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True to its name, Uplands Farm Sanctuary retains the appearance of an old dairy farm, complete with a silo and open fields that were once cattle pastures. Today, the old farm buildings serve as an office for The Nature Conservancy's Long Island Chapter.
A double-loop trail meanders from bird and butterfly meadows, through deciduous forests, into a white pine-shaded ravine.
In the eastern woodland, you’ll see red maple, black cherry and red cedar mixed with oak, ash and hickory trees. In the hilly terrain of the western woodland, flowering dogwood and extensive thickets of mountain laurel bloom below a canopy of oaks, tulip trees and black birch.
Wood frogs, spotted salamanders and turtles are among the wildlife you can observe in the seasonally wet areas called vernal pools.
The sanctuary's meadows and hedgerows provide habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals, including butterfly weed and goldenrods, 40 butterfly species and grassland birds such as bobolinks and meadowlarks, which have become rare as their habitat has disappeared.
Bluebirds, the New York state bird, return in late winter and early spring. They build their nests in bird boxes or tree cavities along forest edges.
Monarch butterflies return to the region in late summer. Both the caterpillars and adult butterflies rely on the butterfly weed and other milkweed species that bloom in the open fields.
The marked, mostly level trail makes this a good place for family-friendly hikes. If you’re interested in longer hikes, the Uplands trail connects to the 20-mile Nassau-Suffolk Trail, part of the Long Island Greenbelt.
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
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Nature picture credits (top to bottom, left to right): Photo © TNC (Uplands Farm); Photo © Derek Rogers/TNC (Black-crowned night heron), Photo © OakleyOriginals/Creative Commons (butterfly weed).
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