Natural Areas of the South Shore of Long Island

Tackapausha County Preserve
(Seaford)

Almost invisible on a road map, Tackapausha Preserve appears as a long, green, very narrow sliver cutting for 32 blocks through a sea of streets. The 84-acre preserve may be narrow, but it is expansive for what it has to offer nature lovers, educators and anybody who wants a temporary respite from the sterility of the urban sprawl. It can accurately be called a “suburban oasis.”

The visitor starts off with a superb nature museum with live animals and one of the finest displays of realistic replicas of mushrooms in the country. From there, you can sample any portion of the 5-mile trail system. The paths take you past two ponds, along wetlands and interweaving channels of Seaford Creek, and the largest stand of rare Atlantic white cedar in the country. It once covered 60,000 acres on Long Island, but was destroyed by urban development. The preserve’s rich variety of wildlife totals 171 different kinds of birds, 10 different reptiles and amphibians, and a number of mammals and fish species.

Wet woods of red maple and white oak cover most of the preserve. The shrub layer is high bush blueberry, swamp azalea, spicebush, sweet pepperbush and shadbush. At the north end of the preserve are several beautiful white pine stands and an upland forest of scarlet oak, hemlock, hickory, gray birch and flowering dogwood. Plants of the forest floor are blackberry, catbrier, mountain laurel, wine berry, Canada mayflower, Solomon’s seal and a kind of orchid.

The Native Americans called this area “Arrasquagh” (“marshy creek”), an apt name for the landscape that the preserve now protects in its original state. Tackapausha is the oldest nature preserve in Nassau County, started in 1938. It is named after Chief Tackapausha of the Massapequa Band of Algonkian-speaking Native peoples. According to the Dutch leaders, Chief Tackapausha sold the land to them in 1643, but Tackapausha maintained he was only selling the “use” of the land, not the entire ownership. Bitter disputes followed for years, ending with the extermination of all Native tribes from Nassau County. Seaford Creek was established in 1643 as the boundary between the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay.

The preserve is open every day, dawn to dusk. The museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Museum hours are 10 am to 4 pm, and 1 to 4 pm on Sundays. Education programs are available. For information, contact (516) 571-7443, Washington Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783, or email: tackapausha@yahoo.com

How to Get There: Take Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway to its south terminus. Take Merrick Road east for about 4/10 of a mile to Washington Avenue. Turn left onto Washington Avenue. The preserve entrance is immediately on your right. (It is amusing that the streets bordering the preserve sport the names of a dozen tree species.)

Stop first at the museum (fee). It covers all natural history aspects of Long Island and displays live birds such as crow, great horned and screech owls, and a redstart. Check out its nice gift shop. Make sure to pick up both the trail map and the guide to the preserve’s history. The guides make your walking experience even more rewarding.

The long preserve is divided into three sections because Sunrise Highway and Clark Avenue cross it. However, the trail network connects all sections. You can choose any length of walk. For the ambitious, you can hike the full 5 miles (round trip) to the north end, or you can visit only the lower one or two sections. One trail runs up the west side, another along the east side. Six-foot bridges cross the creek to link each side.

To cross from the south section to the central section, you must cross Sunrise Highway at a traffic light, then re-enter the preserve. A tunnel conveniently takes you under the Long Island Railroad tracks. From the central section, you cross Clark Avenue and enter a gate on your right to enter the north section. You can also do the upper sections at separate times by parking along Clark Avenue and Jerusalem Avenue.

Be sure not to miss the Atlantic white cedar stand in the south section; the central section’s Black Duck Pond, where you can see snapping turtle, herons, water birds, and gold fish; and a water lily pond and white pine stand in the north section.

Tackapausha’s trail system is also a spur trail to the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail through Massapequa Park (described ahead). To get to this trail from the preserve, walk or drive ¾ mile east along Sunrise Highway.

