NYS Empire Pass
The Empire Pass is your key to all-season enjoyment at New York State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches and trails.
This pass provides unlimited day use vehicle entry to most state parks and recreation facilities! Click below or call the Library at 631-669-5445 to make a reservation.
Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center
In 2024, New York’s State Parks and Historic Sites will celebrate their Centennial, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of our parks and sites system.
100 Years of Service
Share Your Story!
Take the Challenge!
2024 marks our Centennial, and with it, lots of reasons to celebrate! As you head out on your next adventure to a New York State park or historic site, we invite you to take on the Centennial Challenge!
NYS Parks Department has created a list of 100 activities to give you a chance to get outdoors and discover our state parks, to learn more about New York State history at historic sites, and to give back to preserve all properties for the next generation!
Complete 24 out of 100 activities to win prizes!
Not sure you can complete all 100 activities in a year? That’s okay! The goal is to complete 24, after which you’ll earn a commemorative Centennial prize, as well as an entry into a random drawing for one of 24 three-year Empire Passes and a Centennial swag bag!
Download the printable checklist here OR download the Goosechase app on Android or iPhone.
Click here for more information.
NY State Parks on Long Island
Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park
440 Montauk Highway
Great River, NY 11739
The Arboretum provides an oasis of quiet and natural beauty. Its current collection of conifers is probably the most extensive to be found on Long Island.
Belmont Lake State Park
Belmont Lake State Park
Southern State Parkway Exit 38
North Babylon, NY 11703
Belmont Lake State Park is a full service park offering boating, fishing, picnicking, playing fields, biking, horseback riding, hiking and cross-country skiing.
Bethpage State Park
Bethpage State Park
99 Quaker Meeting House Road
Farmingdale, NY 11735
Offering five world-class golf courses, including the world-renowned Black Course, Bethpage was the site of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championships.
Brentwood State Park
Brentwood State Park
375 Crooked Hill Road
Brentwood, NY 11717
Brookhaven State Park
Brookhaven State Park
2500 William Floyd Parkway
Ridge, NY 11961
Brookhaven State Park is 1,638-acres and is part of the central core of the Long Island Pine Barrens. The Park runs along the east side William Floyd Parkway north of Whiskey Road, and between NY 25 and NY 25A.
Caleb Smith State Park Preserve
Caleb Smith State Park Preserve
581 West Jericho Turnpike
Smithtown, NY 11787
Boasting acres of undeveloped landscape the park allows visitors to explore many different habitats including freshwater wetlands, ponds, streams, fields and upland woods.
Camp Hero State Park
Camp Hero State Park
1898 Montauk Highway
Montauk, NY 11954
Camp Hero offers pristine maritime forests, freshwater wetlands, stunning ocean vistas and dramatic bluffs rising from the beach, as well as an historic military instillation.
Captree State Park
Captree State Park
3500 E. Ocean Parkway
Bay Shore, NY 11706
Found at the eastern tip of Jones Beach Island, Captree is a haven for aquatic adventure. Open and charter boats are available for fishing, scuba diving, and sightseeing excursions.
Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve
Caumsett State Historic Park Preserve
25 Lloyd Harbor Road
Huntington, NY 11743
Situated on a scenic peninsula extending into Long Island Sound this English-style estate offers miles of pathway winding through woodland, meadows, shoreline and salt marsh.
Cold Spring Harbor State Park
Cold Spring Harbor State Park
95 Harbor Rd
Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724
The park is comprised of 40 acres of hilly terrain offering scenic vistas of Cold Spring Harbor. It features a mixed hardwood forest, as well as thickets of wild mountain laurel.
Connetquot River State Park Preserve
Connetquot River State Park Preserve
Box 505
Oakdale, NY 11769
The preserve maintains 3,473 acres of land and water for the protection and propagation of game birds, fish and animals. Explore the 50 miles of trails winding through the park.
Gilgo State Park
Gilgo State Park
Ocean Parkway
Babylon, NY 11702
Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay on Long Island’s south shore this undeveloped beach boasts spectacular views. Permit and 4 wheel drive required for access.
