Does anyone have a suggestion on a ride to/from/around Jones beach? 30-50 miles. Could involve a train.
thanks,alice
Jones beach rides?
Fri, 07/28/2006 - 5:01am
Fri, 07/28/2006 - 6:25am
#1
bikes haven't been permitted beyond the theatre area in summer
There are bike racks where you can leave your bikes and walk. (bring a strong lock!) On a warm, sunny day in Oct/Nov (?) or March/April(?) it is nice to cycle legally on the whole boardwalk. Check on the exact dates when bikes are permitted.
Pick up the bike path from a county park on the south side of Merrick Road, just past the Wantagh Pky--the beach is about 5 miles from there.
If you want to extend the ride, you can get off the LI Railroad at any station (Obtain a train pass and read the rules) There is quite a bit of traffic almost anyplace in Nassau County.
Also think about Long Beach as an alternative.
Fri, 07/28/2006 - 7:03am
#2
Jones Beach bike riding
If you take the bike path next to the Wantagh down to Jones Beach, there is a sign at the end that tells you that you can't ride your bike past that point. During the summer months, DESPITE NO SIGNAGE TO THIS EFFECT, there is no bike riding in the parking lots, on the roads, or on the boardwalk, nada, nowhere.
A couple of friends and I each received $25 tickets about 7 years ago for riding our bikes in the parking lot. We asked for a hearing and I was prepared to fight the tickets on the basis of the lack of signage or other notice (I had pictures of all the signage at the beach) and the fact that we spoke to three park employees on three separate occasions during our ride and none of them told us we weren't permitted to ride our bikes. (And let's not talk about how we were treated by the cops.)
We heard nothing from the county until we got a notice of a hearing date about a year ago. Yes, you heard right, six years later!!!!! We all figured it wasn't worth our time and effort and just paid the fines. We figured that if the County was so hard up for the money, we can consider the payments as a donation to a needy cause . . .
Mon, 07/31/2006 - 8:41am
#3
"There is a large ""no bikes past this point"" sign when you get to the far side of the parking lot outside the theater.
Once upon a time there was a lifeguard chair at the bike parking with a guard watching the bikes. I presume that got budget cutted away. A lot more people left bike there when it was guarded.
If you want to make it a nice 30 or so mile ride, start at Bethpage State Park (the Bethpage LIRR station is a few blocks away if you don't have car), and take the beautiful path that runs along the Bethpage Parkway down to Merrick Road, then ride about two miles west to pick up the bike path to Jones Beach. Should be roughly 35 miles round trip."
Tue, 08/01/2006 - 9:37am
#4
Are you referring to Ocean Parkway (or whatever that road is that runs the length of the island)? I've been thinking that looks like a great ride. Would figure if its off limits.
Tue, 08/01/2006 - 10:49am
#5
Bethpage to Jones Beach
"No, Ocean Parkway is a real highway and is off limits (although once I rode a few miles of it during the winter, heh heh).
There is two lane parkway that I see is now called the ""Phillip B Healey Memorial Parkway"" but is still known to many as the Bethpage Parkway, that runs from the traffic circle that is near the south wester corner of Bethpage State Park near Plainview Rd, down to the Southern Parkway. There's a bike path that you can pick up near the traffic circle that more or less runs along the Parkway and then continues all the way down to Merrick Road in Massapequa. It's nice. Much of it meanders away from the parkway traffic into the adjacent wooded parklands where there's streams and a pond. When you get to Sunrise Highway (27) it appears to end but after you cross Sunrise look carefully and it continues to Merrick Road (27A).
The Jones Beach Bike Path runs along the Wantaugh Parkway from Cedar Creek County Park (off of Merrick Road a few blocks from the Wantaugh) across the creeks and small islands to Jones Beach. It ends at the parking lot near the theater and Zacks Bay bathing area. There's a large bike parking area. This path offers great views of the marine areas around Seaford especially when you go over the bridges.
To get from the end of one path to the beginning of the other, you ride about 2-3 miles along Merrick Road, where there are 7-11s and delis to pick stuff up for the beach if you want. There are ways to go through the local neighborhoods to avoid the traffic of Merrick Rd but I prefer to keep it simple.
You can see all this on maps.google. It's about 17 miles from Bethpage Park to Jones Beach, give or take, and quite flat except for overpasses."
