Nissequogue River State ParkLocation: Kings Park, NY
Size: 521 acres
Date of hike: Feb. 25 and March 10, 2018
If AMC's "The Walking Dead" ever needs a new location to film, I'd definitely recommend Nissequogue River State Park. The apocalyptic-looking park is located on the picturesque waterfront property of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center, and it has dozens of abandoned buildings, overgrown homes and other crumbling structures. There's also a wide array of graffiti, both artistic and despicable. You'll see nothing else like it on Long Island, which is why it's one of my top hiking spots. It's what I call "creepy cool."
Before setting out, I researched the history and habitats of Nissequogue River State Park. The park's land is situated along the banks of the Nissequogue River, which is an 8.3-mile river flowing from Caleb Smith State Park Preserve in Smithtown to the Long Island Sound. The river is the sound's biggest tributary in New York and has an average discharge higher than any freshwater river on Long Island, according to Stony Brook University. That aside, the property is probably best known for its psychiatric history. Kings County purchased it from residents in 1885 to relieve overcrowding of patients in the city's asylums and quickly built 16 cottages to accommodate 450 patients, according to the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation's website. It was often called a "farm colony," the website said, because patients were encouraged to assist in farm-related activities, which was "a form of therapy." The hospital became a self-sufficient community that grew its own food, generated its own electricity, and even had its own railroad spur. It was ultimately passed along to the state, which began to "build upwards" for a growing population that would exceed 9,300 by 1954. However, the increased use of medication to help treat mental illness caused the center to become "a ghost of its former self" by the early 1990s, the website said. It closed in 1996.
The park itself officially opened on a 153-acre area of the former psychiatric center in 2000, with another 368 acres of hospital property added in 2007. The state then demolished 18 former hospital buildings in 2013, and announced a $40 million improvement plan in 2017. That plan involved the moving and modernizing of a 151-slip marina near the river's mouth, restoring the marina's former location to wetlands, and establishing a headquarters for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Division of Marine Resources, among other things. Other key details about the park include having a small section of the Long Island Greenbelt Trail, which is a 32-mile path that spans north to south (or south to north) across Long Island, and it's designation as a "bird conservation area" with over 150 species of birds having been documented there. "River corridors and beaches along the Long Island Sound provide wintering grounds for waterfowls, foraging areas and roosts for herons and egrets, and serve as a migration route for songbirds," said the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation's website. Lastly, pets are permitted.
The park's entrance is on St. Johnland Road near its intersection with Kings Park Boulevard. My plan was to split the park in two parts: the section north and east of St. Johnland Road, and the section south and west of St. Johnland Road. I parked alongside a two-story brick building named Veterans Memorial Hospital, which serves as a park office and was initially built to treat World War I veterans between 1923 and 1927. Many of the park's abandoned buildings have broken and boarded windows, layers of graffiti, and years of general neglect. To my delight (and surprise), I was able to get close to most buildings and, in some cases, even enter them through open or broken doors. Other highlights of the park's northeastern section included a three-story brick building that had all of its windows (I counted a total of 69 windows on one side alone) creatively covered up with vibrant nature-themed illustrations. You'll also find some very impressive views of the Nissequogue River and Long Island Sound.
I returned two weeks later to hike the park's southwestern section, which boasts a 13-story brick edifice called Building 93. It looms ominously over the park, slightly reminding me of Castle Grayskull from the 1980's sci-fi cartoon, "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe." The facility, which was designed by a state architect named William Haugaard, was built in 1939 and used as an infirmary for geriatric patients and individuals with dementia, according to the foundation's website. To be honest, a part of me expected to see homeless people or mischievous teens in some of the dilapidated buildings, but I didn't. I did, though, encounter an overzealous public safety dude who drove over and instructed me to shake my backpack. I didn't realize why at first, but I eventually realized he thought I was a possible spray-painter.
The park's southwestern section also features the Kings Park Hike & Bike Trail, a 1.7-mile trail that connects downtown Kings Park with the Long Island Sound via Nissequogue River State Park. The trail opened in 2004 and runs "mainly along the hospital's old railroad spur," according to a sign installed near the intersection of Main Street and Kings Park Boulevard. It also said the parkland's wildlife ranges from red foxes to box turtles to red-tailed hawks. While I didn't see any of those during my hikes, I did see a group of five deer staring me down like paparazzi at one point. I waved, but they fled like I had threatened their lives.
My Nissequogue soundtrack was Riverside's 2015 album, Love, Fear and the Time Machine. It was the Polish group's last release to feature guitarist Piotr Grudziński, who sadly passed away in 2016. I ended up buying their entire discography after he died, but I connected with the band's earlier albums so much that I hadn't really listened to their most recent creation. Well, those days are done. This disc is a timeless masterpiece. I love everything about it.
In a nutshell, I'd say that Nissequogue River State Park is a must-see spot for all hikers on Long Island. While there aren't many hiking "trails," per se, the apocalyptic buildings more than make up for that. Just be very careful. And bring some zombie repellent just in case!
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