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Denis and Catherine
Krusos Ecological
Research Area
Calverton
Suffolk County, NY
350 Acres
Coastal Plain Ponds,
Barrens
****Interpretive
brochure is usually
available at the kiosk
by the Old River Road
entrance****
Almost two decade ago,
Bill, a friend of mine,
asked me if I was
interested in visiting a
really pretty place. We
parked at The Nature
Conservancy Calverton
Ponds Preserve and
visited three beautiful
coastal plain ponds. We
observed osprey, egrets,
frogs, and fish and
inhaled the scent of
pine, wintergreen and
spice fern. We walked on
trails through Pine
Barrens woods, our
footsteps cushioned by
slowly decaying oak
leaves and pine needles.
Since this was one of my
first forays into
nature, Bill gave me a
lesson about dealing
with ticks. Before we
walked through the
grassy areas, he showed
me how to tuck my pants
into my socks. It looks
weird but it is an
effective means of
preventing the ticks
from attaching
themselves to you. He
reminded me that every
time we walked through a
grassy area or in a
place where the bush
crowded the trail, to
check my pants legs. He
had suggested that I
wear light colored
clothing, so it was now
easy to see the dark
little dots working
their way up my pants
legs. “They always head
directly north,” he
observed. “It’s the fact
that they are
predictable that makes
them easy to deal with.”
He continued, almost
pedantically, “They seem
to have a negative
geotropism. The ones
that make it to the neck
or head of their hosts
are safer from being
nipped off or rubbed
off, and they survive to
have offspring. Just
check your clothes
often, keep your shirt
tucked in your pants,
pick them off and flick
them away. Don’t bother
trying to crush them,
they are practically
uncrushable.”
Last summer, while
walking the well-marked
paths around the ponds,
I at first was reassured
by the fact that where
the trails were grassy,
a Nature Conservancy
volunteer had run
through them with a
lawnmower. After walking
a short distance,
however, my feeling of
reassurance evaporated
as I watched several
deer ticks marching from
the tops of my sneakers
onto my socks. I removed
my sneakers and socks
and sprayed them with
insect repellent. While
I was doing this, from
the corner of my eye, I
saw a large,
dark-colored,
blunt-winged bird swoop
through the canopy of
trees. I saw gossamer
and gaudy winged
damselflies and
dragonflies, some
parking on twigs only
inches from my face.
It’s a beautiful place,
but be forewarned: right
now there are a lot of
ticks. If you decide to
visit, take the
necessary precautions
for keeping ticks at
bay.
The Calverton Preserve
is cooperatively owned
and managed by the
Nature Conservancy and
Suffolk County Parks.
The Ponds and the
surrounding area near
the headwaters of the
Peconic River contain
many rare and endangered
species. This area
offers a unique and
ecologically wondrous
experience to the hiker,
thus it is important to
be careful to have as
little impact on the
trails and surrounding
lands as possible. We
are, after all, the
stewards of our natural
environment and we must
preserve it for our
grandchildren. Please
only walk on the trails.
No pets, horses or
vehicles are allowed in
the Preserve.
I suggest you visit the
Ponds from the Old River
Road entrance. Here you
will find several
informational kiosks and
some excellent maps.
You can walk the trails
through this 350-acre
preserve in about two
hours. A good route is
to follow the white
trail around the eastern
side of Block Pond, then
follow the yellow trail
to Fox Pond. On your way
back to the Old River
Road entrance, take the
yellow trail between
Sandy and Block Ponds.
Along the way there are
several branching trails
that enable you to visit
the shorelines of the
ponds.
Directions: From the
Long Island Expressway,
take Exit 70, heading
north towards
Manorville. At the end
of the off-ramp, travel
north for a short
distance past the Trails
Information Center on
your right. Turn right
onto Ryerson (Post
Office on corner). Cross
the railroad tracks, 0.2
miles. The road curves
to the left, becoming
Wading River Manor Road.
Follow Wading River
Manor Road north 0.8
miles to Old River Road
(NOT River Road). Turn
right onto Old River
Road and travel 0.4
miles to a small parking
area on the left. Please
do not block the gate.
For more information,
call The Nature
Conservancy (631)
367-3225 or visit
www.nature.org.
This 350-acre assemblage
of Pine Barrens and
Coastal Plain Ponds
comprises one of the
rarest and most fragile
wetland ecosystems in
North America. The
preserve is
cooperatively owned and
managed by The Nature
Conservancy and Suffolk
County Parks.
Calverton Ponds and the
headwaters of the
Peconic River contain
one of the highest
concentrations of rare
and endangered species
in New York State, with
more than 30 rare
plants, including three
that are globally
threatened. The Ponds
are home to several rare
amphibians, fish, and
insects, including the
Tiger Salamander and
Banded Sunfish.
The preserve is located
within the Long Island
Central Pine Barrens
Region, which consists
of a complex mosaic of
Pitch Pine woodlands,
pine-oak forests,
Coastal Plain Ponds,
swamps, marshes, bogs,
and streams. Pitch Pine
and Oak trees, with a
shrub layer of Scrub
Oak, Huckleberry, and
Blueberry dominate the
woodlands.
