Mountain bike trails at three DEC-managed properties in Suffolk will reopen April 1.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Regional Director Cathy Haas announced today that mountain bike trails will reopen on April 1 at three DEC-managed properties in Suffolk County. The trail is closed during small game and deer hunting season to prevent undue impact on the trail after the annual spring thaw cycle.
DEC properties that will reopen mountain bike trails include:
- Otis Pike Pine Barrens State Forest
- Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest
- East Port Pine Barrens State Forest
Mountain biking is allowed year-round in DEC’s Edgewood Oak Brush Plains State Forest and DEC’s Calverton Pine Barrens State Forest, which have approximately 12.3 miles of mountain biking trails. Trails on these properties are maintained by Concerned Long Island Mountain Bikers (CLIMB) and DEC.
DEC requires mountain bikers on DEC property to:
- Riding on marked mountain bike trails only, with the exception of Otis Pike Pine Barrens State Forest, where only established roads can be used;
- wear hard-shell helmets and goggles, give way to official vehicles and equipment, horseback riders and hikers; and
- Visit state land between dawn and dusk, except for permitted hunting.
Trail closures for spring turkey season
DEC will close certain properties and ban all recreational activities, with the exception of hunts, until noon in May to accommodate Long Island’s first-ever spring turkey season. DEC administers land access permits that are not valid until noon each day of spring turkey season for any other activity permitted on properties/parking lots where turkey hunting is permitted.
DEC managed properties where hunting is permitted for spring gun turkey hunting and where trails will be closed from sunrise to noon are:
- Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest – Shotgun and Archery
- Westhampton Dwarf Pine Plains State Forest – Shotgun and Archery
- Henrys Hollow Pine Barrens State Forest – Shotgun and Archery
- Barcelona Neck Cooperative Hunting Area – Shotgun and Archery
- David A. Sarnoff Cooperative Hunting Area – Shotgun & Archery
- Otis Pike Pine Barrens State Forest Cooperative Hunting Area – Shotguns and Archery
DEC-managed properties are closed to firearms for spring turkey hunting, there are no recreational user access restrictions during this season, and activities such as hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking can continue as usual. Tourists are advised to do Archery Turkey Hunter at the following venues:
- Kings Park Cooperative Hunting Area
- Calverton Pines Barrens State Forest
- East Bartlett Pine Barrens State Forest
- Carman’s River Pine Barrens State Forest
- ridge reserve
- fireplace neck
- safe haven point
- long beach bay
Due to poor trail conditions, DEC rangers may close trails for limited periods of the year, or to allow rangers and other DEC personnel to conduct activities such as mandated firefighting operations without impacting firefighters and mountain bikers.Recreational activities on most land owned by Long Island DEC require personal ownership New York State DEC Administers Land Access Permits. The entry permit is free, valid for three years and must be carried at all times. Anyone 12 or older requires a permit.
For more information on three-year permits and recreational opportunities at DEC-managed properties, please contact DEC’s Natural Resources Department at (631) 444-0270 or Visit DEC’s website.
