by the American Association of Botanical Gardens & Arboreta in 1985. At present, there are over 7,000 evergreen and deciduous trees in the arboretum, representing over 235 different species and varieties. The more exotic trees on the campus include a metasequoia (rare on the East Coast), the bald cypress (rare in the Northeast), & two very unique varieties of pine: the Dragon Eye and the Tamyosho. Open year round.

Jones Beach

2413 acres: Ballfields by permit, bicycle path, boat basin, saltwater fishing piers, bait station, food service, pitch putt golf, hiking, picnicking, pool, bathhouse, saltwater swimming.

Old Westbury Gardens

One of the few intact great Long Island estates open to the general public. There are both informal walks and highly stylized gardens on the 100 acres of manicured grounds. The Italian Garden, for example, boasts the largest expanse of herbacious borders in the United States and maintains the same color scheme through the various cycles of bloom. Open April - December.

Planting Fields State Historic Park

Stunning 409 acre former estate on Long Island: 160 acres of gardens and plant collections, 40 acres of lawns, and over 200 acres of woodlands and fields. Two greenhouse complexes on 1.5 acres, with native, tropical, and sub-tropical plants. Offering classes and many special events. Open year round.

Wantagh Park

120 acres: Outdoor swimming pool, diving pool, basketball, bocci, shuffleboard, horseshoes, marina, salt water fishing, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, football, bicycling.

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Photo Credits

Westbury Gardens photo credit — Courtesy of Westbury Gardens

Hofstra Arboretum photo credit — Courtesy of Hofstra University

State Park pictures (i.e. Jones Beach State Park, Bethpage State Park, Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve, Captree State Park, Valley Stream State Park, Caleb Smith State Park, Connetquot River State Park, Belmont Lake State Park, Robert Moses State Park, Heckscher State Park, Hither Hills State Park) — Courtesy of New York State Parks: parks.ny.gov

Nassau Parks (Eisenhower Park, Cantiague Park, Cedar Creek Park, Cow Meadow Park & Preserve, Grant Park, Wantagh Park) — Courtesy of Nassau County)

Bailey Arboretum photo credit — Courtesy of Bailey Arboretum