LI Forest Walks
Types of Walks
12 Months of Guided Wellness
Private Coaching Clients
Add On To Your Own Event
Forest Walks for Youth & Families
Leadership & Team building Guided by Nature
A Walk For All Seasons
Book a Walk or Coaching Session
Public Forest Walks
Family Forest Walks
Private Forest Walks
Walks for Organizations
Let Nature Come to You: A Program for Those Who Cannot Go Outdoors
Winter - What to Wear
Poison Ivy Identification
Tick Identification
Nature Sounds (Guides Only)
prosser pines nature preserve, Suffolk county, ny
Yaphank-Middle Island Rd., Middle Island
"Begun from white pine seedlings from Quebec first planted by British officer Jonathan Edwards in 1759."
Originally started by British officer Jonathan Edwards, who was awarded 300 acres in Middle Island. Edwards traveled from Quebec to Middle Island with the pine seedlings. When Edwards arrived, he planted the seedlings on the road to Yaphank. The pines area continued to grow creating a small forest on his farm.
According to a map made by the late Richard M. Bayles, in 1797 a Zachariah Hawkins had sold James Dayton some farm land, which included the pine grove. William Dayton, son of James Dayton, planted a few more of the white pine trees when he was 18 years old. When James Dayton passed, William and his brother James became the owners of the 240-acre farm.
When the two brothers died, the land was willed to their nephew John R. Dayton. John eventually sold the 240 acres to Thomas Prosser in 1889.
By the time the Prosser family took ownership of the grove, the trees were mature and are said to be at least 90 feet tall. Thomas Prosser and his wife took great pride in keeping the forest pristine. Prosser built a road that circled the forest so the public could enjoy it, until too many people left trash here. Eventually conditions had got so bad, that the Prossers closed off the forest to the public. The only members of public allowed were groups of school children and their teachers, invited by Mrs. Prosser until she passed away in 1966.
Suffolk County purchased the land in 1967, and dedicated the preserve as the Prosser Pines Nature Preserve for future generations to enjoy.
Today Prosser Pines is one of the oldest surviving White Pine Plantations to exist on the eastern seaboard of the United States.
67 Yaphank Middle Island Rd, Middle Island, NY 11953
Length: 0.7-mile loop with lots of interconnecting trails. Only 32 feet elevation gain. It's Long Island, after all.
Level of Difficulty: Very easy
Restroom facilities: No
Observations of a Forest Therapy Guide:
When you first step into Prosser Pines Nature Preserve, there are the usual signs about cleaning up after your dog. It is dog-friendly as long as your dog is on a leash. There is a small wooden sign straight ahead on the trail, showing the trail map. It seriously looks like someone drew a circle on a piece of wood and tacked it to a stake near a tree. That said, the loop is really just that: a large circular path with many, many interconnected trails in between. You can't get lost, at least, not for long. I wish the trail map showed those interconnected trails since, once you're there it's the last sign you see. The good news is, once you're there, it's the last sign you'll see! This preserve really respects the natural world, leaving most of the human world behind, except for a red bench near the trailhead and some refuse bins for trash.
​Trail: Breath-taking. Very easy and open. A perfect place for Forest Therapy walks if the preserve had restroom facilities. At best, I can let people know there's no facilities there and shorten the walk a bit in consideration of our bladders.
The trails are wide and what I love most is the pine needle floor. There's very little vegetation at ground level so you can walk among the trees as well as on the trail. You feel how expansive this forest is even with its towering white pines, wise, ancient trees who've seen more of Long Island's history that any human can hope for.
There's at least one egress on the far side that takes you out of the forest and onto the neighboring sod farm. So, imagine the deep woodsy feel as it opens onto green, green and greener. The farmhouse can be seen in the distance. It's a moment of open space and possibility before returning to the hush of the forest.
There are some large teepee-like structures on the property. Some of the structures are large enough to go inside and I imagine one of these might be a lovely place to have tea at the end of a walk or hold a council after an invitation is completed.