Address
200 Harbor Road, Stony Brook, NY 11790
Phone Number
(631) 689 - 0619
Date Visited
10/21/2019
Website
Avalon Park and Preserve
Description
Avalon Park is located at 200 Harbor Road, Stony Brook, NY. Parking for the Park must be found on the street or at the Stony Brook Village Center. Parking for the Preserve can be found in two small parking areas (see website map for details). If you want to get to the Labyrinth and need accessible parking you can call (631) 388-3671 and a park ranger will open the gate and tell you where you can park.The Park has bluestone, boardwalk, and crushed stone walkways, with stone steps. One can easily access the first bench by bluestone and boardwalk. After that wooden steps are required to reach the gazebo like structure, where there are more benches. Then it is stone steps to the top. There are no restrooms, food, or garbage cans at this venue.
- Surface of lot: paved
Distance to venue: about two blocks
Transportation to venue offered: na
Terrain: parking lot is flat
Places to rest: none
Paths and walkways: bluestone, boardwalk, crushed stone,
Doors: none
Number of floors: 0
Elevators: 0
Ramps: wooden ramps on part of walk
Steps and staircases: wooden and stone steps on part of walk
Width of aisles: lower paths are wide
Places to sit: boardwalk has a bench, up wooden steps there are more benches
Location of restrooms: no restrooms at this venue
Baby changing station: no
Available food services: one
Friendliness of staff: no staff
Notes: Parking for the Park is on nearby streets, or in Village Center.Parking for the Preserve is available at two small locations. Check website map for details.You can call the office for further information (631) 388-3671
A hidden gem on Long Island – that’s Avalon Park and Preserve! We found it quite by accident on Google and have visited several times. Driving down Main Street, it is easy to see the pond (at Harbor Road) and not realize what beauty is behind it. There is no parking lot here, but we have been able to park close by, on the street. Parking can also be found in thee Stony Brook Village Center parking lot (which has a number of handicapped spaces scattered throughout), about a block away.
The pond, with its ducks and swans, is lovely, with a gravel path along side . You can follow the bluestone walkway up Harbor Road where you will find the entrance sign to the park. “Avalon Park is the re-creation of the natural environment that greeted the first indigenous people to settle New York State. Its five distinct natural habitats populated entirely by native flora hold the story of our past…” (website). After visiting it seems unimaginable that all of this is a “recreation.”
We followed the bluestone path, which leads to a boardwalk, then wooden steps, and on to crushed stone and stone steps. The first bench is easy to access (on the wooden walkway), the next benches are in a gazebo like structure, which require taking low-rise wooden steps. After that the crushed stone and stone steps are somewhat steep. If you can continue up here you will find other paths and come to the Labyrinth. This time we wanted to see the labyrinth. We called the telephone number on the website, spoke to the park office and was told to take our car to the wooden gate up the road where we would be met by a park ranger who would assist us. We did as we were told. A lovely young man appeared on a bike, opened the gate and showed us where to park. From here we were able to easily get to the labyrinth. Most of the way is paved. There are paved and gravel paths throughout. The labyrinth is quite interesting as are the sculptures. I was taken by the beauty and tranquility of this place. There is limited parking in two, small, unpaved locations if you are going to the Preserve for hiking, etc. (check the website map for details).
The website says that this is a “…tranquil space for all to enter and enjoy…” So true! If you want a beautiful, serene location, Avalon Park is not to be missed, no matter how far you can go. It is privately owned, yet free, so don’t hesitate to check it out.
Be warned – there are no restrooms or garbage cans here.
As always we at Destination Accessible advise you to check a venue’s website, http://www.avalonparkandpreserve.org when planning a visit, to “know before you go.” You can also call the office (631) 388-3671 with further questions. The woman who helped me was lovely!
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