Muttontown Preserve

This place is gorgeous. And you have to love a pocket of hidden and half forgotten history tucked away in lush greenery.
Google maps navigation will lead you to the parking lot of a set of public county buildings and private residences. Go back the way you came and make a left at the light, the entrance to parking will be about .25 miles down the road on the opposite (left hand) side of the road.
It seems like part or all of this preserve has been caught in a legal real estate battle over the past half century, going back and forth between public and private. It shows in the way only parts of the preserve are maintained for public use and parts are not. The bridle path is more or less maintained and you can take this trail back into more marked trails to fields and more set our paths. This place needs an Eagle Scout project to set up some blazes and other wayfinding, but again I guess that the permission to to that might be tied up in legal battles.
The real reason most people choose this as a destination is to find the ruins of King Zog’s mansion. So let me tell you how to find them. Back from the same parking lot, facing the entrance to the bridal path, look to your left about 150 feet and there will be an overgrown path. Take that back, when you see the Boy Scout picnic table setup take the path to your left. There will be downed trees and a lot of brush in your path. Here I’ll stop and note:
Cover all your arms/​hair/​legs because zomg ticks, ticks, ticks! And check yourself thoroughly before you get into your car and take a hot shower and wash your clothes in hot water once you’re home. Ok, /​PSA
The ruins are not far at all, maybe 5 minutes from this turn tops, accounting for climbing over a bunch of downed trees. You’ll arrive at the front of the mansion, near the two portico/​column-​ed things that were once midway through the front garden. Walk further back and you’ll come to the dual staircases and up them you’ll find some tiles and… That’s more or less all that’s left. I have no explanation for why people here and in the US in general in the 60s decided it would be an awesome idea to randomly knock down historic buildings. No clue. Sigh.
Anyway, the link below is to a really great blog post about finding the place. I’d also read the Atlas Obscura entry, too.

Great day trail! Got to see very cool things while getting a lot of walking in BUT there are a lot of ticks. I came home and found 3 on myself :/​making me wonder if it’s worth it

I go to Muttontown Preserve pretty often since its the closest place to hike near my house. There are two entrances (one by the equestrian field, and one by the nature center which is located by the Chelsea Estate).
Pros: free parking, almost never crowded, easy/​flat trails, family friendly.
Cons: lots of bugs in the summer, the trails can get swampy/​muddy, and the trails are marked SO POORLY. seriously, every time I hike there I consider calling up whoever is in charge and offering to re-​mark the trails for them.
Once you hike the preserve often enough, you can start to orient yourself with the nature center/​equestian field/​walled-​garden/​various-​gates/​the road/​etc. But there have been times where I’ve basically thrown my hands up in the air and said «I guess I have to randomly walk and hope I find my way out of here» — no worries though, the trails aren’t too extensive and I’ve always stumbled upon a distinctive landmark within 15 – 20 minutes or so. (Except one time I ventured through a (closed, but unlocked) gate towards the bridle paths and got significantly lost.)
If its your first (or 2^nd or 3^rd) time hiking the preserve, I’d recommend printing out the map beforehand because they are often unavailable. If they are available, they would be located either 1. behind the glass of the information board by the equestrian field or 2. on the porch of the nature center. Please put the maps back when you are done because they are always in short supply and I’m sure the next hikers would appreciate one. However…
Be warned: The maps are only good for following the picture — the numbered loops don’t seem to correspond with the numbers on the trails — also, the trails are marked with random letters i can never seem to follow.
**I’ve never seen the nature center open/​in use, but I vaguely remember there being brochures about various programs that are offered.
All in all, despite the fact that the trails are not marked and the map is not super helpful, I still enjoy this preserve immensely.

Okay, so I finally did find the entrance (through the Chelsea Mansion gate on Northern Boulevard) and got to have a long walk around the Muttontown Preserve in about a foot of snow. It was very peaceful and quiet given the snow, just a few cross-​country skiers hanging around. I actually prefer LI preserves in the winter due to lack of ticks and mosquitoes and sweltering heat, but that’s just me. We had a long, meandering walk around what were the visible trails, down to the old ruins of Knollwood (not really visible or accessible in the snow). I’m not sure why they had to knock down a place that was never lived in, but there’s LI for you. The graffiti seems out of place.
All in all this is a great place to stretch out for a walk/​hike without feeling confined even though it is still in proximity to major roads. It’s about as good as you’re going to get in Nassau County. The only downside is that the trails are abysmally unmarked. It’s quite a lengthy property with many winding paths. In sub-​zero temperatures it can be a little treacherous to find your way back. There are also signs up saying no dogs, which is a plus, but people obviously still bring their dogs in sometimes, which is pretty inconsiderate.

I liked the more natural appearance of this park. It looked like nature overtaking human intervention, wish the maps were better and there was information along the trails to explain the history. Relied more on my GPS on my phone to get around,

I am not happy with this place. I am a big geocacher and this park is not maintained well; the trails are not cut, at all. By the time I left, I was bleeding from all the thorn bushes.

Trails are poorly marked. King Zog’s ruins are an unusual side story. Approx 3miles.

There’s a beautiful pond off of the main entrance. Trails are not very defined so remember to take a map and a GPS with you. There are also raccoon dens galore, but they don’t bother you if you don’t bother them.

Huge preserve with cool ruins of the «King Zog of Albania» mansion, which was torn down in the 60’s. Poorly marked trails make it difficult to make a loop without using GPS. To start at the main parking area, take Northern Boulevard in East Norwich to Muttontown Lane and follow the signs to the parking area. There are trail maps and bathroom facilities at the main parking area. You can also park at the Equestrian parking off of Rt 106/​Jericho Oyster Bay Rd for better access to the ruins and the walled garden.

This is an atmospheric, interesting area to explore. Nestled in the woods, among the vine-​covered trees, you’ll find the Knollwood estate ruins. I saw my first wild fox here. A striking, fiery cutie appeared out of the grey, tangled brush and gracefully disappeared back into it much too soon. This happened inside the walled garden while a fine snow fell.
I agree with the other reviewer: Bring a compass and map.
I’m not sure the 1861 Muttontown Rd address is the best way to reach this place. There’s a parking lot at an entrance next to the horse fence. It’s the only one I’ve entered. There isn’t any fee. I think there’s a sign warning that the gate locks at 4:30 but I’ve seen it open a bit later.

Pretty striking digs on a winter day, the distinguished structure near the entrance makes the narrow-​as-​hell entrance and weather-​made-​treacherous roads bearable.

Almost nothing helps to clear my mind better than some time hiking by myself. A lot has been going on in my life recently with my work and my personal life; I needed a brain break and to be just by myself.
I suggest taking a compass or getting a trail map here if you are not directionally inclined. The trails are unmarked; and if you don’t keep track, it’s easy to get very lost here. I didn’t have a problem, but I’m pretty used to hiking on unmarked trails and finding my way back.
Additionally, wear waterproof boots. I can’t stress this enough. There are a lot of low points on the trails here that were filled with cold water and ice. It’s sometimes unavoidable to treck in the muck. i can see that these low points would still retain water quite a few days after it’s rained.
The trails are pretty easy and are not steep. There’s a number of stop-​off points that you can rest, hydrate, eat and take pictures. This is also a great place to ride horses. I saw one lone equestrian when I started the trail, but I could see this place being packed in the spring, summer and fall.