Hiking-Locations

Most of the hikes I have listed here are with in a fifteen minute drive from Dix Hills. All have well marked trails and have interesting things to see. West Hills County Park Picturesque, well-groomed nature trails, including the historic Walt Whitman Trail to Jayne's Hill (Long Island's highest peak, at an elevation of 400 feet), wind through this highly popular, mixed-deciduous forested park. West Hills flora and fauna include wild Mountain Laurel, Moccasin Flower, several fern species, salamanders, turtles, chipmunk, squirrel and red fox. There are many short 1/2 hour to 1 hour hikes within this park. The nice thing about West Hills is you can choose to hike from 30 minutes or three hours what ever you have the time and energy for. Most trails are relatively flat with a few small hills. Here are a few short hikes to try. 1. Jaynes Hill Follow Wolf Hill Road to Schwalb Road across Route 110. Make a right onto Old Walt Whitman Road. Make the first left onto West Hills Road. The third left at the stop sign is Reservoir Road. Make this left and follow to the top of the hill. Enter through the gate and go to the very end and park. If you go to the right, it is more hilly but there is a brakish frog pond and a few big hills that are fun for kids to climb. To the left you can climb the short hill to the rock that marks Jaynes Hill, the highest point in Huntington. There is a small path in front of the rock that goes down hill that leads to many more trails. If you get to the wide horse trail you can turn left and it will loop around giving you a close up look at horses in their stables. If you keep bearing to your left you will find yourself back at the road you drove in on. 2. Sweet Hollow Hall /West Hills Park Take Northern State Parkway to Rt. 110 South. The first traffic light is Old Country Road. Turn right. The first traffic light you will come to is Sweet Hollow Rd. Turn right again. Go past the cemetery and under the Parkway (the stone bridge). Take the first left onto Gwynne Rd. There is a sign for West Hills County Park on the corner. Go approximately 100 yards on the right and park in the parking lot. If you walk out the gate you just drove in, you will see the trail head on the opposite side of the road. This walk is a bit longer than Jaynes Hill but the trail is good and interesting in it's own right. After you climb the steps, there is a small trail that goes to the right before the parking lot to Sweet Hollow Hall. This trail winds around to a steep stepped climb. At the top, follow this wide, level trail to any of the next trails that go downhill to the left. The down hill trail will take you to the lower West Hills trail. If you go left on this it will take you back to Sweet Hollow Hall, where you started. If you have the time and the energy you can follow the upper trail to its end and make a sharp left (which is the lower trail) that goes back to Sweet Hollow Hall. 3. Northern Parkway Overpass Between the Northern Parkway overpass and Old Country Road, there is a pull off where there is a different trail head marked with a sign indicating it's West Hills County Park. This is a loop trail that can be a little hilly. The trail is a bit easier to follow if you bear to the right and continue bearing to the left until you get back to the start. 4. Overlooking 110 From the Parking Lot at the Park (Directions Above) go straight back beyond the volleyball net. Keep heading straight up the hill bearing to the left. There are a few overlooks up on the cliff that show the stores and parking lots on 110 - it's more interesting than it sounds. Once you have tired of going straight, take one of the trails that head down hill and keep bearing to the left and you will end up by the stables and the playground. **A is Sweet Hollow Hall : B is Jaynes Hill**

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