Highlights
Things To Do: Museums/Cultural Spaces
Caumsett State Historic Park
On a scenic peninsula extending into Long Island Sound, the park is a bird paradise and offers miles of bridle paths, walking, jogging, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and nature trails. Go to the park's Web site for a bird checklist. The park also has beautiful gardens, and there are excellent fishing and scuba diving opportunities for visitors with permits. A polo pony barn provides lessons, boarding and equestrian services as part of the Willow Tree Farm Equestrian Center. The Henry Lloyd Manor house, built in 1711, is leased to the Lloyd Harbor Historical Society, which provides historic interpretation of life during the colonial period. The park is open sunrise-5 p.m. on weekdays and sunrise-8 p.m. on weekends. more...
Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum
The museum contains 6,000 artifacts, a 19th-Century whaleboat and numerous whaling exhibits. Open Tues.-Sun. Admission: $5. more...
OHEKA Castle
Financier and philanthropist Otto Hermann Kahn spent $11 million about 100 years ago to build OHEKA Castle on a 443-acre plot in Cold Spring Harbor. The French-style chateau is the second-largest private residence ever built in America. During the 1920s, Kahn used the 109,000-square-foot, 127-room estate as a summer home where he held extravagant parties and entertained royalty, top government officials and Hollywood stars. The castle later was abandoned and vandalized. In 1984, developer Gary Melius bought it and began restoration. Today, the castle is 70% restored. It is a member of the Luxury Hotels of the World and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A guided tour, available by appointment only, costs $25 per adult and offers visitors limited access to the estate and gardens. more...
Old Bethpage Village Restoration
This restored 15-building village depicts a pre-Civil War rural Long Island community. You visit an old church, an inn, a schoolhouse, blacksmith and hat shops, and assorted homes. Many special events, including concerts, mock Civil War battles and 19th-Century baseball games, are held annually. Open Wed.-Sun. Admisssion: $10. more...
Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park
Coe Hall, an early 20th-Century, Tudor-revival 65-room mansion, sits on more than 400 acres of sweeping lawns, cultivated gardens and woodlands. There are more than 400 species of trees and shrubs, including many from abroad. More than 200 events, including flower shows, jewelry exhibitions, lectures and chocolate and champagne tastings, are held annually. A garden cafe serves gourmet lunches Sat.-Sun. Call or check the Web site for the various admission and parking fees. more...
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
This 23-room Victorian mansion was President Teddy Roosevelt's summer White House from 1901 to 1909. Determined to have a good home for his daughter, Roosevelt paid $16,975 to build the house in 1884. An avid hunter, Roosevelt mounted numerous animal trophies on the wall. No food is sold at the historic site. A picnic area is available. Open Wed.-Sun. early fall-late spring and daily in summer. Admission: $5; free for ages 15 and under. Admission to the Roosevelt Museum is free. more...
Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium
There's plenty to see at this North Shore site: the 24-room Spanish-revival mansion of yachtsman William Vanderbilt, a museum with nearly 16,000 animal and marine specimens, and a planetarium with a 16-inch telescope. Museum is open Tues.-Sun. The planetarium is open Fri. and Sat. nights and Sun. afternoon. more...
The Heckscher Museum of Art
The museum's collection spans 500 years of Western art and emphasizes works of the 19th and 20th centuries. Established in 1920, the museum displays more than 2,100 pieces, including a growing number of photographs, by American and European artists. Open Tue.-Fri. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (until 8:30 p.m. the first Fri. of each month), Sat.-Sun. 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Open Mon. on holidays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. more...
Walt Whitman Birthplace
This simple wood-beam farmhouse is hidden on a relatively quiet street near a bustling shopping mall named after the poet. A visitors center displays interesting exhibits tracing Whitman's development from a Long Island youth to an internationally known poet. Open daily mid-June-Labor Day and Wed.-Sun. the rest of the year. Admission: $5. more...
