Wantagh nature trail at mill pond park and upper and lower ponds
History:
Wantagh was named after the sachem or chief of the Merokee tribe who later became the grand sachem of the Montauk tribe from 1651-1658.
The creek running north and south was originally called the Jerusalem River, because, for a time, Wantagh was referred to as Jerusalem and later Ridgewood before finally becoming Wantagh.
According to one of my favorite resource books, Hiking Long Island, it was Walt Whitman who referred to Long Island as the isle of sweet brooks. The Wantagh Nature Trail consciously brings the term, sweet brooks, to mind!
I don't know much about the history of the park, except that it was created by members of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference and is now maintained by the Town of Hempstead.
Mill Pond is approximately 15 acres; Twin Ponds is approximately 58 acres. Together, they form a beautiful haven in the middle of suburbia with so much shoreline between them, you will never want for a water view. In fact, one of the things I really appreciated was the proximity of water nearly anywhere on the trails.
Length: 3.8 miles and could easily be more
Level of Difficulty: Very easy, just lots of tree roots
Restroom facilities: None that I saw
Observations of a Forest Therapy Guide:
I'm always intrigued when someone writes, "a forgotten piece of open space" especially on Long Island. It turns out that Long Island has a lot of forgotten pieces; all treasures, and perhaps none quite as exquisite as the space around these three ponds. We did find some over-filled trash receptacles. It was a Sunday, so maybe Monday morning those were to be emptied. At least people were using the trash receptacles! There was one spot near the shore where someone emptied an entire case of empty Bud beer cans as well as the cardboard case. It brought tears to my eyes. Why do people think that's okay? What prompts people to think that's what this beautiful park is for? I won't digress here. Just let it be said that some garbage was evident in the water even with the trash receptacles present.
My friend and I chose to start out with a drive along Sunrise and then headed north on Wantagh Avenue to Park Avenue. We parked just before coming to Old Mill Road on the street between Upper and Lower Twin Ponds. Street parking only. The alternative was to start out on Merrick Road at Mill Pond Park and cross both Lakeview Road and Sunrise Highway on foot to get to the Twin Ponds. That didn't appeal to either of us, so we started out at Upper Twin Pond and later, got in the car and drove down to Mill Pond Park, which technically is Bellmore. It didn't interrupt the serenity of our moods as we felt crossing Sunrise on foot might.
What struck me most was the trails. For a good portion of the trail, especially at Upper Twin Pond, we walked parallel to Wantagh State Parkway. I didn't mind it so much, when usually hearing a lot of traffic or walking alongside a chain link fence with barbed wire at the top, makes me crazy. The trail was enough to draw me in and keep me in awe of nature. There were even the memorials to people lost along the highway. We stopped and witnessed. Again, Upper Twin Pond.
The unique thing about the upper pond was crossing over creeks and streams along the roadside, using "the bridge" to go across. The trail was always on the other side of the bridge, so it's clearly how you're supposed to do it. Let me be more specific, when I say bridge, please visualize a 12-18" slab with a chain link fence on your left and the water on your right. Each bridge was about 3-4' above the stream. Not for those of us who have some height issues and yet, I crossed each and every one safely without any vertigo. After the first one, it was rather like a forest challenge: here's your next bridge to cross, and it was all okay. I don't want to alarm anyone describing it the way I did. I might be a bit concerned with small children in tow. Also, from a Forest Therapy perspective, the less risk I expose my forest bathers to, the happier I am.
Trails:
At Upper Twin Pond: The trails were mostly narrow, and marked with white blazes. We walked single file; sometimes widening to accommodate two people walking side by side. Some of the trails are paved, others are not. There was an abundance of tree roots on the unpaved trails, which as a forest therapy guide, has me worried about my forest bathers' footing. I happen to love tree roots. I felt very connected.
There was brilliant green moss at the base of most of the trail trees, and it seemed like we'd entered a fairie world with occasional vistas that opened to the pond.
There were lots of people, being Sunday, all very friendly. There were lots of dogs on leashes, enjoying the trails as much, or maybe more, than their human counterparts. These ponds are big fishing ponds, so we saw lots of people fishing, too.
There were spots, early on, where we walked right along Old Mill Road, fenced in on our left. It's just how it is in suburbia. The view on the right was enough to keep us enchanted most of the time.
We spent the estimated 90 minutes for the entire Upper and Lower ponds, just around Upper Twin Pond, stopping to enjoy the birds, look at the trees and examine some of the small fruit we found along the trail. Red and Yellow Cherry plums, was our best guess, using PlantNet, an app that let's you take a photo and then offers some choices about what you've found.
After walking around Upper Twin Pond, we didn't see an entrance to Lower Twin Pond on Park Avenue, so we got in the car and headed south to Mill Pond Park. Lower Twin Pond's trails are yet to be explored and shared here.
At Mill Pond - Mill Pond Park's entrance is right on Merrick Road. Again, street parking. The trail head for the Wantagh Nature trail was clearly marked and we started on our way. The trail is marked with white blazes and very clear, except for one place in particular where the Gnome and Fairies have a village. I kid you not. We wandered a bit here, not sure of the trail, which eventually led us back to the main trail.
What I noticed most was the park's accessibility to the land and water. True for Upper Twin Pond, too. I really felt that I was walking in the woods, not always on some human-constructed path. It was so refreshing. I'm not sure if it's the same in the summer when everything is at its foliage and growth peak. It was true for early November.
All in all, this area is highly recommended. It might not be the perfect place for Forest Therapy, due to the narrow trails and no restroom facilities, and it was the perfect day for a walk with a friend. At Mill Pond, Merrick Road is right there, so you could start out at one of the local delis or diners and end up there, as well, after your walk.
