Sunken Meadow State Park
The Sunken Meadow State Park , and Sunken Meadow State Park (Governor Alfred E. Smith) is a state park on the coast of Long Iceland Sound near Smithtown in Suffolk County , New York , United States. It is located on the northern side of Long Island and covers an area of approximately 4.9 square kilometers. The park is maintained by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . The name of the park (sunken meadow) comes from the deep, moist meadows that separate the narrow sandy beach from the higher land behind it. The nickname Governor Alfred E. Smith has been added in honor of the former governor of the US state of New York.
history
The first piece of park land was acquired by the Lamb family in New York State in 1926. The expansion of the expressways increased the population's interest in the park and in visiting the beach area. In 1928, the town of Smithtown added another large piece of beach land to the park. Further small extensions took place in the following years. Today up to 2.5 million people visit the park every year, on good weekends up to 24,000 visitors can stay in the park.
leisure offers
The park has about three miles of beach on Long Island Sound. The Nissequogue River flows into Long Island Sound in the park and forms brackish water areas and marshland here . Separated from the tidal water by an artificial dam, there are other marshlands that are fed by river and groundwater. In the park there are three different aquatic ecosystems (salt, brackish and fresh water) with different flora and fauna. To the south of the wetlands there are natural forests in a slightly hilly landscape shaped by the Ice Age, which forms a cliff on Long Island Sound. The highest point in the parks is around 80 meters above sea level. The park has around 10 kilometers of hiking and cycling trails as well as parking spaces (chargeable), various picnic areas, playgrounds, ball sports fields and restaurants. Horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing and windsurfing are possible. The affiliated Governor Alfred E. Smith / Sunken Meadow State Park Golf Course golf course has three lanes with nine holes each, a driving range (for practicing long strokes) and a putting green (for practicing how to hole the ball). The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset.
The Long Island Greenbelt Trail connects Sunken Meadow State Park with the Heckscher State Park on Great South Bay near East Islip over a nearly 50 km long path .
The park can be reached via the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, which has two separate exits to the park and ends here. The park can be reached by public transport via the Long Island Railroad Station Kings Park, about one kilometer away, as well as by bus. In addition to the main entrance for cars, there are numerous other entrances for pedestrians and cyclists.
fauna
Numerous animal species are native to the park. For bird watching of the bird species living in the park, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation has compiled a list that simplifies the identification and has set up various observation points.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Sunken Meadow State Park Information meeting packets from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation (pdf; 196 kB)
- ↑ Sunken Meadow State Park Description at Long Island Exchange ( Memento of the original from December 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation: Sunken Meadow State Park
- ^ Heckscher State Parkway
- ↑ Checklist of the birds in Sunken Meadow State Park (pdf; 181 kB)
Coordinates: 40 ° 54 ′ 41 ″ N , 73 ° 15 ′ 28 ″ W.