Big Woods and Wolf Swamp Preserve

Indigenous People - Past and Present

As you explore this special site, your experience can be deepened by an understanding of diverse cultures and communities. This land is the ancestral home of the Shinnecock Indian Nation. For millennia, the Shinnecock people lived on the lands that stretch from what we know as Westhampton to East Hampton. They are one of over a dozen unique Indigenous communities that spanned Long Island. These communities shared a desire for peace and were expert whalers and deep-sea fishers. 

In the mid-1600s, smallpox introduced by colonists devastated Indigenous Peoples on eastern Long Island, claiming over two-thirds of the population. Indigenous Peoples retain only a fraction of their ancestral lands here. For example, the Unkechaug Indian Nation’s Poospatuck Reservation in present-day Mastic is 40 acres, while the Shinnecock Indian Nation retains 800 acres. Today, many Indigenous Nations are working to regain unceded ancestral lands.

The Shinnecock Indian Nation and many other Indigenous communities are involved with conservation efforts and partnerships that greatly benefit from their millennia of knowledge and stewardship. The Nature Conservancy works in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to support their visions here in New York and worldwide. We aim to learn from their stewardship experiences and amplify their leadership in conserving lands, waters, and ways of life. 

Big Woods and Wolf Swamp can be explored during a one-day visit. Both preserves offer unique wildlife viewing and opportunities for discovery. Please visit the “Accessibility” tab to learn more about the parking and trail accessibility at each location.

Big Woods

Big Woods is a wonderful place for an adventure in nature. You can explore a rare maritime beech forest, and one of eastern Long Island’s most undisturbed coastal wetlands. The winding, sometimes muddy, natural surface loop trail takes you through unique woodlands, scattered pieces of forested wetlands and along the edge of a large salt marsh. The trail is well-marked, although intersecting trails are not as easy to follow. The parking area holds six vehicles but does not have any dedicated handicap spaces. The preserve is open for hiking and observing nature from dawn to dusk.

Comprised of scarlet, white, and black oaks, American beech and scattered white pines, Big Woods includes a high-quality example of a rare assemblage of plants and animals called a maritime beech forest. The small stands of white pine scattered throughout the preserve include some of the tallest trees in the area. The forest shrub layer includes huckleberry, blueberry, arrowwood and mountain laurel, while several sections of trail give you close looks at moisture-loving plants, including highbush blueberry, swamp azalea, winterberry holly, sweet pepperbush, cinnamon fern, and sedges.

Where land meets water, an exemplary salt marsh is fringed by tupelos and red maples. Rare plants such as sea pink, salt marsh asters, slender blue flag and seaside plantains find refuge in undisturbed wetland areas of the preserve.

The diverse salt marsh wetlands on the western edge of this spectacular sanctuary attract a high concentration of fall and winter waterfowl, including black ducks. The New York State threatened least tern and common tern may be seen diving for fish in the tidal creeks along Big Woods. The wetlands and inlets are important feeding and nursery areas for shellfish and finfish, fiddler crabs and clapper rails, glossy ibis and river otters, and the endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle.

This 87-acre preserve is in Southampton.

Wolf Swamp

This preserve not only has a diverse array of habitats, including splendid views of Big Fresh Pond, but also accessible parking, a universal access trail and a wetland boardwalk that offers an accessible nature experience. Please visit our “Accessibility” tab for more details. The loop trail is well-marked, easy to follow and can connect you to Elliston Park (Town of Southampton), as well as the 125-mile Paumanok Trail. Wolf Swamp is open for exploration and observing nature from dawn to dusk.

Wolf Swamp Preserve is an especially important site from an ecological and historic standpoint. Containing freshwater wetlands, pond, and forest, it serves as habitat to a range of species, including the state-endangered northern long-eared bat, several species of frogs, breeding warblers, numerous fish and duck species, and a diverse list of native woodland wildflowers and flowering shrubs. Scarlet, white and black oaks mix with American beach and tupelo, while sweet pepperbush, swamp azalea, skunk cabbage, and trailing arbutus are just a few of this site’s colorful understory plants.

Wolf Swamp Preserve derives its name from the gray wolves who were once heard howling throughout this area. This dates to the early 1700s, when there were still wolves in almost all the Eastern states as far south as the Carolinas. Although wolves are sadly no longer found on Long Island, river otters have recently returned to Peconic Bay and surrounding wetlands, while smaller but equally interesting mammals like flying squirrels and star-nosed moles make their homes at Wolf Swamp. Wild turkey, several woodpecker species, Eastern box turtles, chipmunks, raccoons and white-tailed deer are some other wildlife species you may see during your visit, especially at dawn or dusk.

The wetland boardwalk is built with a unique grating system, allowing sunlight to reach wetland flora and fauna below. There are also several resting benches, a pond overlook and a bike rack.

In addition to the half-mile accessible loop and boardwalk and for those that prefer an adventurous, manageable walk, there is another half-mile of winding, natural surface trails that border the pond and climb into upland forest.

This 20-acre preserve is in Southampton.

The Wolf Swamp universal access trail is a half-mile loop designed and built per federal accessibility guidelines. Its crushed stone surface and wetland boardwalk can accommodate walkers, runners, strollers and wheelchairs, and visitors with other mobility needs or challenges. This diverse nature trail winds around a tupelo and red maple swamp full of sweet pepperbush and native azaleas, a shady oak-beach forest and views of Big Fresh Pond. Songbirds, ducks, frogs, dragonflies, chipmunks and bats are among the wildlife species you may see.

Accessible parking is available at the preserve entrance on Millstone Brook Road, situated between North Sea Road and Scotts Road. The parking area includes an accessible space large enough for a van and five additional standard spaces. It leads directly to the universal access trail and wetland boardwalk half-mile loop. Wolf Swamp is open from dawn to dusk every day. However, we don’t clear snow, so the parking lot and trail may not be accessible after a storm. Bathrooms and potable water are not currently available. Additional improvements, including benches, signage and bird boxes, will be installed along the trail beginning in Fall 2023.

If you’d like to learn more about this site, including additional accessibility information, please call the Long Island Preserve Director at 631-367-3225, ext. 124