Hike the Walt Whitman Trail for a Fun, Free Weekend or Weekday Adventure

Looking for a fun, interesting way to spend an afternoon? A hike on Walt Whitman trail in Melville, New York is the perfect solution. The trail is about an hour by car or train from Manhattan, located on the north shore of Long Island.

This is a moderately easy hike that has just enough up and down to keep it interesting, but not enough to leave anyone panting. The hike is approximately 4 miles.

I you don’t mind a walk uphill through a lovely neighborhood, you can start your hike at the Walt Whitman Homestead 246 Old Walt Whitman Road, West Hills, NY 11746-4148, (631) 427-5240. Go into the Interpretive Center and learn a bit about Walt Whitman. The cozy museum will give you a timeline of his life and just enough information to make you feel like you are walking along in Walt’s footsteps.

It’s fun to have a poem with you for the hike. You can pick up a book of Whitman poetry at the library, print some from the internet, or stop at the Walt Whitman Homestead gift shop near the start of the hike. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and students, $1.00 for children 7-12. http://www.waltwhitman.org/Index.asp

The hike starts out on a beautiful path that is lined with Lycopodium obscurum (clubmoss). You’ll share small parts of the trail with horses, and there are also areas where the bridal path crosses the hiking trail.

As you meander, thorough the historic woodland, you’ll be aware that Walt Whitman walked this very area, and much of what you see may have provided a good deal of his inspiration. You’re goal is to reach Jayne’s Hill. In 1850, on the subject of Jayne’s Hill, Whitman wrote "I write this back again at West Hills on a high elevation (the highest spot on Long Island?) Of Jayne's Hill. . . . A view of thirty of forty, or even fifty or more miles, especially to the east and south and southwest: the Atlantic Ocean to the latter points in the distance - a glimpse or so of Long Island Sound to the north."