The North Shore Land Alliance owns or helps maintain 10 preserves that are currently open to the public. While social distancing is recommended right now to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, there is no reason you cannot get up close and personal with Mother Nature.
Health researchers have found that spending two hours a week or more outdoors may help fight depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure, boost your immune system and even improve memory. Take a jog or hike along a preserve trail or pack a picnic lunch and enjoy “forest bathing” in a preserve meadow. A small dose of vitamin D will go a long way during these stressful times.
Since inception in 2003, the North Shore Land Alliance has preserved over 1,200 acres of open space on the North Shore of Long Island and has converted or helped convert nearly 300 of these acres into public preserves. Below is a list of must-visit preserves that are open to the public:
- Cordelia H. Cushman Preserve, 15 acres in Oyster Bay (Tall Oak Crescent off Rt. 25A)
- Cushman Woods, 28 acres in Matinecock (end of Still Rd.)
- John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden, 7 acres in Mill Neck (347 Oyster Bay Rd.; opening in May)
- Shore Road Sanctuary, 8 acres in Cold Spring Harbor (95 Shore Rd.)
- Red Cote Preserve, 30 acres in Oyster Bay (Yellow Cote Rd. off Rt. 25A)
- Hope Goddard Iselin Preserve, 42 acres in Upper Brookville (Chicken Valley Rd. near Laurel Woods Dr.)
- Tiffany Creek, 15 acres in Oyster Bay (45 Sandy Hill Rd.)
- Roosevelt Preserve, 73 acres in Roosevelt (intersection of Frederick Ave. and Brooklyn Ave.)
- Fox Hollow, 26 acres in Laurel Hollow (80 White Oak Tree Rd.)
- Wawapek, 32 acres in Cold Spring Harbor (end of Spring Hill Rd.)
If preserve parking lots are full, be extra careful to maintain social distancing. For North Shore Land Alliance stewardship volunteer opportunities please email the Land Alliance’s Associate Director of Stewardship, Meghan Leverock, at meghan@northshorelandalliance.org.
For more information about the North Shore Land Alliance visit www.northshorelandalliance.org.
