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Bucket List: 15 Best Places to Visit in Brookhaven, New York
The Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, comprises nine villages and fifty unincorporated hamlets. It is the only town in Suffolk County to stretch from the north to the south shore, with access points to Long Island Sound and Great South Bay.
The first settlers of the Town of Brookhaven were the Setalcotts Nation and the Unkechaug Nation. In 1640, English settlers arrived and purchased the lands that comprise Brookhaven in the 1650s.
Longwood Estate
A Town of Brookhaven treasure, Longwood Estate is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Estate consists of farmland, pasture, ponds, woodlands, and the headwaters of the Peconic River. The land was owned by the pre-eminent Smith family until 1968. In 1973, property developers purchased the land for commercial and industrial development. However, town officials and residents opposed the plan, and the property developers donated the property to the Town of Brookhaven in 1974. Today, the Estate hosts special activities run by town officials.
Location: Longwood Road and Smith Road Ridge, Ridge, NY 11961
Town of Brookhaven Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve
The Town of Brookhaven Holtsville Ecology Site and Animal Preserve sits on a reclaimed landfill. In 1974, the Town of Brookhaven Highway Department employees worked to revegetate the hills and turn the polder into a recreational and educational facility. Several rescued farm animals, like goats, horses, and lamas, are on reserve. Occasionally, ecology exhibits and tours are offered. The site is pedestrian-friendly and has a picnic shelter and greenhouse inside.
Location: 249 Buckley Road, Holtsville, NY 11742
Blue Point Nature Preserve
Blue Point Nature Preserve is 17-acre preservation with networks of nature trails and picnic shelters. The quiet preserve has a paved walking path with bird houses. Surrounded by nature, the open-spaced location makes for an excellent place for birdwatching in the summer.
Location: 31 Maple Street, Blue Point, NY 11715
Rocky Point State Pine Barrens Preserve
The Rocky Point State Pine Barrens has nearly 6,000 acres of Pine Barrens and open lands. Several outdoor recreation activities can be done within the preserve, like hiking, biking, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing. Hunting is allowed, provided the hunting is done in public areas during archery season.
Location: NY-25A, Rocky Point, NY 11778
Cedar Beach Town Nature Preserve
Cedar Beach Town Nature Preserve comprises Cedar Beach, Cedar Beach Fishing Pier Area, and the Cedar Beach Nature Center. Cedar Beach is a family-friendly, pebbled beach with two beach areas, Cedar Beach Main and Cedar Beach Wes, walking/running trails, a basketball court, a concession, a children’s playground, and a fishing pier area with a marina and boat launch ramps. During summer, there is an outdoor bar and restaurant with live performances from local singers and bands. Deer can be spotted occasionally along the shores. Cedar Beach Nature Center offers educational programs, nature hikes, and walking tours on plants and marine animals.
Location: 244 Harbor Beach Road, Mount Sinai, NY 11766
Southaven County Park
Southaven County Park opened in the 1960s, one of the first parks to open to the public in Suffolk County. The park has several multi-use trails along the woodlands, a children’s playground, and several camping sites. Aside from hiking and camping, the park has a baseball field, skeet shooting areas, and a fishing and canoeing station.
Location: 761 Victory Avenue, Yaphank, NY 11980
Country Fair Entertainment Park
The Country Fair Entertainment Park is a family-friendly amusement park in Medford with several attractions. There is an 18-hole mini-golf course, driving range, bumper cars, go-karts, more than 40 arcade games, batting cages with independent pitching machines, and a laser tag field.
Location: 3351 NY-112, Medford, NY 11763
Smith Point County Park
Smith Point County Park is the largest oceanfront park in Suffolk County. Its name is derived from the Smith Point peninsula, but the park is not on the peninsula. The park features 2,293 acres of beach, playgrounds, and 270 campsites with water/electric hookups, grills, and a dump station. Campers and visitors can explore the entirety of the park through fishing, scuba diving, swimming, and surfing. The park nestles on the Fire Island barrier beach, the premier surfing destination in the county.
