5 Best Sights in Long Island, New York

Set in magnificent Lloyd Neck, which juts into Long Island Sound, this park covers 1,500 acres and includes a sliver of beach and a bridle path for those who bring horses in by trailer. You can also hike, fish, bike, and cross-country ski here. The park was originally the estate of Marshall Field III; his mansion can be viewed from the outside, but is closed to the public.

stretches for 1,600 feet on Northport Bay and includes a boardwalk, playground, and summer lifeguards.

The 400-foot with a playground, beach house, and summer lifeguards, faces Huntington Bay.

The museum, a wonderful example of beaux-arts architecture two blocks from downtown Huntington, houses more than 1,800 paintings, sculptures, and drawings. The permanent collection spans more than five centuries of European and American art, including Georgia O'Keeffe's Machu Picchu (Peruvian Landscape) and contemporary work by artist Olafur Eliasson. The museum also hosts impressive traveling exhibits. It's on the grounds of pleasant Heckscher Park, which has a playground, pond, tennis courts, and a band shell.

This was the boyhood home of Walt Whitman, one of America's greatest poets. A typical example of native Long Island craftsmanship of the time, the snug house, built by the poet's father circa 1819, has survived virtually intact since the Whitmans left it in 1823. Whitman portraits, letters, and manuscripts are on display. The home is off Route 110, across from Walt Whitman Mall.