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The following text has
been reproduced from the
Long Pond Greenbelt map.
For more information you
can contact The South
Fork Natural History
Museum at (631) 537-9735
For an excellent map of
this trail system
showing several other
trailheads and Poxabogue
Park, contact
Southampton Trails
Preservation Society.
The Trails Society often
leads hikes in the
Greenbelt; they are open
to everyone. Their
hikes are listed in the
"Hiking Events" section
of this website, or just
click on “Southampton
Trails Preservation
Society”
http://www.hike-li.com/stps/index.htm
or for more information
call (631) 537-5202.
Directions:
From the Main Street
monument and traffic
light on Rte 27 in
Bridgehampton, follow
the Bridgehampton-Sag
Harbor Turnpike north to
Mashashimuet Park, which
is just south of Sag
Harbor. The Long Pond
Greenbelt is accessible
from Mashashimuet Town
Park. It is easy to
find the old RR bed from
the Mahashimuet parking
lot. Park your car
right in front of the
playground, head south
past the tennis courts
between the athletic
field and the
Bridgehampton Sag Harbor
Turnpike. From the
parking lot it is a ¾
mile walk along an old
railroad bed to the
Sprig Tree Path, which
will take you to Long
Pond. Continue south on
Sprig Tree Path to visit
a beautiful secluded
place between Deer Drink
and Crooked Pond or you
can head directly south
on the Crooked Pond
Trail. During a brisk 2
- 2 1/2 hour hike, you
can circle both ponds
and also see a stone
memorial at pond's edge
that was dedicated to
Truman Capote by his
partner. The return leg
of the hike passes a
third pond called Little
Long Pond. There is a
boat ramp off of Widow
Gavitts Road where you
can launch a kayak or
canoe onto Long Pond.
Kayakers and local
hikers love the
seclusion and beauty
found here. There are
other ways to enter the
Long Pond Greenbelt; the
Paumanok Path intersects
it from the west near
the top of Long Pond,
traveling south along
the Sprig Tree Path then
between Deer Drink and
Long Pond, then onward
towards Sagg Road and
the Northwest Path.
ECOLOGY
The Long Pond Greenbelt
encompasses a
magnificent 1,100-acre
expanse of
interconnected ponds,
woods, and wetlands that
stretches nine miles
from Ligonee Brook and
Otter Pond in Sag Harbor
south to Sagg Pond and
the Atlantic Ocean shore
in Sagaponack.
Spectacular for its
wealth of rare plants,
animals, and ecological
communities, the
Greenbelt is widely
recognized as one of the
most ecologically
significant areas in all
of New York State.
A splendid feature of
the Greenbelt is its
magnificent collection
of coastal plain pond
and pondshore
communities, 13 of which
occur in this system.
Both statewide and
globally, these
environments are
considered very rare and
vulnerable to
extinction. They also
harbor the highest
concentration of rare
plants and animals in
New York. New York
Natural Heritage Program
has confirmed the
presence of more than 30
rare species of plants
and animals.
COASTAL PLAIN PONDS
Coastal plain ponds are
characterized by
nutrient poor, acidic
water and a gently
sloping shore. Most
coastal plain ponds are
not stream-fed, but are
directly connected to
groundwater. Pond water
levels rise and fall
with the water table,
reflecting seasonal and
annual rainfall
patterns. As a result,
unique communities of
plants grow along the
pond shores. Periods of
both low and high water
levels are essential for
their survival.
This unique area
encompasses a chain of
freshwater coastal plain
ponds, wetlands, and
vernal ponds as well as
Sagg Pond (a coastal
salt pond), the tidal
waters of Otter Pond,
and the lower reaches of
Ligonee Brook. The area
was created some 21,000
years ago by glacial
advance and retreat
creating the east-west
trending moraines on
Long Island (the Harbor
Hills and Ronkonkoma
Moraines). The
large-scale subsurface
ice formation and
subsequent collapse due
to melting caused ponds
to form north of the
morainal deposits.
These ponds became
south-flowing streams,
which eventually eroded
the moraine to form the
north-south trending
channel between Sag
Harbor and Sagaponack.
Repeated seasonal
meltwater streams
created the present
remarkable landscape.
Extravagantly rich in
plant and animal life,
the Greenbelt forms one
of the most biologically
diverse eco-systems in
the Town. More than 100
different bird species
have been found in the
area alone, many of
which depend directly or
indirectly on the
wetland complexes found
in this corridor.
Efforts to preserve the
Long Pond Greenbelt
began in earnest in
1969. The Greenbelt was
officially designated as
a high priority for
preservation in 1985
through the Town’s
adoption of the Long
Pond Greenbelt Action
Plan. The town’s
Comprehensive Plan
Update and 1995-96 Open
Space and Greenbelt
Acquisition Programs
have likewise noted this
areas significance, and
identified it as one of
the highest priorities
for the Town. As a
result of these
initiatives, more than
500 acres have already
been preserved.
PLANT COMMUNITIES
OAK FOREST
TREES: Scarlet oak,
white oak, black oak,
chestnut oak, American
beech, hickories, pitch
pine, American dogwood,
and Sassafras.
SHRUBS: low bush
blueberry, black
huckleberry, mountain
laurel, bayberry, and
scrub oak.
RED MAPLE SWAMP
TREES: Red Maple and
Black Tupelo
SHRUBS: Sweet
pepperbush, swamp
azalea, arrow-wood, and
high bush blueberry.
FERNS: cinnamon, royal,
and marsh.
REPRESENTATIVE
HERBACEOUS PLANTS:
Canada mayflower,
mad-dog skullcap,
Arrow-leafed tearthumb.
RARE PLANTS: Some 38
rare plants occur within
several zones along the
pond margins, including
insectivorous species
such as sundews and
hiddenfruit horned and
purple bladderworts.
Other rarities include
white boneset,
short-beaked baldrush,
rosy coreopsis,
reticulated nutrush,
drowned horned rush,
silvery aster and
creeping St. John’s
wort.
OTHER VEGETATION:
Trailing arbutus,
bearberry, dwarf
blueberry, little
bluestem, catfoot,
cattail, chokecherry,
clubmoss, slender
crabgrass, dangleberry,
golden dock, fanwort,
southern yellow flax,
pine barren gerardia,
goldenpert, umbrella
grass, reed grass,
yellow-eyed grass,
inkberry holly, water
horehound, golden hedge
hyssop, Indian pipe,
lady slipper, sheep
laurel, leatherleaf,
lespedeza, fragrant pond
lily, ludwigia, wild
blue lupine, Virginia
meadow beauty, mermaid
weed, white milkweed,
sphagnum moss, crested
fringed orchis, orange
fringed orchis,
pigmyweed, pipewort,
Carolina redroot, rush
(beak, horned,
long-beaked bald,
swaying), spike and true
rushes, St. Johns wort
(Canadian), sedge,
staggerbush, bird’s foot
violet, wintergreen, and
spotted wintergreen.
WILDLIFE COMMUNITIES
MAMMALS
White-tailed deer, red
fox, raccoon, opossum,
eastern gray squirrel,
eastern chipmunk,
eastern cottontail,
long-tailed weasel,
Norway rat, white-footed
mouse, pine and meadow
vole, short-tailed and
masked shrew, eastern
mole, muskrat, mink,
several bat species, and
possibly river otter.
BIRDS
The woods, fields,
wetlands and surface
waters of the Long Pond
Greenbelt provide
nesting, foraging, and
resting habitat for a
rich diversity of avian
life. In fact, more
than 125 species of
birds regularly use the
Greenbelt for all or
part of the year. Some
of the birds you may
encounter are:
PERMANENT RESIDENTS:
Red-tailed hawk, great
horned owl and eastern
screech owls,
Four woodpecker species
(red-bellied, downy,
hairy, northern
flicker), blue jay,
American crow, tufted
titmouse, black-capped
chickadee,
white-breasted nuthatch,
northern mockingbird,
song sparrow, American
goldfinch.
NON-PERMANENT
RESIDENTS: Wood duck,
Eastern kingbird, great
crested flycatcher,
eastern wood-pewee, tree
swallow, American robin,
gray catbird, brown
thrasher, several vireos
(red-eyed, white-eyed,
yellow-throated,
warbling), various
warblers (blue-winged,
black-and-white, pine,
prairie, yellow,
ovenbird (common
yellowthroat), eastern
towhee, field sparrow,
swamp sparrow,
red-winged blackbird,
Baltimore oriole,
scarlet tanager.
SPRING AND/OR AUTUMN
MIGRANTS: Pied-billed
grebe, green-winged
teal, northern pintail,
ring-necked duck, common
merganser, American
coot, greater
yellowiegs, solitary
sandpiper, sharp-shinned
hawk, merlin, eastern
phoebe, northern
rough-winged and bank
swallow, golden-crowned
and rub-crowned
kinglets, blue-headed
vireo, numerous warblers
(e.g., northern parula,
black-throated blue,
black-throated green,
chestnut-sided,
yellow-rumped,
blackpoll, palm)
dark-eyed junco,
white-throated sparrow.
REPTILES
TURTLES: eastern box,
eastern painted, common
snapping, spotted
(Special concern) common
musk or stinkpot,
redbelly (origin
unknown).
SNAKES: eastern milk,
northern black racer,
northern water, eastern
ribbon, eastern garter,
eastern hognose (Special
concern), and northern
ringneck.
AMPHIBIANS
FROGS AND TOADS:
Bullfrog, green frog,
Fowler’s toad, northern
spring peeper, northern
gray treefrog, pickerel
frog and wood frog.
SALAMANDERS: Redback
(leadback variation),
eastern tiger
(Endangered), spotted
(Special concern),
marbled, red-spotted
newt (aquatic and
terrestrial stages).
