Athma Speaks: Day hikes/trips from NYC without a car - Part III

This is the first time I ventured into Long Island. All my previous trips have been to the Hudson valley.

(In the NY state map below, #8 is Hudson Valley region and #10 is Long Island)

Source : NY State Department of Transportation

As always, since we are traveling without a car, let us start with the commute.

THE COMMUTE:

1. Get to Penn Station in NYC

From Jersey city / rest of New Jersey

Path takes you to 33rd street, from where Penn Station is a few minutes walk.
NJ Transit takes you to Penn Station.

From NYC, you know how. Take any of the subways that leads you to Penn.

Of course, if you have more dollars to spare, use Lyft or Uber to get to Penn.

2. Take the Long Island Railroad to Riverhead

You have, in general, 2 options to get to Riverhead.

Option 1: Take the train to Greenport and get off at Riverhead. Please check the latest schedules - Long Island Railroad (LIRR) is operating limited lines due to Covid.

Option 2: Take the train to Ronkonkoma and then transfer to the train to Greenport and get off at Riverhead.

The option you choose will depend on the time you reach Penn station - so, it is very important to plan ahead. Pick the train you want to take for your onward and return journeys before you begin the trip.

LIRR's map is here.

Riverhead looks like this - well, nothing fancy or noteworthy, just that I had a photo taken so why not throw it at you!

3. Take Uber / Lyft to Wildwood State Park

The journey is about 10 miles / 15 mins and you will pay approximately $15 for the ride. I had an interesting conversation with my Uber driver. He had lived 50+ years of his life around Riverhead and didn't know about this park! And, here he was, driving an Indian who lives in another state, took multiple trains to come to this place. As I was thinking about this conversation, I realized that it all goes back to our desire to look for exotic locations away from home. Maybe we should start appreciating our home a little more. I guess the Covid pandemic has forced us to do just that. Your home has become everything it is not supposed to be and in a way, this has made us appreciate a lot of small things which were otherwise taken for granted. Well, more on that later, let us get back to Riverhead.

Across all my car-less hiking trips in the US, I have hardly seen anyone using Uber or Lyft for national/state parks. Of course, this is not a factual statement but just my opinion based on the number of people I have seen waiting for cabs. Wiki has an extensive page for the number I am referring to.

Therefore, I would recommend you to tip more than normal as the driver is not going to get another ride back to town. I always do that when I take Uber or Lyft for the last mile. This is the least we can do to support local communities.

THE HIKE:

The trails are very well marked, and there is hardly any elevation gain or any signs of tricky terrain. This one is accessible to all skill levels. Most of the folks who come to this park come here for the beach. The beach is clean and can be a good detour from the trail if you would like to scramble your way to the water.

I didn't see a lot of folks on the trail. The trails are well marked and you can do whatever length suits you fine. I liked the solitude and the peaceful setting on a beautiful, sunny day.