West Meadow is a lovely and nearly natural environment. It is constantly visited and used by people. Some of this use is benign, some is traditional, but other uses are potentially and actually damaging. Here are some of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the harmless things folks are doing in West Meadow.

Wind Surfing. It seems like masochism to some, but West Meadow is a mecca for windsurfers. Best in winter (brrh!), West Meadow Beach is shallow and offers high winds close to shore. In summer, West Meadow offers no wind to speak of and a vigorous tide. You be the judge as to why these brave folks dash into the waters in January and February!

This is kite-surfing, which has largely displaced wind-surfing. Folks get on boards about three feet long with foot holders much like ski boards. Then they hope that a parasailor-like kite will move them along…and it often does! This is the new most popular means of wind-borne transport for arctic weather-inclined sport folk. But it greatly expands the season because there are more breezes higher above the water surface.

Tubing the Creek. OK, now we are getting to my speed! West Meadow Creek and the adjacent beach are ideal places to go tubing. In fact, you can embark on a one-way tubing trip and return to where you began! If you launch on the falling tide within the creek, you will be swept to the mouth and then you need to hug the side of the mouth of West Meadow Creek on the side of the Gamecock cottage. Then you will be swept northward along the spit on the Long Island Sound side. You must be careful! Keep out of the boat channel and hug the shore. The current will sweep you to the beach, where you can get out, walk across Trustees Road and get back in the creek! Keep in mind that this is normally very straightforward, but children and poor swimmers should wear flotation gear. You can also reverse this and move on the rising tide. A friend of mine forgot to hug the spit and was swept all the way into Stony Brook’s head of the harbor. I have seen another meet the same fate. Some travel with connected tubes and inflatable boats, bearing beverages of all sorts. If you get swept away, it pays to have flotation and beverages for those who pick you up.

Boat Tubing. Here is a somewhat more energetic sort of tubing, propelled by a swift motorboat.

Old Field Farm. This is a horse ground, used for shows and is the legacy of the Cassidy family, who donated the land to Suffolk County. Old Field Farm is still used for horse shows and other public events.

Erwin Ernst Center. This is an environmental education center supervised by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. The center is located at a bend of West Meadow Creek and its entrance is on the east side of Trustees Road. It is named for Ernie Ernst, who taught a marine biology course to hundreds of Ward Melville High School students for many years. Ernst went on to direct education programs at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium, and he is sadly no longer with us. His legacy lingers on in this center, where lectures are occasionally given on the West Meadow environment. Summer courses now continue, organized by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization. Ecology boat excursions also operate in season.

Clammers. This father-son duo was clamming on a sand flat. Yes there still are clams here but they are quite rare. Hard clams and suif clams are essentially gone but soft-shell clams can still be found. To my mind, you are just getting the last of a nearly exhausted resource. Clamming is still open part of the season near the mouth of the creek. When I first moved here in the early 1970s, it was possible to get bags and bags of hard clams and surf clams. Now, hard clams are to be found in only a few areas in Stony Brook Harbor. West Meadow Creek itself is closed to clamming year round. The beach area around the Stony Brook bulkhead is rather overburdened with clammers and those who dig bait.

Digging for sand worms. Digging for bait worms can be done at low tide at Sand Street Beach. If you dig, please replace the sand you overturn so the marine bottom creatures that remain can burrow.

Razor clam digging at West Meadow Beach

Razor clams. One day I noticed this gentleman moving along West Meadow Beach and saw that he could spot the dimple-shaped depressions that marked razor clams. It was April 2003 and he know something I did not. The razor clams were just a few inches below the surface. Unlike summertime, they could not dash down the pre-dug burrows they normally maintain. He and his friend filled two paint-buckets full of clams. Great move, but there probably are no more razor clams on this flat now.

Fishing. West Meadow Creek and Smithtown Bay are passable places to fish. Many congregate at the Stony Brook village bulkhead and sometimes the blues are really roiling, especially in August. Stripers, porgies, blues, fluke, and flounder sometimes abound as does the sometimes ubiquitous croaking sea robins. As menhaden increase due to fishing restrictions, we may see stripers and blues in greater abundance, but the fishing could be better.

Wild Life Areas. Much of the marshland part of West Meadow is under the supervision of the Ward Melville Heritage Association. Right now there are no boardwalks to tour the marsh. It is quite damaging to trample through the grass. You will harm the marsh plants and kill marsh mussels and many other salt marsh creatures. Please respect the signs.

Discovery Tours. If you can’t observe wildlife from a canoe or a kayak, this may be for you. Tours are led all summer and narrated by knowledgable folks who will give an idea of salt marsh environments, local birds, etc. The tours are run by the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

Former West Meadow Cottage. Here is an image that is now for the history books. West Meadow spit had about 100 cottages, but nearly all of them were removed. In its place is a nature preserve, nearly free of structures. In April 2005, the beach and Trustees Road were reopened to the public. After nearly 20 years, you can see the results of the removal and cleanup of the cottages so many years later. Trustees Road is paved and a mecca for walkers, skaters and bikers. We are lucky to benefit from the vision of many local conservationists.

Dredging. This dredger was in operation in 2001, attempting to clear a shallowing harbor entrance. Nothing inspires controversy more than dredging. Many argue that harbor openings should be dredged regularly to permit traffic. As a trained geologist, I can only say that this should be done sparingly. Dredging usually encourages sediementation and sometimes the settling sediment is much finer in grain and loaded with organic matter, which encourages anoxic bottom waters. Some folks think that it is a good idea to dredge West Meadow Creek, to permit deeper boats. This would drive to extinction the sandy and rocky habitats that support or potentially support so much marine life.

Yacht Club. The Stony Brook Yacht Club is a long-standing tradition in this area, and it celebrated its Centennial in 2013. Courses on boating are taught here and many of the club members actually leave the bar and restaurant to go out on boats! Fishing contests are held for young and old. You can get fuel for your motorboat here, which was the only available place for miles. This station is closed in 2023. Shellfish restoration is also practiced here by the SBYC Mariculture Group for oysters and quahogs.

Dogs. Here’s a ticklish subject: Can you bring dogs to West Meadow beach? Well of course, everyone once did this! But also, of course, there was a sign prohibiting dogs on the beach. In conformance to rules in other Brookhaven parks, dogs are not allowed in the West Meadow Brookhaven Town Park at any time of year. This reduces disturbance of bird feeding and nesting.

Last modified May, 2024. All photos are not to be used without permission.