Hempstead Lake State Park – Environmental & Resiliency Center

Description

The Environmental & Resiliency Center in Hempstead Lake State Park is located at 1000 Lake Drive, West Hempstead. There is an entire row of accessible parking close to the entrance ramp.

Double doors lead to the one floor exhibit area. There is ample space to navigate.

There are multi-stall restrooms with a large, accessible stall, as well as a single-occupancy, accessible, family restroom with baby-changing station.

Checklist

• Attraction Type:  museum, park
• Surface of lot:  paved
• Distance to venue:  close
• Transportation to venue offered:  na
• Terrain:  a bit hilly
• Places to rest:  benches
• Paths and walkways:  concrete circular walkway to entrance
• Doors:  double doors
• Number of floors:  1
• Elevators:  na
• Ramps:  concrete ramp to entrance
• Steps and staircases:  seven steps to entrance
• Width of aisles:  ample space to navigate
• Places to sit:  benches inside and outside on wooden deck
• Location of restrooms:  off of exhibit area
• Type of restroom:  There are multi-stall restrooms with a large, accessible stall as well as a single-occupancy, accessible, family restroom with baby-changing station
• Ease of entry and exit:  good
• Available food services:  none
• Friendliness of staff:  very friendly and helpful
• Notes:  * There is an entire row of accessible parking spaces.
• Baby changing station:  yes

Read More

On a pleasant, late November day, we ventured to Hempstead Lake Park to see its new Environmental Education Center.  Parking was quite easy in the paved, parking lot. A row of accessible spaces are located close to the Center.

Getting to the double door entrance requires walking up seven steps or using the circular, concrete ramp. 

Once inside we found ourselves in the midst of several, interesting, interactive exhibits. There is ample room to navigate, as well as several benches if one needs to sit for a bit. There is also an outdoor deck with benches and a lovely view. 

The Environmental and Resiliency Center, newly opened in September, 2021, it is a  “…unique hands-on, learning center, focused on environmental management and storm resiliency. The goal is to connect the community with the natural environment by providing outreach and educational programming.” (website).

It is “…a place to teach the public about climate change and protecting the environment as well as a command and coordination post during disasters and emergencies.”  (LI Press, 9/24/21)

From what we saw, this seems like a great place to combine educational opportunities with a visit to the park.

The center is open seven days a week, offering nature programs for scouts, schools and the public. 

It’s nice that the Center is located close to one of the park’s playgrounds, Just across the road work is going on for what will be a wooden landing at the lake.

As always, we at Destination Accessible, advise you to visit a venue’s website, https://parks.ny">https://parks.ny>gov>parks>hempstead lake, when planning a visit, to “know before you go,”

Location

Nearby