Featured Story

Secret Garden to welcome visitors and Scavenger Hunt on tap

Memorial Day Weekends traditionally include many kinds of observances, some fun, some formal, but as this season opens on a quieter note than in the past, spend a peaceful half-hour exploring a hidden gem on the Island.

The Shelter Island Historical Society is giving a 30-minute Secret Garden Tour on Saturday, May 29 from 2 to 6 p.m. (The rain date is Sunday, May 30).

Walk through a one-acre garden near Coecles Harbor that boasts more than 5,000 plants, some ornamental, others native.

The tour is $30 per person. You can purchase tickets at shelterislandhistorical.org/thesecretgardentour2021.html

Do you know your Island? Explore Island landmarks this summer

(Credit: Courtesy illustration)

A family activity that can offer fun adventures throughout the summer is a Scavenger Hunt.

Three of the Island’s nonprofit cultural organizations have collaborated on an interesting, updated Shelter Island Scavenger Hunt booklet.

Take exploratory tours around the Island at any time that suits your family and check out many of our local landmarks.

First published in 2016, this year’s version has been updated by the Shelter Island Library, The Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve and Sylvester Manor Educational Farm.

Designed to be a family adventure, visitors locate the sites, answer a question or fulfill a mini-quest at each of the 16 locations. In addition to the three main organizations, visitors are encouraged to visit out-of-the-way places such as Kissing Rock, the Quaker Cemetery and Reel Point. Once the hunt is complete, the families return the booklet to the library for a small prize.

The booklets are free and can be picked up at the circulation desk at the library, outside at Mashomack’s Visitor Center or Sylvester Manor’s Farmstand. The Shelter Island Scavenger Hunt will run from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends.