
Location: Coram, NY
Size: 450 acres
Date of hike: May 27, 2017
I used an entrance on Granny Road near Middle Island Road, but I later found an alternate entrance on Mill Road near Dryden Avenue. Both are large enough to fit half a dozen cars. There was also a kiosk with information
for bikers, but no trail map. That meant I'd have to use my
geocaching app to track my whereabouts. First, I
walked north inside the preserve along a paved road named David Overton Road that had openings in the brush for visitors to access the forest. I
immediately realized the preserve is a popular mountain biking location, as the trail markers all had images of bicycles. From what I learned, there
are four levels of difficulty. The easiest biking trails are all marked with
a green circle, then a blue square for moderate, and single and double
black diamonds for the preserve's most challenging trails. After walking the entirety of
the paved road until it reached a neighborhood on the opposite side of
the preserve, I backtracked a bit and ducked into one of the openings in the
brush.
The
woods were filled with tons of cool things you simply don't see
in other local preserves. For example, the first item I
encountered was some sort of old military-type weapon on two wheels. I
later came upon an abandoned pickup truck with "smoke pot" written on
the side in red spray paint. Then there was a broken boat just laying
amidst the sea of trees as if a tornado had dropped it in that
very spot. But the best stuff was what looked like makeshift structures
and barriers used for paintballing. There were wooden platforms up in the trees, rusty barrels scattered around, and fragments of fences propped
up for protection against incoming fire. My subsequent research uncovered an article from 2011, also in Newsday, indicating the land was once used
by Cousins Paintball. But all that's there now are the
apocalyptic-looking remnants. I'll admit, it's a pretty chilling sight. I couldn't get enough.
As I stated earlier, I didn't follow the loop trail. Instead, I
just wandered wherever I wanted. Eventually, I
passed a few bikers (or, should I say, they passed me) and a handful of deer. Maybe four or five deer. I even walked within a stone's throw of them one time before they saw me and fled the scene. The forest is so dense that, if you're quiet, you can get pretty close before they see you. Unfortunately, the preserve's density
also means that it is very shadowy with lots of branches overhead, which resulted in a decent amount of caterpillars hanging from the trees
on this day. I constantly found myself dodging them along the
trail. After all, the last thing I wanted was for a dangling caterpillar to smack me in the forehead.
My
hiking music was Voyager, an Autralian
progressive metal band that recently released their sixth album Ghost Mile. Unfortunately, my copy hadn't arrived yet, so
I found myself streaming the songs on YouTube. I didn't even use
earphones. The preserve was mostly empty, so I just let the music
play on my phone. Hiking and headbanging are a magical
combination. My favorite song is probably the second track, "Misery is
Only Company." That's the perfect tune if you're craving a taste of
some modern-day progressive metal.
All in all, I definitely recommend David Overton Trail, with its unqiue mix of man and nature. There's
so much stuff hidden within its depths that I feel like I barely scratched
the surface. And, of course, thank you to my late friend for guiding me
toward Overton. RIP, Dominick.
(Updated: Dec. 23, 2018)
Video: David Overton Trail (360-degree view)
(Updated: Dec. 23, 2018)
Video: David Overton Trail (360-degree view)
Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this information and lovely photos. It's a very large public service which I really appreciate.
ReplyDeleteWhat road is the entrance and parking on for David Overton Preserve?
ReplyDeleteDavid Overton Rd, which is off of Granny Rd, which is off of NY-112, north of the LIE Exit 64
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