KINGS PARK
Hidden Treasure in Nissequogue Park
Nature education is available for all

By Christy Brothers/ info@longislandernews.com

Both Nissequogue River State Park in Kings Park and Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown have nature programs available for people of all ages.

The programs are specially designed for specific ages. “Tiny Tot’s” is for kids 3-5, children are 5-12, adults are over 12 and family programs are for everyone. The “Tiny Tot’s” and children’s programs are both educational and fun. “Oh they have a blast,” said Kathleen Roth, Environmental Educator at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown.

Only Caleb Smith State Preserve and Connetquot River State Preserve have a full-time environmental educator on hand. But there are environmental educators that regularly travel to all parks, including Nissequogue. One program that is great for families is the autumn nature walk. The mile long walk is a nice experience for a family. There is a program designed for each season, and the season programs are available for children and adults, said Roth.

Roth started as an educator at the park four years ago. Since then she has developed many of her own programs. “When I started I did what people have done before,” said Roth. “But now I have programs where it’s all my own input.”

One children’s program Roth designed is called “Chipmunk Challenge.” Children crawl through tubes and search for acorns and walnuts. The children must quickly carry the nuts because they are being timed. Another program is “Animal Olympics” where children compete in different games related to learning the skills and senses of a particular animal. Most children’s programs include a craft. In the program called “Flashers and Boomers” children learn about thunder and lightning, while they make lightning bolt hats.

Some of the attractions that Caleb Smith and Nissequogue offer include a museum and visitor center, hiking, fishing, nature trails and cross-country skiing. In addition, Nissequogue offers boat rentals, a boat launch site and snow shoeing. Anyone can is permitted to fish, but at Caleb Smith there an area where only minors are allowed. “We get a lot of families that come fishing here,” said Clarence Ware, Park Manager at Caleb Smith State Park Preserve.

Caleb Smith is 543 acres and offers three nature trails. Nissequogue is about150 acres and offers the Greenbelt Trail, where hikers can walk along the Nissequogue River and at the top of bluffs view the Long Island Sound. The Greenbelt Trail is actually 34 miles long and stretches from Hecksher State Park, on the south shore to Sunken Meadow State Park on the north shore, said Gary Lawton, Regional Environmental Educator. There is a hiking program for adults. One hike that is about three miles round trip is between Nissequogue and Sunken Meadow Parks.

At Nissequogue, programs run 12 months a year and during the school year there are school programs available. “The programs are natural history,” said Lawton. Students will come to Nissequogue to study the Long Island Sound, the Nissequogue River and even butterflies and moths.