David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens Preserve

Location: Riverhead, NY

Size: 2,324 acres

Date of hike: Sept. 26, 2020

The David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens Preserve features a sprawling forest that played a major role in the nation's transatlantic communication history and now has trails for hiking, skiing and snowshoeing.  I passed through the preserve earlier this year when I hiked the 47-mile Long Island Pine Barrens Trail, which spans from Rocky Point to Hampton Bays, and I told myself I'd come back one day soon to tackle it in its entirety.  Well, that day was today, which incidentally is also my birthday.  And what a birthday it was!

 

Before exploring, I learned more about the history and habitats of David A. Sarnoff Preserve, which is apparently part of the planet's only pine barren ecosystem found on glacial deposits near a coastline, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).  The land was once owned by Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which transmitted and received long-wave radio signals with linear antenna that stretched for miles in the 1920s before switching to rhomboid-shaped antennae fields that measured hundreds of feet across for short-wave radio signals in the 1930s.  "During the life of RCA, over 75 diamond-shaped antennae fields were created, remnants of which are still visible throughout the property," said a sign, which added that the advent of satellite communications eventually led to the site being closed and donated to the state in the 1970s.  Also, for those wondering, Sarnoff was a businessman who led RCA from shortly after its inception until his retirement in 1970.  "Sarnoff's legacy on Long Island today is a 2,000-acre nature preserve that once was home to a necklace of 410-foot steel antennae and now, in an unlikely coda to technological life, gives shelter to hog-nosed snakes and red-tailed hawks," said a 2008 article in Newsday.

 

The preserve has several entrances, but I used the one located on Quogue Riverhead Road between Cross River Drive and Old Riverhead Road.  It had enough space to accommodate dozens of cars.  A map posted near the trailhead indicated there are two paths: a 2.5-mile blue loop and a five-mile red loop.  They can be reached by following the yellow blazes that "mark the connecting routes from parking areas or other trail systems," according to a sign.  I began by taking the yellow trail northeast across Quogue Riverhead Road to the blue loop, which a sign said was 0.7 miles away, and I later retreated to the trailhead for the red loop, which a sign said was 1.25 miles away.  I should also note the preserve's white blazes are for the aforementioned Long Island Pine Barrens Trail, which is known in its longer form as the 125-mile Paumanok Path that continues all the way to Montauk Point.  Lastly, all trails and roads on this property are closed during shotgun season, which commences "the first Sunday in January and continues through the end of the month," the DEC's website said.

 

The hike's highlight for me was likely the informational signs found throughout the preserve, especially the ones about the pine barrens.  "Historically, records show pine barrens once covered nearly 25% of Long Island," said one sign, adding that "one of the most important features" of the pine barrens is the protection it provides the 3-5 trillion gallons of drinking water located in the deep recharge aquifers on Long Island.  "Hydrologists have estimated the pine barrens recharge some 175 million gallons of purified water daily to those aquifers," it said.  Other signs explained how "prescribed fires" can help to maintain the pine barrens.  "While fires often destroy competing vegetation, pitch pines have a thick bark that protects them from low-intensity fires," a sign said.  "Within a week after a fire, growth occurs and buds sprout and grow between the bark plates of the pitch pine, forming new branches."

 

Regarding wildlife, the preserve is considered to be a bird conservation area, which are state lands designated to safeguard and enhance populations of birds.  "In the spring and summer, many birds rely on these areas for breeding, food and shelter," a sign said.  "Some winter at bird conservation areas, while others will use them for resting and feeding during migration."  The preserve's birds range from brown thrashers to eastern towhees to common nighthawks, while animals range from red foxes to box turtles to white-tailed deer.  And speaking of deer, the parcel is also a popular spot for hunting.  "Hunting is allowed anywhere on the property, except in areas that have been marked as restricted or excluded," said the DEC's website.

 

My music of choice was the debut album by the Polish progressive rock band Lunatic Soul, which was released in 2008.  The band is the brainchild of Riverside frontman Mariusz Duda, who can do no wrong in my book.  Lunatic Soul will be releasing a new album this fall called Through Shaded Woods, which I'll likely enjoy due to the nature metaphors, and so I've been revisiting their older material in preparation for the new stuff.  "I thought you wouldn't come," Duda sings on the disc's second song.  "I've been waiting for you, in the back of beyond."

 

All in all, I'd say that David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens Preserve is a terrific hike for all lovers of pine trees – like myself.  I always feel an instant calm when I immerse myself in pine trees, and there are few hikes where you'll find more than this preserve.  I also didn't see a single person the entire time, which was awesome.  Just the pines and I.  Happy birthday to me.  

Map: David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens Preserve (Google Maps image)
Parking: 40°53'09.9"N 72°38'35.1"W
Video: David A. Sarnoff Pine Barrens Preserve (360-degree view)

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