Take a Walk on the Wild Side

This weekend I ventured into one of Long Island's natural preserves. The little know Werthein Preserve is located on Smith Rd in Shirley, along the Carmen's River.
I had waited for the cooler weather to arrive and fall colors to explode. This weekend was the best and last time I think the colors and leaves will be seen on the trees.

The renovated Wertheim visitors building is quite impressive! It was built in 2012 and reminds me of an upstate Adirondack retreat, and since the architects  were from Syracuse, that makes sense.
Natural fauna and flora were utilized and the preserve was left heavily wooded, except for some parts of gravel maintenance roadway.

There are two main trails; The Black Tupelo and The White Oak Trails. I chose the White Oak trail which  runs down to the right from the parking lot.

My first stop to capture photos was from the bridge over the creek. The railroad tunnel is well documented by other visitors and I can see why.

Next, the open expanse of the Carmen's Creek  shimmered in the mid day sun, along with the multi colored trees on the banks.

There were a few boardwalks to lookouts on the river along the way as well. starting at the visitors cabin, I walked along the wooded path of the White Oak trail as it meandered along the edge of the water and into the woods, which looped back to the visitors cabin. The longest part takes almost three hours but I took the short cut.

If you were stressed before arriving, I guarantee you would be relaxed by the time you walked to the water. It seems to be a great tranquilizer.

Next time I will veer left on the Tupelo trail, that runs about 3 miles altogether.

I found more preserves on Long Island, mostly in Suffolk County and would like to visit them as well.