Long Island hikes to take this fall, winter

As the seasons change, the hiking trails fill up at Long Island parks. The cooler weather offers a respite from summer's heat, opening a world of nature to explore come fall and winter.

"The cool weather provides for a healthy and enjoyable experience," says George Gorman Jr., regional director of Long Island's state parks.

Tom Casey of West Sayville, vice president of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference, says woodland trails, including in the pine barrens of eastern Long Island, also are drawing legions of winter hikers. Woodland trails remain free of ice in winter because “they are sandy in a lot of places, and water filters right through” into the ground.

Here are five ideas for fall and winter hikes offering wildlife sightings and trail views ranging from charming to awe-inspiring. Parking is free unless noted.

Best hike for a workout: Trail View State Park

8101 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury; 631-423-1770, parks.ny.gov.

Distance: 7.4 miles

Had enough of the treadmill? You can burn calories amid actual scenery, hiking the rolling hills of Trail View State Park in Woodbury. Trail View, a narrow 400-acre belt of green space, sends hikers along wooded hills on the north and past ponds and streams near its south end. With comparatively rugged terrain — for Long Island at least — and some hills rising to several hundred feet above sea level, it can be challenging for inexperienced hikers, Gorman says. 

Remote hike: Sunken Forest, Fire Island National Seashore

Accessible via the Sayville Ferry Service to Sailors Haven (Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 9) and Cherry Grove (Saturdays and Sundays); 631-589-0810, sayvilleferry.com.

Distance: 1.6-mile loop

Fee: Sailors Haven Ferry: round trip $18, $10 ages 2-11 through Oct. 9; Cherry Grove Ferry: ; round trip $20, $11 ages 2-11. 

In winter, it takes a few extra steps to get to the solitude of the Sunken Forest. The Sayville Ferry Service to adjacent Sailors Haven isn’t running after Oct. 9, so take the ferry instead to Cherry Grove, then walk west. The trail is part boardwalk, through a rare maritime forest dominated by centuries-old American holly trees, and half paved path between the dunes.

Family-friendly hike: Belmont Lake State Park

Southern State Parkway Exit 38, North Babylon; 631-667-5055, parks.ny.gov.

Distance: 7.6 miles of multiuse trails

Fee: $8 per car weekends and holidays through Oct. 9.

Belmont Lake is your classic walk in the park. A flat path loops through the woods and then wraps around the lake, making it an easy jaunt for hikers of all ages. The trail passes benches for impromptu rest stops and a pair of cannons captured from a British warship during the War of 1812, and then goes over a bubbly waterfall at the south end of the park.

Hike with a great view: Orient Beach State Park

40000 Main Rd., Orient; 631-323-2440, parks.ny.gov.

Distance: 4 miles

Fee: $8 per car weekends and holidays through Oct. 9

For a quintessential North Fork adventure, hike the 2-mile service road flanked by Gardiners Bay and its lighthouses to the south, and a rare maritime forest to the north, as you’re serenaded by honks from the Cross Sound Ferry. Continue past the parking lot to the beach for another 2 miles to the tip of the peninsula for views of the bay, nearby harbors, Shelter Island and the curiously shaped Long Beach Bar “Bug Light” Lighthouse that's squatting on a rock pile just offshore.

Wildlife hike: Smith Point County Park

1 William Floyd Pkwy, Shirley; 631-852-1340, suffolkcountyny.gov

Distance: 7 miles

Hike the Burma Trace through the only federal wilderness area in New York, the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness. From the Visitor Center near Smith Point County Park to Watch Hill, this  hike amongst dunes and swale allows for solitude and great views of the winter landscape along with birds, deer and the occasional fox.