Happy trails

Yesterday afternoon we set out to find the Muttontown Mystery Trail which is located about five minutes from our house. I wanted to try out my new Kutu trail runners and my wife and kids felt like hiking. I found it very difficult to find information about public access to the MMT but, based upon Google Maps, I thought I found the proper way in. Turns out the Mystery Trail is a mystery. Aside from the equestrian entrance there was nothing marked as an entrance for the general public. While we looked for that entrance we came across the Planting Fields Arboretum that was also located nearby. We'd been there before for an outdoor concert but had never explored the grounds. This seemed like as good a time as ever to check them out.

Upon arriving we discovered that the Planting Fields has a very large span of trails. Some are paved, some have pea gravel and some are dirt. There are many buildings on the 409 acre grounds consisting of historical mansions (this, after all, is part of LI's Gold Coast). There were many smaller buildings, some containing flower collections. There was even a covered bridge and lots of places to sit and (based upon the signs) view birds.

My son is still recovering from his foot injury but my daughter was keen to run. She and I ran a number of times while my wife and son followed. The Kutus felt good and I really liked the feeling of running on ever changing surfaces and elevations. I didn't run any long distances and didn't track my run but I would like to try a long run on these trails at some point.

We loved our visit to the Planting Fields Arboretum but we're still hoping to solve the real Muttontown Mystery which is "how do we get to the trails?"