Richard’s Almanac: Discover walking trails on preserved lands

It was nearly 35 years ago when I worked at this newspaper learning from Bob Dunne how to be a reporter.

He assigned a feature on town landings.

There are 50 of these access points to the water for members of the public to use. They are marked by an anchor on the Chamber of Commerce’s map.

I’ve just learned of another map that delineates walkable open space and preserved lands for “the benefit of our community and Island visitors.”

The map is provided by the town and is available at Town Hall, at the Reporter and other Island locations. It can also be downloaded at ShelterIslandTown.us/OpenSpace.

It lists 16 open space parcels and may be of particular interest to seniors because walking is a preferred exercise for our age group.

There are the well-known lands like the 24-acre Sachem’s Woods accessible from North Midway Road or Route 114. I remember when this was first acquired by the town, the Garden Club of Shelter Island had set up many informative displays throughout the trails. There were also signs on both roads.

Another is Ice Pond Park on New York Avenue. This was established during the time that Mal Nevel was town supervisor. It consists of 9 acres.

Then there’s Shell Beach, which is 1/2 mile long and has parking by permit only.

Taylor’s Island is only accessible by boat.

The 42-acre waterfront parcel called the Section 9/Dressel Preserve is accessible from Menhaden Lane and consists of much of the waterfront to the right of the permit-only parking area.

The pamphlet also lists the 2,000-acre Mashomack Preserve but this is owned and operated by the Nature Conservancy and they set their own hours. Another space is the Sylvester Manor Educational Farm, which is 225 acres and has its own hours.

Nine other parcels of preserved lands exist for public use but are difficult to find. The pamphlet gives very helpful directions.

There’s the Mildred Flower Hird Nature Preserve that consists of 30 acres divided by Manhanset Road. The 4-acre Gardiner’s Creek Preserve is accessible by Quail Hedge Lane. The 17-acre Cackle Hill Preserve is reached by way of Stearns Point Road. Off Brander Parkway is the 12.6-acre Crab Creek Preserve.

Dickerson Park’s 8 acres and pond are off Menantic Road, while the 1.2-acre Dickerson Creek Overlook is off Tarkettle Road and Charlie’s Lane. Off South Midway Road is the 6-acre Turkem’s Rest Preserve that has views of Fresh Pond. St. Gabriel’s Meadow is 7.75 acres and is a large open field on Burns Road. The Nursery Woodlands Annex is 24 acres and is off St. Mary’s Road.

These maps are in color and are helpful to carry for a day of exploring.

I’ll say it once again. We are very fortunate to live on this little Island.