Just 5 minutes north of me is the former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton NY.
The United States Navy bought about 6,000 acres here around the year 1950, as an airport to test aircraft. Two runways were built, a 10,000 foot (3,000 m) and a 7,000 ' one.
The facility closed in the 90's and was given to the local township it resided in. The town, Riverhead has since sold some of the property off for commercial development, but has kept the surrounding woods and fields.
About 3.000 acres has a 6 foot high fence around it, while the undeveloped area outside also about 3,000, was used as buffer zones on either ends of the two runways. The buffer zones were given to the State of NY.
A new asphalt walkway was just put in for citizens to walk or bicycle on...
The green lines on the map shows the walk/bicycle path around the runways. The whole walk around is over 9 miles.
The site has the largest grasslands area on Long Island. Providing habitat for the birds that benefit from it... they include common nighthawk, grasshopper sparrow, vesper sparrow, horned lark, and whip-poor-will and also the endangered species, short-eared owl.
The asphalt path goes through the wooded area, until recently closed to the public.
There are unpaved trails off of the main path. I took this one for awhile then headed back.
I brake off the main trail and head for the end of the 7,000 foot abandon runway. The 10,000 ' one is still used, but mostly for small local aircraft.
The concrete runways are 200' (60 m} wide. A shame this one is not being used.
Well back to my white Jeep after about a mile and a half to two mile walk.
info ... wikipedia
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