Last week I made a quick visit to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Great River. And wow, I can’t believe I’d never been before. I think I’ve truly discovered a new favorite place here on the island.
Let me start by telling you that I have an intense love for nature. I feel so peaceful when I immerse myself in the beauty of the natural world around us. Typically, I take a quick trip upstate, or when I was living in Connecticut for school, I took day trips to parks and mountains known to have good hiking. Don’t get me wrong, I also go on hikes (more like walks due to the landscape) here on Long Island, and there are some great spots. But if I want to feel I have fully escaped from suburbia on those walks I tend to drive a bit further. But this? The Bayard Cutting Arboretum is a 19-minute drive from my house and I was amazed.
I parked my car and walked for about two minutes towards the first path I saw, and I truly could not believe that I had turned into the arboretum directly off Montauk Highway. I heard no cars; I saw no cars. I didn’t even see the tops of any houses peaking over the trees (other than the cute, historic houses that are part of the arboretum’s property). I had truly escaped into nature. There were countless walkways lined with flowers and trees and benches. I sat on one of the benches for a minute and started daydreaming about my future visits…oh, the books I will read under the shade of those trees. The journaling that will happen…I’m already excited. I looked around and took a deep breath in, filling my lungs with the sweet fragrance of the flowers.
I was at the arboretum for about an hour and a half, and what was so cool to me is that based on the map it looks like I only covered about 30 percent of the grounds. There is so much to explore and enjoy, which is why it felt like an escape into nature that I’m not used to having so close to home. I took a stroll down the Holly Walk, which just made me excited to return in the winter. I imagine walking past all the holly while snow flurries fill the air and I warm my hands with a hot tea from The Hidden Oak Café located inside the Manor House.
I then took the New Pinetum trail up to the Cornell Lab. Along this stretch I welcomed the smell of fresh air and woods that drifted off the trees and was transported back to my childhood summer weeks spent camping upstate with my grandparents. Behind the lab there was a beautiful dahlia garden being tended to by volunteer gardeners. Two men were even discussing an upcoming trip to Ocean Beach!
Morning view from the River Walk
I took the River Walk back to my car, where I saw the houses and boats across the Connetquot River and was reminded I was still home on the south shore.
Not only is the Bayard Cutting Arboretum a great place to read, write, reflect, and exercise, but I met another amateur photographer in the gardens behind the Cornell Lab. He pointed me in the direction of some monarch butterflies fluttering around these bright flowers and wished me luck trying to capture them with my camera.
No matter what your hobby is, or what you do to find some joy and relaxation in your life, I’m sure that feeling would double if you can combine it with the wonders of the arboretum!
The beautiful, elusive butterfly!
As I said, I plan on becoming a regular over there throughout the seasons. I was there in the morning, so I missed the opening of the café, which is simply the perfect excuse to head back there in the coming weeks. There are also plenty of events and programs to look into attending—from workshops and historic tours to wellness walks.
Hopefully you’re not like me, and this blog post can simply serve as a reminder for you to return to the Arboretum or check out some of the other things it has to offer. But if you are like me and have never set foot on the beautiful grounds of the arboretum, I encourage you to make a trip over there as soon as possible!
