Mileage: ~3.75 miles one way
Difficulty: Easy
Terrain: Flat, Woods, Coastline, Sandy Beach
Companion: Jesse
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Make a loop of it!
From the lighthouse connect up to the Money Pond Trail, making your way back to the Paumanok Path on the north side of NY 27. (About 2.5 miles)
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This hike is one of the most beautiful you can choose to do on Long Island. I would put it in the top 3 walks here. We made this last section of the Paumanok Path into a loop. This is the only section I didn't have to hike twice. Jesse also hiked this section with me which is the only section he's done.
We began the hike on Camp Hero Road. There is a short connector trail that meets up with the Paumanok Path along the right hand side of the road. Parking is roadside. To do a shorter hike you can also just go straight to Camp Hero State Park and you'll start out at the bluffs right away with less woods walking.
The fall colors were still sticking around in late November. A few colorful areas abound.
The moss under the many fallen Beech leaves thrives in this habitat.
There were many holly branches which gave the hike a nice Holiday feel for this time of year.
Camp Hero will take you through an area with much historical importance due to it's past military use.
The woods will eventually lead you out to the gorgeous bluffs below. There was no one else up here surprisingly and the bluff makes a great break time spot.
Back on to the trail, you'll follow along the coast all the way to the lighthouse.
The trail is marked by white markers all the way. Once you reach the lighthouse there's one or two markers on the rocks but the they stop until you walk all the way around the lighthouse across the rocks.
Since I wasn't exactly sure where the trail ended I thought it stopped abruptly at the rocks at first as the trail markers stopped. But when we reached around to the other side of the lighthouse we caught another marker and followed it up towards the gift shop.
We then saw the end of the trail marked by the three white blazes below.
We did our trek up the top of the lighthouse on a separate day to have ample time to explore.
The views are amazing from the top. There is a small platform you can step out to take a look around. It is a little different than the Fire Island lighthouse as with that one you can walk around the outside of the top for a 360 degree view. The Montauk one offers a pretty view, but it would benefit from a 360 degree walkway as well.
We made our way down and came back to check out the annual Holiday lighting.
Instead of going back the way we came, we made a loop and took the Money Pond trail back. This trail was listed on a website as one of the best trails on Long Island. It was an average trail through the woods without any spectacular views. I don't think I'd put it in the top. The Seal Halout trail could make the list if you get lucky enough to see some seals. We didn't see any on our hike. They are both very short trails. From the list on the website I do agree with David Weld and Walking Dunes being on the list for the top 10. The others are also nice too. I'd add on the entire Paumanok Path too.
Be careful of ticks anywhere you hike on Long Island, especially in the warmer months. Winter and fall are the best times to hike here.
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| View of Money Pond |
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LINK TO SEE VIDEO OF HIKE: MY VIMEO
Important Paumanok Path Info: http://www.hike-li.org/ptrail/index.htm
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