Top Long Island hiking, walking trails
Hikers trek through Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island. Credit: Randee Daddona
Explore the best bets for hiking trails in Nassau and Suffolk counties, offering thousands of miles through woods, fields and sand.
FIRE ISLAND WILDERNESS
Watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean from the Fire Island Wilderness Visitor Center. Credit: Tom Lambui
Hike from east or west in the state's only federally designated wilderness area and experience undeveloped barrier island beaches. More info: 631-281-3010, nps.gov/fiis
LONG ISLAND GREENBELT TRAIL
Mark Anderson, of Port Jefferson, takes a walk along the Greenbelt Trail in Mount Sinai. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Stretching 32 miles along the Connetquot and Nissequogue rivers, this National Recreation Trail goes from Heckscher State Park on the Great South Bay to Sunken Meadow bluffs on Long Island Sound. Access at Connetquot River State Park Preserve from the south (Sunrise and Montauk highways), and from the north at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, Jericho Turnpike between bull statue and Old Willets Path (preserve open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sun. April-October) and Nissequogue River State Park (St. Johnland Road). Other access points at Heckscher State Park (Field 7) and Sunken Meadow State Park (Field 3). More info: ligreenbelt.org
LONG ISLAND PINE BARRENS TRAIL
Nearly 50 miles of footpaths in eastern Suffolk County meander past swamps, ponds and overlooks from Rocky Point to Shinnecock Canal. Includes Rocky Point Preserve, Pine Trail Preserve, Peconic River watershed, Maple Swamp and Sears Bellows County Park. Hike this trail or park a vehicle (contact the DEC for a permit). Other access at Pine Trail Preserve parking area on Route 25, a half-mile east of William Floyd Parkway. Trail is part of the 130-mile Paumanok Path that runs from Rocky Point to Shinnecock Canal, with a few links in Southampton that lead from East Hampton border to Montauk Point.
MASHOMACK PRESERVE HIKING TRAIL
Mashomack Preserve in Shelter Island is home to a variety of plant, animal and bird species. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
Loops 1½ to 10 miles long wind through the 2,350-acre preserve’s oak-hickory forest, across open meadows and beside freshwater ponds and salt marshes. Also available are a 1-mile wheelchair and stroller-friendly trail and an 1⁄8-mile boardwalk. Visitor center bathrooms are open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Parking at visitor center (79 S. Ferry Rd., Shelter Island). More info: 631-749-4219, nature.org/mashomack
NASSAU-SUFFOLK TRAIL
For hikers who want a strenuous cardio and leg workout, Cold Spring Harbor State Park offers one of the hilliest walking trails on Long Island. Credit: Rick Kopstein
20 miles between Massapequa Preserve and Cold Spring Harbor. South entrance on Ocean Avenue, north of Merrick Road. Trail follows the shore of Caroons Lake to a log bridge, where vegetation begins to change to pine barrens. North of the preserve, the trail parallels Bethpage Parkway. Additional access from west side of picnic area parking lot in Bethpage State Park and Trail View State Park parking areas north of Old Country Road and Washington Avenue. The hilly north section ends at Cold Spring Harbor State Park on Route 25A. A stretch of Nassau-Suffolk Trail between Stillwell Woods in Syosset and Route 25A in Cold Spring Harbor has trees not in the pine barrens. It ends at a Greenbelt parking area near Cold Spring Harbor Library on Route 25A. Free parking.
NORTHWEST PATH
The trailhead of the Northwest Path, a hiking trail in East Hampton. Credit: Gordon M. Grant
A 6- to 7-mile path in East Hampton Town, includes a section of Paumanok Path (125-mile path from Rocky Point to Montauk), which winds through oak and hickory forest, where understory is mostly lowbush blueberry and black huckleberry. Immense white pine groves may be traversed through the Chatfield’s Hole and Grace Estate properties. Trail’s end at Cedar Point boasts wetlands with foliage and bird life. Deer and red-tailed hawks are frequently seen. Start at Route 114 at Edwards Hole Nature Preserve. Park in the lot at Route 114. Northwest Path is blazed with yellow triangles. Trail maps at easthamptontrailspreservationsociety.org/trails.
RAY CORWIN TRAIL
Kenneth Kindler, left, of Holbrook, walks with friends on the Ray Corwin Trail in Ridge. Credit: Ed Betz
12.1 miles from NY 25A in Rocky Point preserve to downtown Yaphank, passing through DEC, Suffolk County and Town of Brookhaven land east of the Carmans River. Accesses at Rocky Point, a DEC parking lot on Route 25, and East Main Street in Yaphank.
RED CREEK PARK
A 3.8-mile loop in Red Creek Town Park, Hampton Bays. You might spot red-tailed hawks, blue heron, kettle holes and deer. Trail winds through pitch pine woods mixed with oak, maple and tupelo. A posted trail map is available on Old Riverhead Road (off Route 24) in Hampton Bays. Free parking.
STUMP POND TRAIL
A trail 5¾ miles long begins at the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference office at the north side of Blydenburgh County Park (New Mill Road) in Smithtown, and winds around the former 164-acre Stump Pond. Entry fee is $7 Suffolk County residents, $15 nonresidents, weekends and holidays Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. For trail map, hike schedule and more info, go to suffolkcountyny.gov/parks.
WALT WHITMAN TRAIL
A loop 3.8 miles long with a total of 8 miles of trails from the Whitman home through West Hills County Park, Huntington. Circular trail includes Jaynes Hill, the highest point on Long Island. Trail links with the Nassau-Suffolk Trail. Park at county park entrance off Sweet Hollow Road. Parking also near Jaynes Hill on Reservoir Road. Trail map is available at the visitors’ center on High Hold Drive. Free parking year-round.
