It was a really awesome place to visit, located in Smithtown it was once the property of Caleb smith the founder of Smith Town and later on turned into a private hunting club in an area which would have been largely rural at the time. It was a nice experience to walk the grounds near the water features which at one time where old mills. If you enjoy some mild hiking in a controlled environment with plenty of signage to lead you back to the parking area I recommend this place. Some of the hiking trails were pretty to traverse and I truly felt like I was in the forest. read more

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Nice quiet park with shade. There's a place to sit also. It's a small park good for families and couples.

This park is right off of Jericho Turnpike and has been here forever. Took my two teenage boys for a late morning hike. My mom (who grew up in the area) asked me where we were going. When I told her, she asked if we planned on fishing. At the entrance of the park is a large shallow still pond where they allow kids to fish. On our visit there were quite a few and we saw a boy reel one in! The parking lot is more spacious than previous reviewers stated and there's an easy kiosk to pay the entrance fee. Once past the restored manor house, (which we didn't explore) and shallow fishing ponds, there's a pretty extensive network of trails through some very nice mature woods. Trails are marked but they're still confusing (how can the green trail be going in 3 different directions?). Mix of paved and unpaved trails with a lot of bridges and benches scattered throughout. We came pretty close to some deer and saw a woodpecker. Make sure you spray yourself well because I'm sure ticks are a problem here due to the large presence of deer. Overall nice and historic park. Would recommend if in the area. read more

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On a warm summer day when the beaches were filling up by 10 AM, we decided to do something different. We must have driven past this park a hundred times in our years on Long Island, but never noticed it. When we got there the parking lot was barely half full, and the human to park ratio in this immense land looked very good. Some nature trails on the island can be a disappointment, but this park was the exact opposite. Well managed side trails and scenic bridges were everywhere. Many places to just sit on a bench and reflect on the waters. We walked for about 90 minutes, and put this beautiful park on our hot list for a return in early fall. Highly recommended. read more

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This was another great recent return visit "discovery," hidden in plain sight, and after years of planning a visit, I'm so glad we finally stopped by for a visit!! This hidden gem definitely has something for everyone, and we had a nice, warmer winter weather exploration, though I'm sure there's plenty to discover at any time of the year!! The old Smith Mansion near the entrance is a sight to see, and has plenty of interesting natural resource displays inside. I'd love to take a tour of the complete building, though apparently only a small portion of it is restored and open to the public. Their nature displays are a great resource for young and old, and they appear to have plenty of interesting events year round for the public. Take a leisurely walk on the trails, enjoy the sunset on the lake, and/or bring a picnic lunch... Not a ton of parking, so make sure you get here early on a nice day!! Enjoy!! read more

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I came here for a hike while my son was in school, sometimes when I'm off work I'll drive for a hike. Some of the trail is paved some is in the woods. I didn't get much mileage in. The park is beautiful though there are little nooks and crannies of wonderful pretty nature to see. I would like to take my son back here one day, he's almost 5 but doesn't really like hiking in the cold and I'll go outdoors for exercise in any weather because I hate indoor exercise. read more

This State Park is somehow disappointing. Yes, it has several different trails for different length, but all trails were short (no more than 2.5 miles) and easy. We went in mid-November, most leaves were gone. Lots of crunchy brown and yellow leaves were on the ground. All paths were unpaved and rocky, but there were no uphills and downhills, relatively flat. The water in the pond was dirty. Not much to see in terms of scenery, but it was good exercise to just hike inside the park. Since there were so many different trails, the park was not crowded at all. The trails were marked, but the marks were confusing. $8 fee per vehicle, free for empire pass holder. read more

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Had a great time with your family and friends... Very beautiful park. Appreciate the different levels in the flat terrain. Love the history.

