Long Pond Park Hiking Trails

Long Pond Park hiking trails

The 115-acre Long Pond Park directly abuts the Mount Loretto North preserve, creating a large contiguous natural area that is important habitat for species that cannot thrive near the edges of smaller or more fragmented parks. The park contains a variety of habitats, from grasslands to upland forests. There are a variety of wetlands, including swamp forests, bogs, vernal pools, and Long Pond itself, which were formed thousands of years ago by receding glaciers. Encircled by forest and sited higher than many surrounding areas at 65 feet above sea level, the pond does not receive pollutants from surface water but is fed completely by underground springs. The clean water provides vital habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species.

Blue Trail: This 1-mile route partially follows the street grid that was begun by the Works Progress Administration between 1935 and 1939. The plans for housing development were abandoned and today wide trails remain in the park. Begin this walk on the western edge of the park at Page Ave just south of Adelphi Ave or alternatively from the end of Barlow Ave. Follow the blue trail markers that bring you along a short inner loop in the park past a viewpoint of the upland forest and along the western shore of Long Pond. Take in the view of the pond at the Lookout point.

Orange Trail: At 1.15 miles long, the Orange Trail is slightly longer than the Blue Trail and passes through the beautiful woods and gentle slopes that lie to the east of Long Pond and west of Mt. Loretto State Forest. The route begins in the southeastern section of the park at the end of Richard Ave. It can also be accessed from Amboy Road just west of Richmond Valley Road. As you travel along the Orange Trail on the eastern edge of the park, you will pass trails leading into Mt. Loretto State Forest.

Interactive Map

Orange Trail

Blue Trail

Unnamed Official Trail

Point of Interest

Points of Interest

Long Pond Lookout

This clearing provides views across Long Pond. Along the banks, look for the pink flowers of swamp loosestrife or the white of buttonbush. You could see a resident great blue heron or an osprey on the hunt. Look into the water for painted or snapping turtles and listen for a chorus of frogs. Spring peepers emerge from hibernation in mid-March, and they are followed by pickerel frogs, whose only habitat in NYC is Long Pond, green frogs, fowler’s toads, and bull frogs, all of which can be heard around dusk.

View Long Pond Lookout on the map

Upland Forest View

A viewpoint over the woodland from one of the highest points in the park, it is just a few steps off the Blue Trail. The surrounding forest includes White and Red Oak (Quercus alba and Quercus rubra), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) and Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides). To allow for understory vegetation to regrow in this area, please avoid the steep slopes surrounding this area. to access the western side of the park, please use the Blue Trail that skirts around the high area to the south.