sands point preserve

The former Guggenheim Estate, which the old family gave to Nassau County, was turned into a public preserve for recreational and educational use. The property has also had other notable residents over the years. It was founded by Howard Gould the son of the railroad tycoon Jay Gould, and his wife, actress Katherine Clemmons, who purchased the land between 1900 & 1901, and later, during the heyday of New York’s Gold Coast era, it was the residence of Daniel and Florence Guggenheim, their son Harry, and his wife Alicia Patterson. Their internationally renowned art collection is still housed there in their cliff-side French Manor style house called Falaise. The science and natural history museum is housed in the adjacent castle, which was modelled after Castle Kilkenny in Ireland.The Sands Point Preserve was the ultimate Gold Coast estate, the famed “East Egg” of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel “The Great Gatsby,” and the buildings are monuments to the opulent lifestyle that this Gold Coast was known for. The old castle houses a Natural History museum and an environmental center, and the 200 plus acre grounds offer wide and wild spaces to encounter nature at first hand. Many walks and pathways wind through the woods surrounding the mansions and public grounds and lead to the beach just to the East, on Long Island Sound. Glacial cliffs run along the shoreline for over three quarters of a mile, where the remnants of a concrete sea-wall can be seen, and offer wide vistas of the southern Connecticut shoreline across the Sound. The woods abound with flowers, birds and small animals in the summertime, and offer snowy, secluded walks in winter for the brave and warm-blooded!Maps of the six self-guided Nature Trails are available at the Gate House. These include a short nature walk called the Dino Tracks Trail ~ perfect for families with young children.Hempstead House, the Tudor style main residential manor on the property, is now used for public events (like the local high-school graduation prom and other such events ..) and is in some state of disrepair. Quite the architectural gem when it was built, this 50,000 square foot three story mansion is very expensive to maintain and repair in this age. Designed by Hunt & Hunt Architects in 1912, it was considered one of the most opulent homes in the heyday of the famed Gold Coast era.Well worth a visit, though somewhat off the beaten course for most as it is hard to get to without your own means of transportation. One would have to take the Long Island railroad and then a taxi to get here from New York City, and at a cost of about $18-20 each way.

This is a really nice place to get away from the every day grind. It has great water views you can walk down to the shoreline and a beach area, some really nice hiking paths which are also great to snow shoe during winter. There are old buildings / castles to view and nice gardens. There are nice lawns perfect for picnics or just relaxing on your lawn chair and reading.

Perfect for a day stroll, view is great, kids can run around the grounds and play - would definitely come again to visit!

Looking for something to do with family, friends or go it alone? Spend a day exploring Sands Point Preserve. Plenty of parking explore things the way life used to be in a land nearby. Grand building on great estate. You'll love it

We spend the Friday after Thanksgiving at the Design SHowhouse at the Guggenheim Estate. Each of the 24 rooms was designed and furnished by a different designer. The rooms were exquisite. There was also original artwork adorning all of the hallways. The $30 entry fee was a bit steep but you can return on another day. Next year, we will go earlier in the month so we can return. We did not try the cafe and it was too cold to wander around outside. SO much to do for the next trip.

I've been going to Sands Point Preserve every so often for around 8 years and have truly enjoyed my times there, whether walking through the woods, or along the beach (more about this later) or just ambling through the rose garden while staring at the incredible view over Manhasset Bay out to Queens and Connecticut. About 2-4 years ago, the flight paths for planes en route to LaGuardia Airport and possibly also JFK were changed so that they now fly more directly over Port Washington and Sands Point. However, it was only just 2 weeks ago that the impact of these changes on the experience of being at Sands Point Preserve became overwhelmingly evident. I clocked the frequency of flights at just over every 40 seconds, with the worst of the echoes and noise over the woods but not the beach or the gardens. I am going to continue going to the park but I no longer see it as a place where utter quiet can be had. The beach is still lovely. While technically illegal, it is possible at low tide to take an extended walk along the surf beyond the bounds of the Preserve past some gorgeous contemporary architecture and where one can find some nice seashells, depending om the currents. I would not recommend doing so during "high season," aka the summer, or with a loud group of people as the surrounding beaches are private. In other words, be discreet and it will likely be fine.

My friend, my brother and I went on a hike with our mothers. We went on a health trail. We did some health stations. We went to the beautiful beach, even though it was hard to get on the beach. I recommend sands point.

We were looking for a place to go with our granddaughters in Long Island on a beautiful fall day. Checking on GOOGLE, this place came up and we are so glad it did! Sands Point is a 216 acre preserve located by the Long Island Sound. The main structure is the massive Hempstead House and there are also the impressive 1904 100,000 square foot Castle Gould building (modeled after Kilkenny Castle in Ireland) and the mansion "Falaise" which was built by Captain Harry Guggenheim in 1923 and is based on a 13th century manor house furnished with antiques from the 16th and 17th centuries. There are 6 nature trails, a lovely beach, rose garden, pond and absolutely magnificent views. The dino trail has a few cute attractions for kids.

Though the house smells a bit like musty books, the tour of Falaise is interesting in that it has the original furnishings left by Guggenheim, and so many famous people stayed there. You can walk around, picnic and check out the other buildings on the grounds, but have to take the bus ride to see Falaise.

We toured Falaise this afternoon and enjoyed every minute of a wonderful tour and beautiful day. We weren't able to tour Hempstead House as it was being prepared for a designer showcase. The grounds are beautiful and lovely walking trails abound.

We come here every Labor Day. It's closed than Jones beach and only costs $10 per car to get in. We have a picnic by the main house, then the kids play in the surf by the beach while the older kids go for a walk on the nature trails. The trails have workout stations scattered among their we defined trails.Sunset looking out at the long island sound from the majestic garden wall is amazing.

Visited "La Falaise", former home of H. Gugenheim on Sands Point Preserve, Port Washington, N.Y. The home was lovely and history with link to Charles Lindbergh was interesting. We enjoyed walking the grounds and various trails on the over 200 acre preserve.The parking is $10 and the entry fee is $10 per person all in cash. A Senior discount would have been nice along with the acceptance of credit cards. There is not a cafe on the premises.RESTROOMS WERE IN POOR CONDITION AND DO NOT MATCH WITH THE WEALTH OF THE ESTATE. THE ENTRY FEE SHOULD BE USED TO REPAIR AND UPDATE THE FACILITY.

I went there after reading a review on TA and article about the Guggenheims (sp???). My only regret was that I was unable to tour the homes. The main house looks like a castle and has to be at least 30K square feet. The guest house (??) closer to the Sound had intricate exterior stone work that needed repair (made out of sandstone which does not last) The place is very nice with expansive grounds on the Sound. A number of people appeared to be using the grounds for picnics (hear a lot of Polish being spoken). The walk through the woods was serene and interesting since the ground had a large number of non native plant species. Definitely worth a few hours.

We live in the area and go to the Preserve for the change of seasons, and School projects our children need to do. It's a part of history in the area,Beautiful,Peaceful...Should always be around for all to enjoy!

I had read reviews stating how beautiful this place is and that people have seen various wildlife here. This was not my experience. I experienced a lot of mosquitos and gnats. The trails were okay, although not clearly labeled. The beach area was nice with the exception of the large barge ruining the beautiful view. I would not discourageanyone from visiting here however don't expect anything exceptional.