Not far from Sammy’s Beach Preserve, I had to stop the car to let wild turkeys cross the road. Soon Sammy’s Beach Road led us to a coastal sand spit which is now a nature preserve.
We followed a footpath, overgrown in parts with marsh plants. And wandered near tidal creeks and salt ponds known as ‘the maze’ on the edge of the inland Three Mile Harbor.
Despite just waking up after the harsh winter, the beauty and peacefulness of the land was still clear. In the Fall the area is covered in wild flowers.
In the distance Osprey’s watched the water from the high perch of their nest.
But a hidden sandpit stopped us from journeying on to the east end of the coastal spit. My two didn’t want to leave the ‘secret place’ they called ‘theirs.’
Instead we later crossed the dunes and headed to Sammy’s beach on Gardiner Bay.
As there was no shelter that day from the wind, soon we followed the sandy dirt road back to our car.
But before we left my children made me promise to bring them back soon to Sammy’s Beach Preserve…and their secret place.
Sammy’s Beach Preserve, East Hampton, NY
A beautiful nature reserve for an outdoor walk with children if you’re in the Hamptons, NY. There are over 50 species of birds found in this habitat and diverse flora and native vegetation, including high marsh species, sea lavender, saltmarsh aster and prickly pear cactus.
A dirt road runs down the center of the coastal spit from the small parking lot on Sammy’s Beach Road to the west jetty of Three Mile Harbor’s inlet. There’s a narrow trail through the wetlands which leads to a sandy road loop near the jetty. You can either follow the dirt road back to the car park or walk back along the beach. Parts of the beach and the 116.2 preserve may be closed during the nesting season for least terns and piping plover (April-July). Sammy’s Beach Reserve, part of the East Hampton township, is on the northern shore of the South Fork, Long Island, and located at the end of Sammy’s Beach Road.
Every time I read one of these posts I think that we must have a holiday down in the Hamptons soon, it’s so beautiful 🙂 Gorgeous photos as always, and lovely that your two want to go back to their special place x #CountryKids
the lovely thing about the off season is that so many of these places are quiet.
I’ve never seen turkeys in the wild, and that secret sandpit looks wonderful. Beautiful photos and a lovely outing x
There’s lots of wild turkeys around here but it’s the first time I’ve had to stop the car for them to cross the roa. Until now I’ve only had to stop for ducks and deer 🙂
My son is with me whilelooking at this and he loves the Osprey and the massive nest! Looks like a fun day! #countrykids
It was amazing to see the Osprey – although they were quite far away.
Wow, looks like a great place to visit, I particularly like the photo of the nesting osprey. What is the plant in the third photo down? It looks like a cactus but I’m guessing it isn’t!
That’s a prickly pear cactus. My son for some reason or other loves them and insisted I take a photo of it!
Thank you – I never realised you would get cactus in your part of the States!
Nice walk. Lovely contrasting areas. Can’t help smiling at the idea of you stopping to let the wild turkeys cross. #CountryKids
The wild turkeys are really noisy too! All of them were making a racket!
It’s amazing getting to see the birds so close! A really beautiful place to explore.
Wow, what a beautiful place to take a visit. Looks like you had fun. I love your photo’s! #CountryKids
It does look like a hidden treasure of a place – so peaceful and beautiful! Love the photo of the turkeys.
What a hidden gem and perfect for exploring – it’s a shame the wind didn’t drop and you could have spent more time there. Thanks for linking up and sharing more of your Hampton adventures with Country Kids.
We were there for a couple of hours due to the ‘secret sandpit’ which was warm and sheltered from the sun. In contrast the beach on the other side of the dunes was really windy and a bit chilly.
What a beautiful landscape! I love how you always seem to capture the wildlife around you. Amazing really 🙂 #CountryKids.
Thank you Dean! One of the special things about where we live is all the wildlife.
that just looks so beautiful! very jealous
Looks very beautiful, but kind of bleak. Very different from the British countryside.
What a lovely walk and the pic of the turkey is awesome!