Bethpage Bikeway

Distance: 7.32 miles one way   Elevation Gain: 142 ft   Hike Time: 3 hours   Difficulty: Easy  Trail Condition: Fire road/pavement  Hike Type: Point to Point

How to Get There:

From Bethpage State Park: Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway to Exit 8.  At the end of the exit ramp, turn left, look for the sign - Bethpage State Park Picnic Area and turn left. .  Parking fees or an Empire Pass is required during the spring and summer season for parking.  The trail is accessible from the parking area.

From Massapequa Preserve: Take Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway to its south terminus. Take Merrick Road east for 1.25 mile and turn left on Lake Shore Road. Turn left on it and follow it 2.5 miles to Walker Street. Turn left on Walker Street where it ends inside the park at a parking lot. From the northwest corner of the parking lot, follow the trail. It crosses the paved Bethpage Bikeway

General Description:  The Bethpage Bikeway generally follows the Parkway from the Massapequa Preserve to Bethpage State Park . Only about a third of its length borders the highway itself, the rest is tucked in a forest greenbelt.  In Bethpage State Park, the trail will pass the polo grounds and several of the golf courses at the park.  The trail itself is an even paved surface for the entire length.  At the southern terminus, the trail will enter the Massapequa Preserve.  This 423-acre linear preserve, owned and operated by the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums, runs from Merrick Road on the south to Linden Street on the north and is bounded by Ocean Avenue/Parkside Boulevard on the west and Lake Shore Drive on the east.   This land was formerly part of the New York City watershed system. 

It is divided into three sections bounded by major roadways. The southern section, from Merrick Road to Sunrise Highway, contains the most diverse and ecologically valuable lands, including Massapequa Lake (Caroons Lake). Freshwater swamps, marsh, stream, lake and sandy-bog area provide habitat for many rare and endangered Long Island plants, including white-fringed orchids, carnivorous sundews and bladderworts. Freshwater fishing is permitted in several of the lakes (license required). The most popular lake to fish is the Massapequa Reservoir north of Sunrise Highway; click here for a map.