Access Guide Introduction :: Map and Guide :: More Estuary Site Information
	Tackapausha County Preserve (Seaford) Almost invisible on a road map, Tackapausha Preserve appears as a long, green, very narrow sliver cutting for 32 blocks through a sea of streets. The 84-acre preserve may be narrow, but it is expansive for what it has to offer nature lovers, educators and anybody who wants a temporary respite from the sterility of the urban sprawl. It can accurately be called a “suburban oasis.” The visitor starts off with a superb nature museum with live animals and one of the finest displays of realistic replicas of mushrooms in the country. From there, you can sample any portion of the 5-mile trail system. The paths take you past two ponds, along wetlands and interweaving channels of Seaford Creek, and the largest stand of rare Atlantic white cedar in the country. It once covered 60,000 acres on Long Island, but was destroyed by urban development. The preserve’s rich variety of wildlife totals 171 different kinds of birds, 10 different reptiles and amphibians, and a number of mammals and fish species. Wet woods of red maple and white oak cover most of the preserve. The shrub layer is high bush blueberry, swamp azalea, spicebush, sweet pepperbush and shadbush. At the north end of the preserve are several beautiful white pine stands and an upland forest of scarlet oak, hemlock, hickory, gray birch and flowering dogwood. Plants of the forest floor are blackberry, catbrier, mountain laurel, wine berry, Canada mayflower, Solomon’s seal and a kind of orchid. The Native Americans called this area “Arrasquagh” (“marshy creek”), an apt name for the landscape that the preserve now protects in its original state. Tackapausha is the oldest nature preserve in Nassau County, started in 1938. It is named after Chief Tackapausha of the Massapequa Band of Algonkian-speaking Native peoples. According to the Dutch leaders, Chief Tackapausha sold the land to them in 1643, but Tackapausha maintained he was only selling the “use” of the land, not the entire ownership. Bitter disputes followed for years, ending with the extermination of all Native tribes from Nassau County. Seaford Creek was established in 1643 as the boundary between the Towns of Hempstead and Oyster Bay. The preserve is open every day, dawn to dusk. The museum is closed on Mondays and major holidays. Museum hours are 10 am to 4 pm, and 1 to 4 pm on Sundays. Education programs are available. For information, contact (516) 571-7443, Washington Avenue, Seaford, NY 11783, or email: tackapausha@yahoo.com How to Get There: Take Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway to its south terminus. Take Merrick Road east for about 4/10 of a mile to Washington Avenue. Turn left onto Washington Avenue. The preserve entrance is immediately on your right. (It is amusing that the streets bordering the preserve sport the names of a dozen tree species.) Stop first at the museum (fee). It covers all natural history aspects of Long Island and displays live birds such as crow, great horned and screech owls, and a redstart. Check out its nice gift shop. Make sure to pick up both the trail map and the guide to the preserve’s history. The guides make your walking experience even more rewarding. The long preserve is divided into three sections because Sunrise Highway and Clark Avenue cross it. However, the trail network connects all sections. You can choose any length of walk. For the ambitious, you can hike the full 5 miles (round trip) to the north end, or you can visit only the lower one or two sections. One trail runs up the west side, another along the east side. Six-foot bridges cross the creek to link each side. To cross from the south section to the central section, you must cross Sunrise Highway at a traffic light, then re-enter the preserve. A tunnel conveniently takes you under the Long Island Railroad tracks. From the central section, you cross Clark Avenue and enter a gate on your right to enter the north section. You can also do the upper sections at separate times by parking along Clark Avenue and Jerusalem Avenue. Be sure not to miss the Atlantic white cedar stand in the south section; the central section’s Black Duck Pond, where you can see snapping turtle, herons, water birds, and gold fish; and a water lily pond and white pine stand in the north section. Tackapausha’s trail system is also a spur trail to the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail through Massapequa Park (described ahead). To get to this trail from the preserve, walk or drive ¾ mile east along Sunrise Highway.