Long Island Greenbelt Trail. June 26-28, 2026.
This 32-mile National Recreation Trail runs north-south across Long Island starting at Heckscher State Park on the Great South Bay and ending at Sunken Meadow State Park on Long Island Sound.
Used this to start getting back into shape for backpacking. Will soon be doing the VT and NY parts of the North Country Trail.
Terrain was mostly flat in the southern bits and hilly in the northern bits. Lots of nice woods walking, a couple tiny bits of sandy beach walking, and a few stretches of road walking. For the most part, the trail is well-maintained and well-signed/blazed.
I saw deer nearly every mile, which explains the overabundance of ticks throughout the trail. DEET was essential.
I felt a bit grumpy the first two days while my body readjusted to the pack weight. Today felt much better.
Hard to believe I’ll soon be back out there again.
