Hammocks Conservation Area
Hommocks Road, Town of Mamaroneck, Westchester County, NY
7.6 acres

Directions:

Here's how I got there from Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.  Saw Mill River Parkway south to Cross County Parkway east to Hutchinson Parkway south; get off at the first exit (for Lincoln Avenue); at the stop sign turn right and then right again onto Lincoln Avenue;  drive 1.4 miles and turn right onto North Avenue; drive 0.5 of a mile and turn left onto Route 1 (Boston Post Road); drive 2.5 miles and turn right onto Hommocks Road; pass by the Hommocks Middle School and its soccer fields on the right. Park alongside the road opposite house #520 (on the left side of the road).  (You can park anywhere on the road from after the soccer fields to the stop sign  near the two posts marking the beginning of the residential area; that is, anywhere on Hommocks Road between Eagle Knolls Road and Oak Lane). Across from house #520 there is an opening for trails going left and right.  (The actual sign for the preserve is a bit farther down the road, but it is not as nice of an introduction to the area.)

History:

The Hommocks was named by sailors who sighted the grassy hillocks along the marshy shore. Early settlers harvested the salt grasses to feed livestock, thatch roofs and fill mattresses.

1661 (September 23) -- John Richbell purchased three necks of land from the Indian Chiefs Wappaquewam and his brother Mahatahan for schillings, shirts, flint locks, hoes, hatchets, and kettles. The purchase included the Hommocks (located in the middle or Great Neck).

Ralph Burger, president of the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, owned the meadow land. Mrs. Burger, an ardent conservationist, promoted this open space for nature study. Mr. Burger deeded 3.59 acres of meadow, upland and marsh to the Town's acres to expand the preserve to its present size.

Habitats:

woods, meadows, salt marsh estuary

Trails:

Woodland paths and boardwalk. Paths are indicated by sets of wooden posts.

Enter on to the trail and turned right, walking over a boardwalk.  Took a side trail off the left fork to get to the salt marsh.  Came back and took the right fork, which shortly ends at school property.  Walked back to the starting point and this time went the other way.  The area opens up to a field/salt marsh where the preserve sign can be found on the right not far from Hommocks Road.  It was a hot day and dog Sonar was dying of heat so I gave up for his sake.  Walked over to the road, turned left and walked back to the car. 

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = date plant found in bloom, 6/09/04

There are a lot of invasive plants, the worst being multiflora rose.  Also bad are Norway maple and porcelainberry.

Trees:
Acer negundo (ash leaf maple)
Acer platanoides (Norway maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven)
Amelanchier arborea (shadbush)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Morus alba (white mulberry) red fruits soon to turn black (delicious eating, although a bit sweet)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Prunus avium (sweet cherry)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus stellata (post oak)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (corkscrew willow )
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Taxus sp. (yew)
Ulmus americana (American elm)

Shrubs and sub-shrubs:
Iva frutescens  (marsh elder)
Ligustrum sp. (privet) *
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose) *
Rosa palustris (swamp rose) *
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Viburnum dentatum (smooth arrowwood viburnum)
Viburnum dentatum (hairy arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Calystegia sepium (hedge bindweed)
Euonymus fortunii (Fortune's euonymus)
Hedera helix (English ivy)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) *
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis aestivalis (summer grape)

Herbs:
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Ambrosia trifida (giant ragweed)
Arctium minus (common burdock)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Atriplex patula (orach)
Asclepias spp. (milkweed)
Asparagus officinalis (wild asparagus)
Aster spp. (aster)
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Hypericum sp. (St. Johnswort)
Limonium carolinianum (sea lavender)
Lysimachia quadrifolia (whorled loosestrife)
Matricaria matricarioides (pineapple weed) *
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum biflorum (smooth true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum cespitosum (cespitose smartweed) *
Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed)
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock)
Sagina sp. (pearlwort) *
Salicornia sp. (glasswort)
Satureja vulgaris (wild basil)
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade) *
Solidago sempervirens (seaside goldenrod)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)

Rushes:
Juncus effusus (soft rush)
Juncus gerardii (black grass)
Juncus tenuis (path rush)

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Bromus inermis (smooth brome grass)
Bromus tectorum (downy brome grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Distichlis spicata (spike grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Poa annua (annual bluegrass)
Spartina alterniflora (salt marsh hay cordgrass)
Spartina patens (salt meadow cordgrass)

Source:

L.I.F.E. Center (Local Involvement for Environment). Larchmont-Mamaroneck Conservation Areas and Parks.