Conference House Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Enjoy A Staycation On Staten Island

On April 14, Commissioner Adrian Benepe led a media tour in Staten Island to promote the borough as a great staycation destination.

With beaches, parks, and interesting historical sites, Staten Island offers plenty of getaway opportunities right in New York City. Urban Park Rangers are available at many locations to take New Yorkers as well as visitors on birding nature walks, canoeing, or to learn about beach ecology, and much more.

Here are Commissioner Benepe’s picks:

South Beach
Take in the amazing views of Staten Island’s own version of the French Riviera or join the Urban Park Rangers to learn more about beach ecology. You can play bocce, paddle a kayak or canoe, or stroll down the FDR boardwalk to see the Fountain of the Dolphins. End the day with some fresh seafood at South Fin Grill, and a cool dessert at the Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop.

Clove Lakes Park
Paddle across one of the lakes or ponds, or take a birding nature walk with the Urban Park Rangers at this protected “Forever Wild” site. Be sure to stop and take a look at one of Staten Island's largest living things – a three hundred year-old tulip tree. Pack a lunch to prepare at one of our designated barbecue sites, or take a seat at the romantic Clove Lake Café to hear live music and dine while overlooking the water.

Lemon Creek Park
Take a tour of the grounds of the Seguine Mansion with the Urban Park Rangers, or walk the expansive lawns on your own to spy some Purple Martin birds. Those who are adventurous enough can visit the park’s red clay bluffs, which are the tallest ocean-facing cliffs in New York State, or get a crash course in canoeing with the Rangers.

Conference House Park
This 265-acre park offers breathtaking views of the Raritan Bay and extended hiking and biking trails to take in the view. Visit the four historic houses in the park (including its namesake, the Conference House) where Ben Franklin met with English leaders in a vain effort to head off the Revolutionary War. Our Urban Park Rangers will take you time travelling through three centuries of New York and Staten Island History. Or stop by the “South Pole,” which marks the southernmost point of New York State.

Historic Richmond Town
In the heart of Staten Island, Historic Richmond Town is a remarkable living history village and museum complex that encompasses 300 years of the history and culture of New York City. Visit some of the 28 historic buildings dating from the late 17th to the early 20th centuries, including the Voorlezer’s House, the nation's oldest schoolhouse. During the spring and summer months, the village comes alive with the daily trades and customs of old Richmond Town as costumed re-enactors fill its farmhouses, trade shops, and the county courthouse.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Nothing contributes so much to tranquilizing the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.”

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
(1797 - 1851)