Makamah Nature Preserve

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Fall Colors · Lake · River/Creek · Spring · Views

Most of the trail is single width or person and a half. Yellow and White Trail blazes are marked clearly and at regular intervals. It's one of the best marked trails I've seen so far on Long Island. It's also kept up—although it's always nice to bring a bag for trash, we wouldn't have used it much here. We saw some families as well, and some dog walkers, though whether they're actually allowed or not, I didn't check.

Parking lot on the north side of Fort Salonga Road just west of Makamah Road. Also, noticed a smaller lot on the west side of Makamah Road, just south of Breeze Hill Road (park here at your own risk, locals complain and you may be ticketed).

If you start at the Salonga Road/Makamah Road lot, you pick up the Yellow Trail. That's good for about one third of a mile until it intersects with the White Trail which you can loop either clockwise or counterclockwise. Either way, the trails are undulating with some steep and narrow sections containing exposed roots and small rocks. Smallish trees have fallen across the path in many places but they're easy to navigate over. Especially if you keep up a good pace, all the ups and downs are good for a reasonable workout, but if you just want a quiet hike in the woods, a slower pace makes it that. We did the < 3 mile loop in about 90 minutes at a relaxed, sightseeing pace.

You can also read a bit more about the preserve here.