Wawapek Preserve

Location: Cold Spring Harbor, NY

Size: 32 acres

Date of hike: Oct. 11, 2025

Wawapek Preserve features a short trail through a hilly hardwood forest that overlooks Cold Spring Harbor’s Inner Harbor.  I learned about the preserve when I profiled an East Northport teen named Abby Taft, who spearheaded the creation of a native milkweed garden for monarch butterflies on the property, for Newsday’s “Hometown Hero” section that runs on Sundays.  Since I hadn’t heard of the preserve, I was eager to explore it.  Needless to say, I’m glad I did.

Before exploring, I researched the history and habitats of Wawapek Preserve, which is owned and managed by the North Shore Land Alliance.  Apparently, the preserve was once part of a 600-plus acre estate owned by the de Forest family that encompassed the Wawapek Farm and the heirs of lawyer and philanthropist Robert Weeks de Forest expressed interest in having part of the property preserved in 2006.  “This was their summer retreat while they were based in New York City, where Mr. Robert Weeks de Forest was instrumental in the initial growth of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and president of the institution in the early 1900s,” said a sign near the preserve's entrance.  The alliance was able to acquire and permanently protect the “environmentally significant property” in 2015, according to its website, and today it boasts a small meadow with a pollinator garden and a "mature hardwood forest that comprises 60% of the preserve."  “This was the first time in Suffolk County that a private organization shared title with the county,” the website said.

The preserve’s entrance is on Mowbray Lane near Spring Hill Road, with a parking area that consists of a gravelly lot large enough for almost a dozen cars.  For hikers, there is a nearly one-mile path that is identified by a concrete marker as the Augusta Reese Domohue Trail, which was established in June 2015.  “When you visit Wawapek, its trails allow you to encounter the beauty of the mature hardwood forest, which comprises most of the preserve, protecting air quality and stabilizing soil through its steep ravines,” said a sign, with another adding: “Wawapek’s winding woodland trails, breezes off the harbor, and sights and sounds of the canopy create a memorable experience for all its visitors.”  The website All Trails describes the trail as a grassy loop that provides “a short, quiet hike through both forest and an open meadow.” Meanwhile, the Hiking Project website calls the route “relaxing and perfect for the whole family.”

The hike’s highlight for me was the aforementioned trail, which offered silence and seclusion, as well as a fallen black walnut tree that “delights children who scramble onto its trunk,” according to a sign.  Other sights included remnants of greenhouses – including a nearly-intact structure known as the Hitchings Greenhouse, which is “currently under restoration for future propagation of plants for the numerous Land Alliance preserves,” a sign said.  From what I read online, the restoration efforts were kickstarted by a $50,000 grant from the Gerry Charitable Trust.  “With the help of a local contractor, we carefully removed the broken glass, pulled the weeds, disposed of the rotten wood and scraped off the old paint,” the alliance’s website said.  “The difference is amazing.”

With regard to wildlife, you’ll see everything from box turtles to red foxes to screech owls, while tree species include American beech, black birch and red maple.  As for plants, native trumpet honeysuckle was planted to replace wisteria at the preserve’s trellis in 2018, and an assortment of highbush blueberry bushes “are laden with delectable fruit in summer,” according to the alliance’s website.  Meanwhile, a pollinator garden attracts various insects including bees and butterflies, while mountain laurel, spicebush and American holly are native species “that promote biodiversity and create wildlife habitat,” a sign said. 

In closing, I’d definitely recommend visiting Wawapek Preserve if you live in or near Cold Spring Harbor.  It’s a peaceful and quiet hike, which is in stark contrast to the challenging and heavily-trafficked trail of the neighboring Gold Spring Harbor State Park.  If the state park's hard hike is your main course, then you should make the pretty preserve your dessert.  You’ll be glad you did.  


No comments:

Post a Comment