FISH
NATIVE: Eastern
mudminnow (Rare),
pumpkinseed sunfish,
alewife, banded
killifish, nine-spine
stickleback, brown
bullhead, chain
pickerel, three-spine
stickleback, golden
shiner, American eel,
white perch.
INTRODUCED: Largemouth
bass, blue-gill sunfish,
and yellow perch.
INVERTEBRATES:
BUTTERFLIES: Spring
azure, brown elfin,
eastern pine elfin,
frosted elfin, edward’s
hairstreak, banded
hairstreak, striped
hairstreak, gray
hairstreak, coral
hairstreak, monarch,
black swallowtail,
spicebush swallow tail,
eastern tiger
swallowtail, cabbage
white, clouded sulphur,
orange sulphur,
cloudless sulphur,
American copper, eastern
tailed blue, pearl
crescent, question mark,
mourning cloak, American
lady, painted lady, red
admiral, common buckeye,
red-spotted purple,
little wood satyr,
common wood nymph,
silver-spotted skipper,
dun skipper,
broad-winged skipper,
zabulon skipper,
Leonard’s skipper,
hobomok skipper,
tawny-edged skipper,
cobweb skipper, European
skipper, southern
cloudywing, northern
cloudywing, sleepy
duskywing, wild indigo
duskywing, Juvenal’s
duskywing, common
sootywing, least skipper
and little glassywing.
DRAGONFLIES AND
DAMSELFLIES:
DAMSELFLIES: Slender
spreadwing, swamp
spreadwing, variable
dancer (violet), azure
bluet, familiar bluet,
atlantic bluet, skimming
bluet, New England bluet,
scarlet bluet, pine
barrens bluet, orange
bluet, slender bluet,
vesper blue, citrine
forktail, lilypad
forktail, fragile
forktail, Eastern
forktail.
DRAGONFLIES: Common
green darner, comet
darner, swamp darner,
lancet clubtail, common
baskettail, calico
pennant, halloween
pennant, martha’s
pennant, Eastern
pondhawk, frosted
whiteface, spangled
skimmer, white corporal,
slaty skimmer, common
whitetail,
twelve-spotted skimmer,
painted skimmer, blue
dasher, wandering glider
(globetrotter), Eastern
amberwing, ruby
meadowhawk (sp),
yellow-legged meadowhawk,
Carolina saddlebags
(red), black saddlebags.
HISTORY
The Long Pond Greenbelt
was created 21,000 years
ago by large scale,
subsurface ice formation
and subsequent melting.
Geologist William Neiter
describes it as a rare,
near-glacial relic, the
likes of which are found
only in the tundra
regions of Russia.
Native American
habitation dates back
possibly 6,000 years and
centered on freshwater
ponds. The first
European settlers
arrived on the South
Fork in the late 1640s.
Many colonial roads
followed the long used
trails of the Native
Americans. The
present-day trails in
the Long Pond Greenbelt
are known colonial
roadbeds.In the late
1600’s to the mid
1800’s, gristmills
operated in the area of
Sagg Swamp and Sagg
Pond. An icehouse was
run from Round Pond for
approximately 70 years
in the mid 1800s, and a
dam was built in the
late 1800s at the north
end of Long Pond to
provide public water for
Sag Harbor.
In the late 1800s a mile
long trench was dug
between Crooked Pond,
Deer Drink Pond, Long
Pond and Otter Pond to
increase the flow of
water needed to operate
a mill on Otter Pond.
From the early 1960s
through the 1990s, Old
Hickory Farm on Haines
Path offered horseback
riding by the hour
through the beautiful
trails in the Long Pond
Greenbelt.
Sag Harbor's beautiful
John Jermain Memorial
Library was built in
1910 by Mrs. Russell
Sage in memory of her
grandfather, Major John
Jermain, and presented
as a gift to the people
of the Village of Sag
Harbor. John Jermain
served in the
Westchester Militia
during the American
Revolution. Following
the War he moved to Sag
Harbor and married
Margaret Pierson of
Bridgehampton. Their
daughter, Margaret
Pierson Jermain, was the
mother of Margaret
Olivia Slocum who
married Russell Sage, a
financier.
On June 17, 1912, two
years after the opening,
a deed of Trust was
executed by Mrs. Sage in
which the Library, its
grounds and equipment
were deeded to a body of
Trustees under the laws
of New York State. The
Library was permanently
endowed by Mrs. Sage
that it might forever be
secured to the people of
Sag Harbor and vicinity.
Margaret Olivia Slocum
Sage, Sag Harbor's
greatest benefactor,
also provided the
Village with Pierson
High School and
Mashashimuet Park. She
also contributed
generously to various
local churches and
organizations, gifting
Sag Harbor with a total
of between $300,000 and
$400,000.
The
Old Railroad Spur was an
actual railway
connection from the
Bridgehampton Train
Station to Sag Harbor’s
Long Wharf between 1870
and 1939. A 1400-foot
connection was
constructed between the
spur and the Round Pond
icehouse to facilitate
shipping ice to New York
City. The track was
pulled up to supply
steel during World War
II.
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