Lily Pond County Park

Location: Nesconset, NY

Size: 90 acres

Date of hike: June 8, 2014

Lily Pond County Park is a tiny hiking spot with thin strips of land that flank a lily pad-filled pond.  It's one of those parks I like so much that I hesitate to even talk about it.  If I like something, you'd think I would be excited to sing its praises.  But this is such a little-known location that if I do so, it could potentially attract more people – and it'll cease to be little-known.  Talk about a conundrum.  Or, in this case, a "pond-undrum," for my readers that appreciate a cheesy play on words.
 

Before exploring, I hit the internet to learn more about Lily Pond County Park.  I couldn't find much information though, aside from a few details regarding the park's origin.  "What is now a 'park' once had a road going through it that kept flooding with the rising water levels of the marshes, until eventually the towns gave up and just let it go under, to the point where you really can't even imagine a road ever was there," said the website Explore4Adventure.com.  Other results included several articles about a three-foot alligator abandoned there in 2012.  A Newsday story said police received a call about the reptile "being loose on the grounds," which prompted a visit from Suffolk County SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).  "Given the cold, it was quite feisty," SPCA Chief Roy Gross said of the alligator.  Lastly, if you're a birdwatcher, the park's winged wonders range from blue-gray gnatcatchers to cedar waxwings to downy woodpeckers, according to the website FindingFeathersLI.com.

The park's entrance is on the north side of Smithtown Boulevard between Gibbs Pond Road and Hudson Avenue, with a parking area that fits only two or three cars.  Additional visitors can park in a shopping center a block away and then stroll along the sidewalk to the park.  Upon reaching the entrance, I encountered a padlocked gate.  At first, I thought the pond was closed to the public.  But my friend Chris, a geocaching enthusiast who had recently recommended the park to me, told me it isn't off-limits at all.  That was when I saw a path that goes around the gate and into the park.  The water appears immediately and you can head left or right around a loop trail that runs parallel to the pond.  My first impression was that it felt like a 'lil Lake Ronkonkoma, which is fitting since its literally adjacent to the lake. 

Since it was summer,  the branches and bushes were in full force making for a narrow trail.  It scared me to think of ticks having easy access to me, so I stopped constantly to check my legs.  To my delight, there were openings in the brush that gave visitors access to the water every 20 yards or so.  I stopped at each one, taking in the views.  I passed one guy fishing and one with a kayak.  It didn't take long to realize why the pond was named "Lily."  There were lily pads everywhere.  I couldn't help but picture indians drifting in canoes past the pads back in the day.  I could even envision them fishing.  I could feel them all around.

Interestingly, I hardly heard the passing traffic on Smithtown Boulevard, even though it was only a stone's throw away.  The park felt quite secluded.  But still, I retrieved my iPod and loaded the latest addition: IQ's The Road of Bones.  It's a neo-progressive rock album that was released the previous month and it quickly rocketed to the top of that genre's rankings on ProgArchives.com.  The disc's introspective tunes were perfect company for a solo hike. 

After leaving, I walked across the street to Lake Ronkonkoma, which was filled with families.  I imagined how the lake once looked like the empty pond before the days of man's impact.  And, in that instant, I felt like I'd experienced the lake like it was long ago – at Lily Pond.

(Updated: Sept. 21, 2019)

Map: Lily Pond County Park (Google Maps image)

Parking: 40°49'58.7"N 73°07'38.8"W
Video: Lily Pond County Park (360-degree view)

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