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.

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Summer State Park Activities

NYS Park Programs

Jones Beach Energy and Nature Center

2024 NYS Camping Guide

 

 

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.

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