This is a nice little spot if you're too tired to travel to a bigger park. It does have a few trails, but relatively flat. You're very close to a few houses, which didn't help with the suspended belief aspect of walking in nature. Its a shame we didn't see much wildlife at all minus some ducks in a pond. The people were incredibly nice though. Again, if you want something rather local and its late in the day....why not? read more

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Nice, peaceful walk. Finally a park that actually enforces the no pet policy! Saw one of the groundmen tell someone that their dog was not allowed on property. So tired of people pretending like they don't see these signs, or just not caring. Anyway, beautiful grounds! read more

This park has beautiful trails and you even get to see some animals. There are level trails depending on your hiking skill level. You can also go fishing and they even have a small nature museum on the premises that is free of charge. Great park for all ages! read more

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What a Beautiful State Park. The trail's there are really nice. Great place to bring Children. The pond has Beautiful Wildlife. Great Place to have lunch. They also have a Museum there. I Love this Park. read more

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Great for hiking. Nice easy trails for kids to take a leisurely hike. We saw a lot of wildlife including . . . . . (see picture). There's a little museum on premises and it's free of charge. I saw some people fly fishing on the lake. There is an $8 fee for parking though. No biking though. read more

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great park for exploring. lots of deer especially on the red trail (saw two does and two fawns recently). Nice and quiet during the week, hardly ever other hikers around. At least two to three miles of unique trails, hang a right after passing the museum and stick to the North side of the park for some interesting flora. A little mosquito-y in the summer. read more

Caleb Smith State Park Preserve - Parks Near Me - Smithtown, New York

This is a local park that for some reason isnt open daily! Ive passed this park so many times and more then 60% its closed???? When it is open its such a beautiful place you cant believe it.A lot if gorgeous landscape and wildlife.The perfect place to chill out and relax . read more

Smallest state park in New York. Better on Long Island but a good place to go to for a hour or 2 when you have nothing else to do. read more

A treasure so hidden that you'll have to watch carefully for the entrance sign on the north side of Jericho Turnpike NYS Route 25, a fast-moving stretch between Smithtown & Commack. Former private hunting club for rich guys from Brooklyn. Park now allows women and children but no guns. The original clubhouse (an enlargement of the house held in the Caleb Smith family for six generations) has been preserved and restored nicely (thanks largely to the efforts of a very active local Friends of Caleb Smith--see website below), lower floors open to the public; lockers originally used for storage of members' bottles still in place. A great place for nature walks, and some excellent interactive exhibits in the building (dedicated by contributors to the memory of the late Dr. Herbert G. Luther, owner of adjoining property containing a 18th Century grist mill). Seldom crowded, and friendly, helpful staff. The 1/2 of the park land on the north side of Jericho Turnpike is open W-Su (hours have been somewhat reduced due to State underfunding of parks) and the part south of Jericho is now open only for special programs and tours by advance special appointment. Organized summer programs and events for children. Superior leaf peeping in the Fall. Trails for XC skiing. No bikes. As is true of all nature preserves near urban areas, poison ivy is in profusion, so if planning to leave the main road and hike the trails (recommended), wear shoes and socks. For me it's been a sanctuary of peace and beauty, and have contacted my NYS representative to urge more adequate State support. http://www.friendsofcalebsmith.org/ http://smithtown.patch.com/articles/smithtown-a-history-the-house-that-smith-built read more

This park is fantastic. I enjoy fishing and taking walks in here and the location is very convenient. This place is really fun and its super interesting to see alll off the wildlife aroubd me and in my neighborhood. All of I have been to Caleb park. Nice enough when there is no entry fee. The are are no pets allowed and no bike riding, only on foot. There are much prettier places to explore.in the area. The trail from kings park bluff to sunken meadow is very pretty and free. Dogs are slo allowed on trail. If you are not a smithtown resident, park your car outside of entrance. Just be careful very ticky in spring and summer. read more

On Long Island there many state parks often beach or standard forest this a small park never crowed trails are nice there is a pond and fishing . a museum across the street from Caleb smith is a county park . Fall is amazing but it is no Yellowstone but for Long Island parks it is nice... Thomas 10 yo read more