Wantagh was named after the sachem or chief of the Merokee tribe who later became the grand sachem of the Montauk tribe from 1651-1658.
The creek running north and south was originally called the Jerusalem River, because, for a time, Wantagh was referred to as Jerusalem and later Ridgewood before finally becoming Wantagh.
According to one of my favorite resource books, Hiking Long Island, it was Walt Whitman who referred to Long Island as the isle of sweet brooks. The Wantagh Nature Trail consciously brings the term, sweet brooks, to mind!
I don't know much about the history of the park, except that it was created by members of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference and is now maintained by the Town of Hempstead.
Mill Pond is approximately 15 acres; Twin Ponds is approximately 58 acres. Together, they form a beautiful haven in the middle of suburbia with so much shoreline between them, you will never want for a water view. In fact, one of the things I really appreciated was the proximity of water nearly anywhere on the trails.
Length: 3.8 miles and could easily be more
Level of Difficulty: Very easy, just lots of tree roots
Restroom facilities: None that I saw
Observations of a Forest Therapy Guide:
I'm always intrigued when someone writes, "a forgotten piece of open space" especially on Long Island. It turns out that Long Island has a lot of forgotten pieces; all treasures, and perhaps none quite as exquisite as the space around these three ponds. We did find some over-filled trash receptacles. It was a Sunday, so maybe Monday morning those were to be emptied. At least people were using the trash receptacles! There was one spot near the shore where someone emptied an entire case of empty Bud beer cans as well as the cardboard case. It brought tears to my eyes. Why do people think that's okay? What prompts people to think that's what this beautiful park is for? I won't digress here. Just let it be said that some garbage was evident in the water even with the trash receptacles present.
My friend and I chose to start out with a drive along Sunrise and then headed north on Wantagh Avenue to Park Avenue. We parked just before coming to Old Mill Road on the street between Upper and Lower Twin Ponds. Street parking only. The alternative was to start out on Merrick Road at Mill Pond Park and cross both Lakeview Road and Sunrise Highway on foot to get to the Twin Ponds. That didn't appeal to either of us, so we started out at Upper Twin Pond and later, got in the car and drove down to Mill Pond Park, which technically is Bellmore. It didn't interrupt the serenity of our moods as we felt crossing Sunrise on foot might.
What struck me most was the trails. For a good portion of the trail, especially at Upper Twin Pond, we walked parallel to Wantagh State Parkway. I didn't mind it so much, when usually hearing a lot of traffic or walking alongside a chain link fence with barbed wire at the top, makes me crazy. The trail was enough to draw me in and keep me in awe of nature. There were even the memorials to people lost along the highway. We stopped and witnessed. Again, Upper Twin Pond.
The unique thing about the upper pond was crossing over creeks and streams along the roadside, using "the bridge" to go across. The trail was always on the other side of the bridge, so it's clearly how you're supposed to do it. Let me be more specific, when I say bridge, please visualize a 12-18" slab with a chain link fence on your left and the water on your right. Each bridge was about 3-4' above the stream. Not for those of us who have some height issues and yet, I crossed each and every one safely without any vertigo. After the first one, it was rather like a forest challenge: here's your next bridge to cross, and it was all okay. I don't want to alarm anyone describing it the way I did. I might be a bit concerned with small children in tow. Also, from a Forest Therapy perspective, the less risk I expose my forest bathers to, the happier I am.
Trails:
At Upper Twin Pond: The trails were mostly narrow, and marked with white blazes. We walked single file; sometimes widening to accommodate two people walking side by side. Some of the trails are paved, others are not. There was an abundance of tree roots on the unpaved trails, which as a forest therapy guide, has me worried about my forest bathers' footing. I happen to love tree roots. I felt very connected.
There was brilliant green moss at the base of most of the trail trees, and it seemed like we'd entered a fairie world with occasional vistas that opened to the pond.
There were lots of people, being Sunday, all very friendly. There were lots of dogs on leashes, enjoying the trails as much, or maybe more, than their human counterparts. These ponds are big fishing ponds, so we saw lots of people fishing, too.
There were spots, early on, where we walked right along Old Mill Road, fenced in on our left. It's just how it is in suburbia. The view on the right was enough to keep us enchanted most of the time.
We spent the estimated 90 minutes for the entire Upper and Lower ponds, just around Upper Twin Pond, stopping to enjoy the birds, look at the trees and examine some of the small fruit we found along the trail. Red and Yellow Cherry plums, was our best guess, using PlantNet, an app that let's you take a photo and then offers some choices about what you've found.
After walking around Upper Twin Pond, we didn't see an entrance to Lower Twin Pond on Park Avenue, so we got in the car and headed south to Mill Pond Park. Lower Twin Pond's trails are yet to be explored and shared here.
At Mill Pond - Mill Pond Park's entrance is right on Merrick Road. Again, street parking. The trail head for the Wantagh Nature trail was clearly marked and we started on our way. The trail is marked with white blazes and very clear, except for one place in particular where the Gnome and Fairies have a village. I kid you not. We wandered a bit here, not sure of the trail, which eventually led us back to the main trail.
What I noticed most was the park's accessibility to the land and water. True for Upper Twin Pond, too. I really felt that I was walking in the woods, not always on some human-constructed path. It was so refreshing. I'm not sure if it's the same in the summer when everything is at its foliage and growth peak. It was true for early November.
All in all, this area is highly recommended. It might not be the perfect place for Forest Therapy, due to the narrow trails and no restroom facilities, and it was the perfect day for a walk with a friend. At Mill Pond, Merrick Road is right there, so you could start out at one of the local delis or diners and end up there, as well, after your walk.