Hallock State Park Preserve
Hallock State Park Preserve
6062 Sound Avenue
Riverhead, NY 11947
Jamesport State Park offers nearly 1-mile of pristine beach front on the North Shore of Long Island along the Long Island Sound. Hiking, nature walks and bird watching in available on the eastern portion of the property.
Heckscher State Park
Heckscher State Park
Heckscher Parkway Field 1
East Islip, NY 11730
Twenty miles of trails, swimming in the Great South Bay and boating attract more than a million visitors per year.
Hempstead Lake State Park
Hempstead Lake State Park
1000 Lake Drive
West Hempstead, NY 11552
Hempstead Lake State Park boasts three ponds in addition to its namesake lake. An historic hand carved carousel as well as boating and fishing are the park’s main attractions.
Hither Hills State Park
Hither Hills State Park
164 Old Montauk Highway
Montauk, NY 11954
The Atlantic Ocean and the unique “walking dunes” of Napeague Harbor form the border for this scenic park. The park boasts a sandy beach and woodland area for outdoor recreation.
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park
2400 Ocean Parkway
Wantagh, NY 11793
Featuring a boardwalk and over 6 miles of ocean beach, Jones Beach State Park is a world-class swimming destination. The park also features the Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center.
Montauk Downs State Park
Montauk Downs State Park
50 South Fairview Avenue
Montauk, NY 11954
Montauk Downs is best known for its championship-length, 18-hole golf course. In addition, the park offers a driving range, tennis courts, swimming pool, and full service clubhouse.
Montauk Point State Park
Montauk Point State Park
2000 Montauk Highway
Montauk, NY 11954
A heavily-wooded area on the tip of Long Island offers some of the best surf fishing in the world. Calm water reveals the “race” of converging tides from the Ocean and the Sound.
Nissequogue River State Park
Nissequogue River State Park
799 Saint Johnland Road
Kings Park, NY 11754
The north shore of Long Island offers a variety of habitats including tidal and fresh water wetlands and hardwood forests to the park’s shore birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Orient Beach State Park
Orient Beach State Park
40000 Main Road (Route 25)
Orient, NY 11957
The park’s 45,000 feet of frontage on Gardiner’s Bay and rare maritime forest with red cedar, black-jack oak trees and prickly-pear cactus offer swimming, fishing and hiking.
Robert Moses State Park
Robert Moses State Park – Long Island
600 Robert Moses State Parkway
Babylon, NY 11702
Robert Moses has five miles of ocean beach from which visitors can swim, surf or surf-fish. The park also has picnic areas, an 18-hole pitch & putt golf course, and a day use boat basin.
Shadmoor State Park
Shadmoor State Park
900 Montauk Highway
Montauk, NY 11954
Located on the tip of Long Island the park features a long ocean beach, rolling geography and shadbush growth. Bluffs and freshwater wetlands are also part of the preserve.
Sunken Meadow State Park
Sunken Meadow State Park (Governor Alfred E. Smith)
Rte. 25A and Sunken Meadow Parkway
Kings Park, NY 11754
Located on Long Island Sound the park offers a wide range of topography that sustains a variety of flora and fauna. The miles of beach meet tall, glacial bluffs at the shoreline. If using a GPS enter: 1 Sunken Meadow Parkway, Kings Park, NY.
Trail View State Park
Trail View State Park
8131 Jericho Turnpike
(next to Stop & Shop)
Woodbury, NY 11797
Serving as a link along the Nassau/Suffolk Greenbelt Trail the park encompasses a variety of habitats and undeveloped resources such as hardwood forests, marshes and fields.
Valley Stream State Park
Valley Stream State Park
Valley Stream State Park Rd.
Valley Stream, NY 11580
The park is a day-use picnic facility near a highly-developed residential area offering picnic areas with tables, fireplaces and grills, playing fields and sport courts.
Wildwood State Park
Wildwood State Park
790 Hulse Landing Road
Wading River, NY 11792
Acres of undeveloped hardwood forest terminating on the high bluff overlooking Long Island Sound provides the scenic background for swimming, camping, picnicking, and fishing.