Sunken Meadow State Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sunken Meadow State Park |
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Boardwalk at the beachfront at Sunken Meadow State Park
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Type | State park |
Location | Rte. 25A and Sunken Meadow Parkway Kings Park, New York |
Nearest city | Kings Park, New York |
Area | 1,288 acres (5.21 km2) |
Created | 1926 |
Operated by | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
Visitors | 3,602,722 (in 2019) |
Open | All year |
Website | Sunken Meadow State Park |
Sunken Meadow State Park, also known as Governor Alfred E. Smith State Park, is a 1,287-acre (5.21 km2) state park located in the Town of Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York on the north shore of Long Island. The park, accessible via the Sunken Meadow State Parkway, contains the 27-hole Sunken Meadow State Park Golf Course.
Park description
Sunken Meadow State Park is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. The park's features include three miles (4.8 km) of beaches on the Long Island Sound, a three-quarters-mile-long (1.2 km) boardwalk, six miles (9.7 km) of hiking trails, and facilities for biking, horseback riding, watersports, and general recreation. Playgrounds, softball fields, and a soccer fields are also available at the park. A wedding and event facility known as "The Pavilion" is available during the summer.
The Sunken Meadow State Park Golf Course features 27 holes that may be played as either nine or 18 holes, in addition to a driving range and putting green. The first two nine-hole courses, Red and Green, were built in 1962, followed by the Blue Course in 1964. All three courses were designed by Alfred Tull. A bar and snack food restaurant near the course is available and open to the public.
The park's grounds are used as a venue for cross country running, and host competitions for cross country teams from local high schools and runners' clubs. The five-kilometer course, featuring the deliberately named "Cardiac Hill", is regarded as one of the most difficult cross country courses in the US.
The 31-mile (50 km) Long Island Greenbelt Trail connects Sunken Meadow State Park with Heckscher State Park.