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This 77-acre oasis on the coast is one of the few places where the pine barrens extend all the way to Long Island’s South Shore. The sanctuary’s marked trail system, a loop that takes about an hour and a half to hike, traverses forest, skirts salt marsh and ends up on Shinnecock Bay. It’s a dream come true for birdwatchers and beachcombers.
What to See
The trail starts out in a woodland topped by pines and oaks. The salt marsh is an excellent example of a Spartina-dominated coastal meadow. The beach is a narrow band of sand that is sometimes covered at high tide.
Bring your binoculars because numerous songbirds and shore birds can be found in the preserve. Shinnecock Bay is regionally significant habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl, colonial nesting waterbirds, beach-nesting birds, migratory shorebirds and songbirds, and raptors.
In March and April, shorebird migrations are at their peak, followed by waves of neotropical songbirds.
In summer, you may see fishing ospreys as well as members of the nesting colonies of terns, gulls and wading birds, including the endangered roseate tern, black skimmer, American oystercatcher, glossy ibis and egrets. Look for herons roosting in the silvery skeletons of dead pines.
In autumn, the migratory spectacle recommences. And between November and March, large concentrations of greater and lesser scaup, American black duck, red-breasted merganser, brant, common goldeneye, long-tailed duck, canvasback, and bufflehead, among other species, overwinter in the Bay.
If you're lucky, you might also see the state-threatened northern harrier, great horned owls, red-tailed hawks, mink and deer.
What to Do
Pine Neck is a perfect place for a short hike along the coast, for birdwatching and for beachcombing.
Planning Your Visit
The trails are open for hiking and observing nature from dawn to dusk. Restrooms in the offices are open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
Please prepare for your visit by reading our guidelines and downloading a trail map (.pdf).
Directions
- Take Sunrise Highway (Route 27) to Exit 64 (County Road 104).
- After about 1 mile, bear left onto Lewis Road (South) and continue to the end until you get to Montauk Highway (Route 27A).
- Go left (east) on Montauk Highway (Route 27A) at the end of Lewis Road.
- Continue east on Montauk Highway, and turn right on Josiah Fosters Path.
- Where Josiah Fosters Path ends and Head of Lots Road begins at a curve in the road, continue left on Head of Lots Road about 0.1 mile to the visitor parking area on the right.
• Select another preserve >>
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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © TNC (Pine Neck); Photo © Mike Baird/Creative Commons (American oystercatcher), Photo © Michael Oberman/Creative Commons (mink).
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