Right off of 25/25A in Smithtown you have this oasis from the hustle and bustle, (no I am not referring to the "gentlemen's club" by that name nearby) Caleb Smith State Park. This is a pretty large park with a restored historical home that now acts as an information center. As someone that enjoys hiking this is a great spot, with views of a large pond and streams throughout the grounds. An extra perk: the last few times I have gone hiking I spotted a few deer. The grounds are well maintained and the information center does offer a lot of information on the park and events there. Stop on bye and enjoy a nice relaxing day outdoors! read more

this park is great for kids. there's a huge pond that is designated as a Junior Angler's area at which only kids up to 15 years old can fish. that would have blown my mind when i was a wee one. in addition there is a nice big trail loop that ruins through the park. it's a wide, really well maintained and manicured flat trail that really just winds through dense forest. it's absolutely perfect for a nature walk with kids or maybe for those who have some physical limitations but isn't really that fun for an experienced hiker. we found that out the hard way. but time with nature is always welcome and energizing. of note: there was this beautiful lone swan that was gliding around the pond feeding and just swimming about. we sat down on a bench next to the water to eat our lunch and the swan made its' way over to us. he exited the water and moved slowly to us. thinking he was looking for a hand out we threw a chunk of bread near him. he ignored, waddled a little closer and let out this demonic hiss. swans can fucking hiss!!! he inched closer...still hissing...which prompted the GF to jump up and cower behind me (she's usually unfazed by 'danger' but apparently swans are her kryptonite). i clapped and yelled at him and he slowly made his way back into the water...stopping every few feet to turn his head to the side and let out a protesting hiss. so....on our nature walk we learned that SWANS HISS!! read more

This is currently not a full review as the trails were still closed. The reason given was hurricane Sandy aftermath but it's just bureaucratic red tape: See the hilarious snapshot I took of kids playing on "hazardous area." If I felt enticed by this park, I would have explored the trails anyway but did that at nearby Blydenburg and BIll Richards Memorial park later that day instead. The parking lot is tiny here. I think it holds six cars if even that. I wonder what's going on in that pond. It's somewhat wide but only about two inches deep visible from land. It's a lovely building though with a wonderful porch. read more

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It's a beautiful place to go jogging, it's not very crowded, and it's very clean. I'm a city girl who enjoys the small town getaways and this one is perfect. If you love to fish or love to read by the water, this is the spot for you. read more

Call me crazy, I just wasn't all that thrilled with this park. I found the map, which can be picked up in the main house, to be misleading and didn't find the trails to be that spectacular. The best sights are found by the pond at the entrance. Besides and abundance of insects, there didn't seem to be a large variety of wild life in mid june. If I had my choice, I'd drive a little farther east and check out the Quogue wildlife refuge. read more

I have gone to this park since I was a child. Nice gem hidden in the middle of Jericho turnpike. Great staff

Long Island's parks are really not that different from one another. There's grass, some paths and trails, trees and ponds. This fits the bill and seems like a nice place to walk around. Luckily there were no kids hanging around in the winter, so it was peaceful enough. The lake looks picturesque when it's iced over. What's disappointing for me is the house itself. The original house is not much more than a memory, the date of construction as listed on the sign (1700-something) now meaningless because it was later re-purposed into a shooting club. I would rather them tear it back down to its original size. It's embarrassing to walk on land used for rich people to shoot things ... after they stole it from the native peoples who once lived here, of course. Glorifying a shooting club on stolen land is not only in poor taste, it normalizes guns and gun ownership, which I can't abide. To add insult to injury, there are traffic cones, warning signs, caution tape, green luminescent pointing-man signs and other artifacts of human intervention marring the landscape. Just let nature be nature! You can't even get any good photos without a lot of Photoshop help. That shouldn't be something you have to say about a park. On a related note, why are we so flippant and inconsiderate about our historical buildings? All over Long Island they are falling apart or "restored and renovated" beyond recognition, or worse, gone. For some of the richer estates, the grounds are converted to parks that close at dusk that hardly anyone even knows exist or how to get to. This park - like most on Long Island - should be open later, cleaned up of traffic cones and the like, the main buildings open in all seasons, plenty of historical and ecological information on display, etc. It's sad that parks on LI are like fenced in attempts at preserving natural beauty before all is lost. It makes walking around them a bit sad. Come on, New York. We can do better. read more