With the first 12 for 12 of 2025 coming in just one more week (a hint for you loyal blog readers: it’s at a preserve in Ridge), now seems like the perfect time to look back at the 12 preserves we visited in 2024. From tiny town preserves, to some of the largest New York State parks, 12 for 12 has covered a diverse array of locales. Each one has something special that makes it worth visiting, and that’s what this blog post aims to highlight. And, hopefully, this post will inspire you to explore all of the wonderful environments Long Island has to offer.
Most Stunning Views: Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge
Elizabeth A. Morton National Wildlife Refuge doesn’t look like much when you first pull into the parking lot. It’s a tucked away little place a few minutes out from Sag Harbor, and at first it seems like any other park. But as you walk down its mile-long trail, you’ll see dense forests, packed with birds of all kinds, stunning grasslands where Osprey nests crown solitary trees, and then, finally, the world opens up and you find yourself standing on the shore of Peconic Bay. With a beach that stretches for miles and a clear view across the bay to the North Fork, Elizabeth A. Morton is sure to leave you breathless.
Most Educational: Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
If you’re anything like me, you’d like to sharpen your tree identification skills. Alas, I struggle to pay attention to the shapes of leaves, and when it’s wintertime and the leaves have gone, one tree looks the same as any other. Maybe if I visited Bayard Cutting Arboretum more often, I’d be better off. With the carefully curated paths, the informative placards, and the small tree “museum” at the front of the park, you’re sure to learn something on a visit to this staggeringly unique park.
Best Full-Day Hike: Connetquot River State Park
Picture this: you and several other friends have finally managed to line up your schedules. You have an entire day to hang out and go exploring, and ideally, you’d like to visit a park that will allow you to while away hours on end, where you can hide from all those nagging responsibilities that have a way of creeping up on you on your days off. No place is better for a full-day journey than Connetquot River State Park. Not only is it the largest state park on Long Island, but there’s a healthy variety of things to do. The trails stretch on through miles and immerse you in some wonderful forests. You can buy fish food at the hatchery and see all the different species go wild for it, which is enjoyable for the whole family. The park even allows horseback riding! Between the sheer scale of the place, and the variety of activities it offers, there’s no better place to spend a whole day in than at this state park.
Best Quick Walk: Swan River Preserve
Now picture this: you’ve got barely forty-five minutes between the end of your workday, and the start of your favorite show. But you feel bad about being lazy and spending all your free time watching TV, so you want to get out into nature. Just for a little bit, anyway. Swan River Preserve is the perfect bite-size park. It takes just ten minutes to walk the loop, but in those minutes, you’re likely to see warblers, herons, and various other birds, as well as lizards and some beautiful butterflies. It’s the perfect way to get some steps in, get some fresh air, and immerse yourself in Long Island’s environment.
Most Accessible: Blue Point Nature Preserve
One’s physical abilities should not prevent them from enjoying Long Island’s natural splendor, and few parks demonstrate that better than Blue Point Nature Preserve. It’s neither too long, nor too short, has well-maintained paths, ramps leading up from the parking lot, and plenty of benches around the premises to allow for a good sit. Its accessibility doesn’t mean it sacrifices pleasing views or varied birds. The preserve, despite its small size, is made up of sweeping grasslands, and to date it’s the only place I’ve ever seen the elusive Savannah Sparrow.
Best New Park: Patriots Park Preserve
Though it’s just a little over a year old, Patriots Park Preserve has already established itself as a remarkably fine place for recreation and for some quick ecological immersion. Nicely paved paths are perfect for walking, running, or biking. There’s a playground for kids, and a nice assortment of habitats, from a central pond that’s home to turtles and ducks, to patches of grassland and full-on forests. Just because it’s not as well-established as the other parks we visited in 2024, doesn’t mean it’s not worth your time.
Best Place to Recreate: Belmont Lake State Park
Belmont Lake State Park is the perfect place to go if you want to have fun. Whether that comes in the form of walking the trails, biking, fishing, or taking advantage of the wide-open areas to play catch or practice your swing, I saw it all on my trip to Belmont.
Most Well-Rounded: Heckscher State Park
If you want some interesting environments, some accessible, well-paved paths, enough open space to recreate in a variety of ways, and stunning views of the Great South Bay, you’re asking for quite a lot from a single park. Most parks do only a handful of things exceptionally well, but Heckscher manages to do them all with grace and elegance. From basketball hoops to walks on the beach, from picnic tables to bike paths, there’s truly something for everyone here.
Best Park to Gain Experience: Caleb Smith State Park Preserve
Hiking might seem like a simple enough activity – you walk along trails and look for things that interest you – but there are subtler things that, if you know them, you’ll be able to maximize your experience in the field. First and foremost, it’s important to recognize your own capabilities. Not everyone is able to do an hour-long walk through the thickest forests and marshes. The park has plenty of smooth, paved paths, gravel paths that shift a bit under foot, and dirt paths leading through some remarkably thick brush. And that’s not even mentioning the shifts in elevation! Caleb Smith is the perfect place to go again and again if you want to strengthen your legs and try out some trickier trails before heading out into some of the harder, denser locales.
Most Ecologically Exciting: Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
While every single preserve is ecologically significant, Wertheim NWR stands apart as a true tour-de-force for Long Island’s natural environment. Walking along and around the Carmans River means you get a sense of the diversity that can exist within just a short distance from one of our Island’s two most important waterways. Innumerable animals inhabit a wide variety of habitats, and the simplistic trails mean it’s easy to get lost in your observations. The perfect place to take a sketchbook or a camera!
Best Hidden Gem: Fish Thicket Preserve
Fish Thicket Preserve seems to not want anyone to find it. The only clue as to its location is a single sign with small, slightly faded text right off Woodside Avenue. If you chance to spot it, and take a stroll down into the preserve, you’ll find yourself transported into a dense forest with sizable, winding trails that are perfect for hiking, biking, birding and more! Just because a park is obscure, doesn’t mean it is so for a good reason.
Most Pine Barrens-y: Wading River Marsh Preserve
True, “Pine Barrens-y” isn’t a word, or a phrase, but if it were, it would fit Wading River Marsh Preserve like a glove. If you follow the LIPBS closely enough to be a reader of this blog, then you would know that we’re working tirelessly to preserve a set of 3,800 acres that we call “The Best of the Rest.” You may also know that the largest parcel of land as part of those 3,800 acres is the Shoreham forest and marsh. That parcel lies adjacent to the Wading River Marsh Preserve, so there are few better places to go to get a sense of the natural beauty that we’re working to protect.
By Travis Cutter, Long Island Pine Barrens Society
