Free entry to 3 Long Island state parks during 'One Day 3 Parks' event
Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park in Great River is one of the parks offering free admission and activities on Oct. 3. Credit: Veronique Louis
New York State parks on Long Island will become the land of the free when Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Connetquot River State Park Preserve and Heckscher State Park team up for the second annual "One Day 3 Parks" event.
Admission, guided tours and all other activities will be free at the three parks on Oct. 3.
"Last year was the first time that we had three friends groups collaborate on an event and it was tremendously successful," says George Gorman, Long Island's regional director for state parks, adding that this year his department has given $5,000 to the event to help with staffing and other expenses. "We also want it to be bigger and better every year," he says.
Noreen Cienski and Sharon Geness take in some of the blooms at Bayard Cutting Arboretum. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
The brainchild of several not-for-profit "friends of the park" groups, the event symbolically connects three South Shore parks that are within a roughly 10-minute drive of each other. Visitors can enter any park at any time but there is a suggested schedule that begins at Bayard Cutting Arboretum at 9:15 a.m., picks up at Connetquot State Park Preserve at 11:45 a.m. and continues on to Hecksher State Park at 2:15 p.m. Guided tours and activities will be available at each stop.
The event aims to convince Long Islanders "that there's more than just the one park they're used to going to," says Marty Garbarino, president of Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society, which is co-presenting the event.
Friends play basketball at Heckscher State Park in Great River. Credit: Thomas Hengge
Among the scheduled activities are guided tours of the manor houses at Bayard Cutting and Connetquot, scavenger hunts, coloring tables and a disc golf demonstration at Hecksher. Also closing out the day at Hecksher will be food trucks and live music.
"You can drive from place to place, there'll be signs everywhere, there'll be parking everywhere," Garbarino says. "You will not miss us."
The "One Day 3 Parks" event is also sponsored by Friends of Heckscher State Park, Friends of Connetquot River State Park Preserve and the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference hiking-trail advocacy group
For more information, visit bcahortsociety.org.
IF YOU GO
- Bayard Cutting Arboretum, 440 Montauk Hwy., Great River, 631-581-1002, bayardcuttingarboretum.com
- Connetquot River State Park Preserve, 4090 Sunrise Hwy., Oakdale, 631-581-1005, parks.ny.gov
- Heckscher State Park, 1 Heckscher State Pkwy., East Islip, 631-581-2100, parks.ny.gov