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. Consequently,
a unique community of
plants grows along the
pond shores. Periods of
both low and high water
levels are essential for
their survival.
****Pond shore plants
are delicate and easily
destroyed by trampling,
pets, horses, or
vehicles. Please be
careful not to disturb
plants or wildlife.****
Well marked, easy to
follow trails are open
for hiking and observing
nature daily from dawn
to dusk. No other uses
are permitted. Trails
are maintained for foot
travel only. PLEASE DO
NOT DISTURB PLANTS OR
WILDLIFE. No pets horses
or vehicles are allowed.
Groups are limited to 25
persons and should call
for reservations.
THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
An international,
non-profit organization
dedicated to preserving
the plants, animals, and
natural communities that
represent the diversity
of life on Earth by
protecting the lands and
waters they need to
survive. Since 1951,
the Conservancy has
protected more than
10,000,000,000 acres of
ecologically-significant
land in the U.S.,
Canada, Caribbean,
Central and South
Americas, and Pacific
region.
The Nature Conservancy
owns 63 nature preserves
on Long Island. In
partnership with
government and other
organizations, the
Conservancy named
eastern Long Island one
of the “Last Great
Places” in the Western
Hemisphere. For
information about
membership and the
Conservancy, please
contact:
The Nature Conservancy
250 Lawrence Hill Road
Cold Spring Harbor, New
York 11724
Telephone: (631)
367-3225
Visit The Nature
Conservancy web site at
www.tnc.org
The preserve is close
to an access point to
the Paumanok Path. This
is another excellent
reason to become
familiar with this
area. There is
Department of
Environmental
Conservation land
nearby, so it is
important that you
become acquainted with
the DEC permit
conventions and rules.
You will find
information about
obtaining the free
permit on the
www.hike-li web
site.
DIRECTIONS
*From the Long Island
Expressway:Take Exit 70,
Manorville-Eastport (CR
111). At the end of the
off-ramp, go north.
(YOU WILL PASS THE
MANORVILLE TRAIL
INFORMATION CENTER ON
THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE
ROAD. VISIT THIS PLACE;
IT IS A GREAT RESOURCE
FOR L.I. HIKING
INFORMATION) Travel 0.25
miles to Ryerson Ave.
(The Manorville Post
Office is on the
corner.) Go right on
Ryerson, crossing
railroad tracks, 0.2
miles to North St. Go
right on North St. for
0.2 miles. Road curves
to the left, becoming
wading River Manor Rd.
Follow Wading River
Manor Rd. north 0.8
miles to Old River Rd.
(Not River Road). Go
right on Old River Rd.
0.4 miles to the small
parking area on the left
(with the wooden gate)
*** please don’t block
the gate ****
*From Middle Country Rd.
(Rte. 25):Approximately
3 miles east of the
William Floyd Parkway
(Rte. 46), and a mile
east of The Pine Trail
Nature Preserve parking
lot, at traffic light
make a right turn onto
Wading River Road.
Travel south for less
than a mile then bear
left onto Grumman Blvd.
Continue in an easterly
direction for one mile,
and then make a right
turn onto Line Road.
After a little more than
1 mile you will find a
chain strung across two
posts on the left side
of the road. It is easy
to miss this entrance,
if you reach Wading
River Road, you have
passed it. There is
almost a quarter of a
mile of level shoulder
to park on opposite this
entrance, therefore I
suggest parking here.
Both the DOT & the local
police departments have
cautioned me that it is
important, when parking
in preparation for a
hike, that you be
certain that your car is
not on private property
and that all four tires
are off the pavement.
Follow the trail markers
and eventually you will
reach the main entrance
on the opposite side of
the preserve by Old
River Road. There is a
kiosk recessed a few
hundred feet inside the
preserve. At the kiosk,
you will usually find
some interpretive
brochures that include a
trail map.
*If you wish to enter
the preserve from the
main entrance off Old
River Road:A small
stream that helps feed
the headwaters of the
Peconic River runs under
Old River Road. You
will see a white wooden
guardrail on either side
of the road, where the
stream flows
underneath. Just east
of this stream, you will
see two gates on the
left side of the road.
The wooden gate is in
front of the formal
trail system. The
parking on Old River
Road is awkward. If you
wish to park on the
preserve side of the
road you can park at the
entrance, but you should
be careful not to block
the access gates.
Opposite this entrance,
the shoulder of the road
is very steep and hard
to park on. Further
down the road there are
no trespassing signs. I
suggest parking by the
Line Road entrance (see
directions from Middle
Country Road).
*If you wish to hike
from the Nature
Conservancy preserve to
the Paumanok Path:From
Line Road, head south to
Wading River Manor Road
where you will make a
left (heading east).
Pass by River Road,
which you will see on
the left. On the Right
side of the road, not
far from the Wading
River Manor road sign
you will find the
entrance to the Paumanok
Path heading west. If
you continue over the
bridge, which runs
across the Peconic
River, you will find the
entrance to The Path
heading in the easterly
direction. It is best
to cross over to the
east side of the road
(in this case the left)
because it will be
easier to see the white
rectangular blazes that
mark the route of the
Paumanok Path as it
continues eastward.
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