SUNKEN
MEADOW STATE PARK A sea beach, tidal mud flats, bird sanctuary, golfer's paradise, rolling meadows, glacial bluffs, wooded hillsides, marshes and a dam-the Sunken Meadow State Farm has only one alternate name that honors Governor Alfred E. Smith, but a serpentine list of habitats that takes one's breath away. The adjoining foot of the Sunken Meadow Parkway is also called the Sagtikos Parkway . Exit 53 on the Long Island Expressway gets you to its stretch. The Park is no more than 46 miles from Manhattan. The latter may have cast aside virtually all of its original garb, but not the Sunken Meadow State Park that rejoices in the robes gifted by departing glaciers and classic tributes from the Atlantic.
Estuarine gems always sparkle with crustacean and other animal life, and the Nissequogue River does not disappoint as it gushes through the Sunken Meadow State Park in to the Ocean. Though Long Island and New York Marine Biologists never tire of singing praises of the tidal flats and marshes where river, ocean and land congregate in the Sunken Meadow State Park, shorebirds seem to pay best tribute as they fly thousand of miles to enjoy the bounties of the wetlands and ocean front.
Parking fields and the motorway steal some of the thunder, but the Rolling Meadows that separate the narrow stretch of woods and hills from the equally slim beach, were the Park's most striking feature in the early 20th century, and hence developers gave the Park its name.
Directions: At north end of Sunken Meadow State Parkway. Entrance $5 per car; daily May 25-Sept 15, weekends/holidays Sept. 21-Oct. 14. This 1,266-acre beachfront park on Long Island Sound also features a trio of 9-hole golf courses (open to Nov. 26) and a trail used for cross-country running competition. Season: Year-round daily, sunrise-sunset. Facilities: 3-mile beach, picnic area (umbrella rentals), refreshment stands (9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily to Oct. 31, then 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends), 3 playgrounds, showers, 5 softball fields, soccer field, 4 basketball courts, 4-mile nature trail, cross-country skiing/clinics, hill sledding, fishing (permit required for night fishing to Dec. 31), 2 miles of bicycle trails, boardwalk, aid station. One mile of north end of the Suffolk Greenbelt Trail runs through park. Events: Spring golf tournament May 20, radio controlled model airplane exhibition Sept. 15, cross-country ski clinic (date not set). Information: (631) 269-4333
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Two names and many faces
The Sunken Meadow State Park seems to have been given an exclusive access to the Ocean by the Divine, albeit in the form of a relatively modest width of the 
Though it is generally accepted that the Sunken Meadow State Park is exceptionally rich in flora and fauna, there are still some parts of it that remain largely unexplored. There are more than 5 acres of thick woods on undulating terrain with significant incline that are in pristine condition since the age of their formation thousands of years ago. The Sunken Meadow State Park has expanded gradually over the past 8 decades, with prominent citizens donating their estates, but the wooded hillside remains it's most treasured part, in terms of natural history.
Park authorities know that not everyone is enthusiastic about ecology, habitats and birds, so they have packed the Sunken Meadow State Park with loads of activities, without forgetting the needs of children. Windsurfing, kayaking and golf add elegance and romance to the usual 