SeleniumI haven’t really introduced Miss Elizabeth Bennet here yet, so I should probably take care of that before I start talking about what local parks she likes. Ben is a mix-pup who was adopted from the shelter in San Diego about seven years ago. Despite creeping towards middle age, she’s in better shape than I am and has a crazy amount of speed and energy. She also deals with a pretty hefty amount of anxiety, so I’m always on the lookout for quiet places, away from big crowds or rowdy dogs. She’s a super curious dog who loves to explore, and sniff things, but doesn’t like to wander too far. This is probably because she is worried that I’ll find myself in need of a bodyguard if she does. I try to tell her that I can take care of myself, but sometimes she doesn’t believe me.
Rockefeller State Park Preserve
Miss Ben’s Rating (out of 5): 4 paws up!
Great for long, meandering strolls. There are several large, flat paths for easy walking, while other, smaller trails shoot off from there. From the 4, or 5, different paths we wandered onto, I would say that everything here would qualify as a “walking” trail, but no real “hiking.” Not that I’m real expert at either of those things, but that’s how my brain is categorizing. Also, according to the visitor info up at the front, this place is completely massive, so it’s possible we just didn’t get to the more strenuous parts yet. We went in the morning, during the week, so things pretty deserted. We discovered the Glacial Erratic Trail, where I learned what a Glacial Erratic* is, and we encountered deer and bunnies along the way. Ben was uninterested in the Erratic, but very suspicious of the deer. Along with the walking trails, there is horse riding here, something I think is super awesome, but it definitely meant that I kept a closer eye on Ben. Given all the other creatures around, my jumpy dog stays on leash the whole time here, no matter how quiet things are.
I have driven by on weekends and noticed a line of cars turning in, so there may be crowds at peak times, but it certainly seems like there is more than enough room for everyone. I’m really excited to get back here after it starts snowing, the map at the front seemed to indicate that snowshoeing would be an option here. I’m in! (Ben probably won’t be down for that)
Be warned, this is a “carry out ALL trash” kind of place, so, for your own sake, try to make sure the dog is empty before you come. I don’t know about you, but I’m not crazy about driving around with full poop bags in my car.
*A Glacial Erratic is a piece of rock that found itself moved by a retreating glacier at the end of the ice age. As ice melted and moved, it carried pieces of rock with it and deposited them in areas where they would never have occurred naturally. The more you know, kids!
Miss Ben: 5 paws, all the way up! (she finds an extra paw for the really good ones.
This park scores bonus points because all the trails are officially off-leash zones! We’ve encountered a number of parks where everyone seems to just agree amongst themselves to go off leash, but I get ridiculously excited when it’s actually a written rule. Because of my anxious dog, I’m always careful to go above and beyond so we don’t cause any issues when we encounter others. With everyone off leash and on equal footing, encounters are much less stressful. It helps that this park is just as gorgeous as all the others we’ve found. We’ll be returning to this one a lot.
This place was a bit more park than than actual forest. There were some more manicured areas, like a playground and sports fields. So, it wasn’t quite the full escape that some of the others here are, but once you’ve gone down the trail a bit, you leave that stuff behind.
Miss Ben: 3 paws up
This was the very first spot we found. When we arrived in New York, we found ourselves in temporary housing, a small, one bedroom apartment that was just not an ideal size for a 50 pound dog. Luckily, an entrance to the Bronx River Parkway was just around the corner from our building and it turned out to be the perfect place to go on some long walks. This was a great escape from downtown White Plains, and it was really nice to wander around and take a break from the moving-related stress going on. Walking along the path here reminded me of the walks we went on in Balboa Park back in San Diego. The surrounding trees and plant life made for some great views, but there were also some busy roadways cutting through in places. We also encountered a steady stream of other walkers, runners, and bicycles here. This one is definitely on-leash, at all times, it’s quiet, but general city bustle is never far.
Miss Ben: 3 paws up (blame the mosquitoes)
This is a regular park (meaning leash-laws apply), but there’s kind of an unspoken understanding. Every other dog we encountered was off leash and everyone here was really laid back. There were three or four different loops to pick from, and there was a bit more climbing involved than some of our other adventures. This was a pretty good workout, but nothing outrageously strenuous. I think this will be a favorite spot in the summertime because its nice and shady. We did have to contend with a number of mosquito bites, but I probably can’t blame the park too much for that, that’s probably just something I’m going to have to get used to dealing with in the summer, now that we live in New York.
Miss Ben: 5 paws all the way up, she’s considering even going to 6!
Ben loved this place, as you can tell by her rating, but I’d say this walk was a bit more of a struggle for us. Not because of the location, or the views, it was just as picture perfect as all the other ones we’ve seen. But for some reason, Ben was extra antsy here, and I couldn’t figure out why. There was a sign where we parked that warned about a possible bear sighting, but if she was smelling a larger predator, she certainly wasn’t acting like it (or, she’s way, WAY more alpha that I even realized). Whatever interesting new smells she was picking up here sent my usually codependent buddy running off on her own. She wanted to hunt something here, I just have no idea what it was. Even though this is one of the parks that seems to have an unofficial no-leash policy, Ben will definitely stay on leash the next time we come here.
I also have my suspicions that this place might be haunted, but that could just be because that’s the explanation my brain always jumps to when my dog acts in a way that doesn’t make sense. That won’t stop us from coming back though.
Obviously, this is just the beginning, Ben has TONS more parkland to explore around here. We’ll add more once the next batch is done.
