Four New On-Leash Trails

Nassau County Opens Four New Trails to Leashed Dogs!
Move is Big Step Forward in County Commitment to LI-DOG to Increase Access to County Parks

Christopher Morley Park Trail

For those Long Island dog owners who can’t wait for more public parks to walk their furry friends, LI-DOG is thrilled to announce that, effective immediately, on-leash dog walking is now allowed in four new Nassau County parks in the areas designated below:

Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn. The paved trails in the northern section of the park that start and end near the dog run and parking lot. (Google Map)

Silver Lake Park in Baldwin. The front part of the park, which has paved walking trails that go through the park and around the lake and the rear part of the park, which has grassy areas with a paved path around it and a stream on the edge. (Google Map) (Please note: in Feb. 2017, the Parks Dept. rescinded the on-leash policy. LI-DOG is working to reinstate on-leash walking in at least a portion of Silver Lake Park.)

Mill Pond Park, Merrick Road, Bellmore/Wantagh. The paved path around the pond.

Eisenhower Park (Park Blvd.) in East Meadow. The entire EAST side of Park Blvd., which has a wide paved path about a mile long. This extends from the main entrance on Hempstead Turnpike all the way to the end of Park Blvd. at the Merrick Avenue entrance. Suggested parking would be at the end of the golf course parking lot (furthest from the golf course and closer to the path). This will ensure that you do not have to cross Park Blvd. with your dog and risk getting hit by a car. (Google Map)

This great news for Long Island dog owners comes more than two years after LI-DOG began working with the office of County Executive Ed Mangano to open Nassau County parks to dog owners and their leashed dogs. Until LI-DOG began discussions with Nassau County, almost all 6,000 acres of Nassau County parkland were off-limits to dog owners and their dogs. In October 2013, the County Executive gave LI-DOG a commitment to increase access to County parks. We want to thank County Executive Ed Mangano for his forward thinking on this issue!

 We all know how important it is for dog owners to have safe places to walk their canine companions. In addition, this initiative will incent more people to get out and walk with their dogs, which will benefit not only dogs, but people, too!

Please take a moment and let County Executive Ed Mangano know how much you appreciate his actions by going to Nassau Now online or calling 516-MANGANO.

 We also want to thank the more than 440 people who signed the petition circulated last summer by Melanie K and Robin R at Christopher Morley Park, asking for access to the trails there. The speed with which Melanie and Robin got signatures shows how much support there is for dog owner access to public parks.

These four new dog-friendly trails are in addition to the Fire Road Trail in Massapequa Preserve, which Nassau County opened to on-leash dog walking early last year as part of a pilot program. (see Massapequa Preserve Trail Officially Opens to On-Leash Dog Walkers.)  Some of these trails are already used by people to walk their leashed dogs, but the County has now made it official that dog walking is allowed.

Please remember to ALWAYS pick up after your dogs and keep them on leash, for their safety and in consideration of other park users. Also, please be aware that in some of these parks, dogs are not allowed throughout the park. Please make sure to keep leashed dogs on the designated trails and paths. The County is working to get poop bag stations installed in these locations, but until then, please bring your own bags. Please help LI-DOG make this County initiative a success by following the rules and being respectful of other park users.

Thanks to our fellow dog owners for your ongoing support!