Dan's Papers - May 1, 2009

Saturday morning I set out for East Hampton to walk the two-mile loop along the peninsula bordered by Gardiner's Bay and Three Mile Harbor called Sammy's Beach. When I arrived it was raining, and the parking lot and entrance to the trail were submerged.

Two hours later I returned and found the tide had receded, the rainwater was draining away and the sun was peeking through the clouds. The parking lot and entrance to the trail were still flooded, so I parked on the road shoulder and walked straight out onto the Gardiner's Bay shoreline, looking out at Connecticut. As I approached the Jetty, to my left I could see Cedar Point County Park. A little farther out in the water was Shelter Island; northward, Orient Point jutted out from the North Fork. I was able to see Connecticut beyond that, Gardiners Island to the right, and across the inlet, Maidstone Park Beach. I then proceeded east along the beach towards the inlet to Three Mile Harbor. By the inlet I found a sandy road that ran south along the opening into the harbor. Post oak and red cedar are common here. I noticed a number of different animal tracks. The rain had softened the outline of the raccoon tracks, but the fox tracks were sharp and obviously recent. Where the sandy road reaches the end of a spit that extends into the harbor, it turns back north along the edge of the Goose Neck Creek marshland. From here you can see Dayton Island and across the inlet, the Marine Patrol and Town Dock. As you head north along this road, watch for a yellow "Foot Path" sign that leads you through a small opening in some snow fencing.

Because of the receding tide and the draining water, the ground was covered with migrating fiddler crabs. Hundreds of these air-breathing crabs rapidly scuttled out of my way as I walked the trail. The mature male fiddler crabs have one large claw that they carry in front of them like a fiddle. This claw is as long as the crab is wide and comprises fifty percent of the fiddler's body weight. I had read that the claws are used for attracting female crabs, but it looked more like a formidable weapon to me. Out of curiosity I picked up one of the males and tested the claw with a finger. If it had grabbed a less calloused part of my anatomy, its attack would have drawn blood. Along the trail you can see many prickly pear cacti. This is Long Island's only native cactus. During the summer they have yellow flowers and in the fall, pretty red fruit. A trail diverges from the wider road; I followed the trail left along the creek back towards where I had parked.

This is not an easy place to find, so I took extra care in writing these directions:

Heading east on Montauk Highway, after making a left turn at the traffic light by Town Pond, you enter the Village of East Hampton Rt. 27 becomes Main Street. You will pass Rt. 114 and Newtown Lane on your left. Immediately after you pass Newtown Lane and before the Hook Windmill, bear left onto North Main Street. After 0.6 miles you reach a Y intersection; Springs Fireplace Road runs to the right, up the east side of Three Mile Harbor, while Three Mile Harbor Road runs left, along the west side of the Harbor. Bear left along the west side of the Harbor onto Three Mile Harbor Road. After 1.3 miles, turn left onto Springy Banks Road (note the Settlers Landing sign). After 1.9 miles, Springy Banks Road turns into Hands Creek Road; bear right following the Settlers Landing and Hands Creek Harbor signs. After 0.3 miles bear left onto Alewives Brook Road. To stay on Alewives Brook Road, you would have to make a left turn, but instead you continue straight across the Ely Brook Road/Alewives Brook Road intersection onto Old House Landing Road. Travel 1.5 miles and when you can see in the distance where the Road dead ends onto the Bay, look for a right turn onto Sammy's Beach Road. Follow this road 0.6 miles to its end, where there is a small parking area on Gardiner's Bay.