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Hither Hills
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If you
love being near the water, you will love this hike; when you
walk it you will visit three bodies of water. If I were
walking at top speed, I could easily complete this hike in
two hours, but it has never taken me less than five. I feel
the need to stop and swim in (or at least gaze upon) each
body of water.
After
spending a whole week sitting in front of my computer
watching one beautiful summer day after anther pass me by, I
decided
I needed
a mini-holiday so I headed out east, right into the
Shinnecock Hills bottleneck. The traffic crawled all the way
to Bridgehampton. I was in the car for two hours and my
eyeballs were floating. Traveling east a short distance past
the Dan’s Papers building, on the left side I found, between
Thayer’s Hardware and the Golden Pear Café, a parking lot
and a public restroom. I lucked
out, found a parking space and the men’s room was free.
Feeling much relieved,
I continued
my journey east through Amagansett, taking the left fork
(where Route 27 splits into Montauk Highway and Old Montauk
Highway) and traveling 0.9 miles to Hither Hills West
Overlook parking area. |
In my
rush to get out of the house, I had forgotten to bring along
a map, so I turned away from the breathtakingly beautiful
panoramic view and walked
to the east end of the parking lot, where, secluded
from sight by luxuriantly leafed oak limbs, is an
information kiosk. Posted there is an excellent map of the
Park with complimentary interpretive material and trails
maps. You can use one of these maps to follow the route I
took.
I
walked back to the west end of the parking lot, past the two
new informational kiosks and followed the nearby sign to the
Petticoat Hill Trail. I then followed
the North Trail for a few yards, making a right and a quick
left onto Elisha’s Valley Trail, then again after a short
walk, a right and quick left, this time walking on
Old Tar
Road for a few yards. I crossed over the railroad tracks,
then took a right turn onto the Paumanok Path. This portion
of the Path is known as the Stephen Talkhouse Path. It will
take you to Fresh Pond. After visiting the pond, I continued
to
Fresh
Pond Landing Road,
where I turned left (north) and visited Napeague Bay. After
enjoying the Bay for a while, I headed
back south on
Fresh
Pond Landing Road
over the railroad tracks.
Here
the map shows the trail cutting directly over the Old Tar
Road, but in reality, you again visit the
Old Tar
Road
for several yards, making a quick right and left to stay on
Fresh Pond Landing Road.
I then followed Old North Road for a short distance north to
get to the Ocean View Trail. This trail has loose rocks in
places, so watch your footing. During the winter, when there
are no leaves on the trees, you can see the ocean from parts
of this trail. At the south end of the Ocean Trail, I turned
right onto the Serpent’s Back Trail and walked a short
distance, then followed the Parkway Trail back to the
parking lot. At this point, I was all hot, sweaty, and
anxious to take another swim, so I headed
back out on the Petticoat Trail, and then instead of turning
right, I headed
left onto the North Trail and followed it over Montauk
Highway. I traveled 0.4 miles to a fork in the trail and
turned right, then after a very short distance, arrived
at
Old
Montauk Highway.
I walked diagonally across Old Montauk Highway and then
across the parking lot, down the stairs, past the comfort
stations, and cut across the camping area, where I looked
for the sign that says “Bathing Between Green Flags.” There
I found a trail that cuts across the dunes to the ocean
beach. Ah, more water and another swim.
On
the way back to the Overlook, I met a man who was parked in
the Overlook parking area. He asked me where he could get a
map of the trails. You need
to really look for that informational kiosk; it’s so easy to
get swept away by the view. Have a great time! |
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ISLAND HOME |
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