Calverton Ponds Preserve

This preserve is a jewel for anyone who appreciates a quiet hike amidst one of the world’s rarest and most unique natural communities. This 350-acre oak-pine forest contains coastal plain ponds, which represent one of the rarest wetland types in North America. Calverton Ponds were utilized as commercial cranberry bogs in the early 1900’s which operated for over 50 years. Today, Calverton Ponds hosts rare plants, several rare amphibians and fish and rare damselflies and many other species. Cooperatively owned and managed by Suffolk County Parks and The Nature Conservancy, trails at the preserve are open for hiking and observing nature from dawn to dusk. Trails lead to several observation points for close-up views around three major ponds—Sandy Pond, the largest, Block Pond, which is dry at times, and Fox Pond, which is farthest from the parking area.