THEODORE ROOSEVELT COUNTY PARK (formerly Montauk County Park)
Montauk, Suffolk County, Long Island, NY
1,073 acres

Directions:

Off of Route 27, just west of Montauk Point State Park, turn left onto East Lake Drive and drive 1.7 miles to turn right onto a dirt road that in a short drive takes you to the parking lot.

Or, to main park area:

Follow Montauk Highway East through Montauk Village. Continue on Montauk Highway past East Lake Drive. Park sign and entrance is on North side of Montauk Highway.

History:

Seventh Century Montauk was home to America's first cattle ranching system. Each spring, East Hampton Town colonists would drive cattle across the narrow Napeague strip to let them graze the rugged downs of Montauk. The herds were fenced in Naturally by the surrounding waters. historic Third House at Theodore Roosevelt County Park originated as the home for these early cattle keepers.

Third House also played a significant role, in 1898 when it was utilized as the headquarters for Camp Wikoff. After their victory in the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, as well as 28,000 soldiers suffered from contagious diseases, were quarantined at Camp Wikoff in Montauk. A Spanish-American War Exhibit displaying photos and memorabilia from the war and Camp Wikoff is open to the public through October 1999.
(Wednesday - Sunday in season 10:00am - 5:00 PM)

Third House Museum, located at Theodore Roosevelt County Park on Montauk Highway, three miles east of the Village, is the third oldest house in Montauk and was built as a home for shepherds, when the town was summer pasture for East Hampton's livestock.

Facilities:

The activities available at Theodore Roosevelt County Park include: horseback riding, hiking, biking, canoeing, picnicking, camping, canoeing, salt and fresh water fishing, hunting, outer beach access, Spanish-American War Exhibit and Gift Shop. Deep Hollow Ranch, with its sable solidly constructed by Amish carpenters, provides popular 1-1/2 hour horseback rides to the beach for park visitors.

Trails:

Miles of trails are maintained for hiking and horseback riding.

PLANT LIST:
Judith Fitzgerald and Dr. Patrick L. Cooney, 4/27/02

Walk to Big Reed Pond.

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Amelanchier canadensis (coastal plain shadbush) *
Carya cordiformis (bitternut hickory)
Fagus grandifolia (American beech)
Ilex opaca (American holly)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Ostrya virginiana (American hop hornbeam)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras) *

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry) *
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush)
Corylus sp. (hazel)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive) * soon
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush) *
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Myrica pensylvanica (bayberry)
Rhus sp. (sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry) *
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet) lots and lots
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle) lots
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis labrusca (fox grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Anemone quinquefolia (wood anemone) * lots
Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in-the-pulpit)
Cardamine concatenata (cut-leaved toothwort)
Cardamine pensylvanica (Pennsylvanian bittercress)
Cirsium vulgare (bull thistle)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)
Erythronium americanum (trout lily)
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry) *
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Geum canadense (white avens)
Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow)
Hudsonia tomentosa (beach heather)
Iris sp. (blue or yellow flag)
Lespedeza capitata (bushclover)
Maianthemum canadense (Canada mayflower)
Polygonatum stellatum (starry Solomon's seal) ?
Polygonum virginianum (jumpseed)
Potentilla canadensis (dwarf cinquefoil) *
Prenanthes altissima (tall white lettuce)
Ranunculus sp. (buttercup) in the swamp in water
Rumex acetosella (sheep sorrel)
Rumex verticillatus (swamp dock)?
Sium suave (water parsnip)
Symplocarpus foetidus (skunk cabbage)
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Triosteum perfoliatum (wild coffee) (LIBS Newsletter, Oct-Dec 2003)
Typha latifolia (broad-leaved cattail)
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Viola cucullaria (marsh blue violet) *
Viola sororia (common blue violet) *

Rushes:
Juncus sp. (rush)
Juncus tenuis (path rush)
Luzula multiflora (wood rush) *

Sedges:
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) *

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass) *
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)

Ferns and fern allies:
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
Thelypteris palustris (marsh fern)

Al Lindberg found:
Solidago sempervirens var mexicana  in 1999