Location: 1 William Floyd Parkway, Shirley, NY 11967
Splish Splash Water Park
Splish Splash Water Park has been operating for 30 years. The Water Park has 96 acres of water attractions, dining, and shopping options. There are 23 water attractions, including kiddie and adult slides, drop slides, raft rides, water cannons, and a lazy river. Guests can purchase season passes to bring more friends and enjoy the perks.
Location: 2549 Splish Splash Drive, Calverton, NY 11933
Mill Pond Golf Course
The Mill Pond Golf Course is a 200-acre golf course with an 18-hole championship course and extensive practice facility. Mill Pond offers a golf school, summer clinic, and private golf lessons that provide a structured program by instructors with decades of experience. Club and camp league competitions are held yearly at the golf course.
Location: 300 Mill Road, Medford, NY 11763
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
The Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge protects 2,550 acres of land on the south shore of Long Island, including oak-pine woodlands, grasslands, and fresh, brackish, and saltwater wetlands that attract diverse wildlife. Wertheim was established in 1947. Maurice and Cecile Wertheim donated 1,800 acres of land with the Carmans River, which he used to conserve wildfowl and hunt. Wertheim is part of the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, consisting of seven national wildlife refuges, two refuge sub-units, and one wildlife management area. Wertheim offers several outdoor recreation activities, including six miles of hiking trails, birdwatching, non-motorized boating, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, picnicking, wildlife viewing, nature photography, and ranger-led environmental tours.
Location: 340 Smith Road, Shirley, NY 11967
Avalon Nature Preserve
The Avalon Nature Preserve is created and maintained by the Paul Simons Foundation in memory of Paul Simmons, an avid outdoorsman. His love for the natural world drives the foundation’s dedication to protecting and restoring wildlife. The nature preserve has four distinct habitats that can be explored with the boardwalk and nature trail, each trail ranging from 0.3 miles to 2.2 miles. Owners can bring their dogs to the trail if they are on a leash. Youth programs, observatory programs, and interactive nature hikes are also offered in the nature preserve.
Location: 200 Harbor Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Tiki Action Park
Tiki Action Park has been operating for more than 10 years and has been voted the best in Long Island by the Bethpage Federal Credit Union. Tiki Action’s mini-golf course has been voted eleven times, the arcade four times, children’s parties four times, and as a family amusement part three times. Aside from mini-golf and arcade, the park has several arcade games to play and a lounge that can accommodate up to 40 people for special events.
Location: 1878 Middle Country Road, Centereach, NY 11720
The Long Island Museum
The Long Island Museum is a 9-acre complex with exhibition buildings and historic structures.
The museum has a permanent American Art collection and a 40,000-square-foot Carriage Museum that tells the story of transportation before the automobile. The Carriage Museum comprises galleries featuring vehicles commonly used on Long Island and vehicles factory-built by the Studebaker Brothers and the Graves Brothers Carriage Shop. Among the historic houses maintained by the museum are a blacksmith shop built in 1834 and a schoolhouse built in 1821.
Location: 1200 NY-25A, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Long Island Game Farm Wildlife Park & Children’s Zoo
The Long Island Game Farm is a 29-acre zoo with more than 200 animals. It was founded in 1970 by Stanley and Diane Novak and is currently managed by their daughter, Melinda. Visitors can get close animal encounters through animal feeding, like hand-feeding wallabies, llamas, sheep, alpacas, Miniature Sicilian Donkeys, tube-feeding buffalo, and camels. Visitors can also enter the nursery and bottle-feed baby animals and witness their birth.
Location: 489 Chapman Boulevard, Manorville, NY 11949
How to get there
The easiest way to get in and around the Town of Brookhaven is by car. Major roads leading to Brookhaven include Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Nicolls Road, and North Ocean Avenue.
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Brookhaven NY Travel and Tour Packages
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