The New "Bethpage" Trailview Bike Path Extension is a Long Island Gem

Fellow rider takes a pause while I snap a cellie pic. The trail
entrances on major roads have complete trail network maps
with the essential "you are here" pointers for the uninitiated.

For sure, I was mortified when I saw some of my favorite Bethpage trails partially ravaged by bulldozers and heavy land-levelling equipment.

I quit cycling there for a few years while the crews toiled and other injuries healed.

It was worth the wait. Sort of.

I still mourn the loss of some trail single track sections that formed part of the park and the Greenbelt, but for the most part everything is intact, with the trail bypassing or looping around the premium single track parts.

Think there are ways to get around and put together a first-rate single track experience ... and now have a leisurely family ride, recovery ride or a smoking fast traffic free bike path ride — if any of the times being put up online are any gauge.

The pedestrian path opening on Haypath looking south.
The opening to the long-established single track bike
 trail is marked with blue blazes on similar log posts,
about 30 feet to the west.  

I've only done the leisurely cruise plus a little trail. There is tons, tons, if not scads of poison ivy all over the place. But where it ain't, things are good.

New tarmac. Smooth and fast, undulating and curvy. Best
served cool in spring or fall.

I am looking forward to taking a road bike out here one evening for a little hammer fest. There is a little road work going on near war looks like a new trail head park that might unseat the unwary speedster, but for the most part the going is swift.

One very useful feature are a series of mini trail-head parking lots — similar to the Cape Cod Rail Trail, good for about 6 to 16 cars depending. This was well thought out. On Long Island, some have pretty much had to burrow their vehicles into the shrubbery by the side of the road, if they sought the non-conventional access ... or were too hard up for the $8.50 or so it costs to get into the park for a day. So from that point of view, this is a thing of beauty. You might not have to drive all the way to Bethpage to ride ... if there's a spot on near Haypath, Executive Drive or Old Country Road.

Meanwhile back in the park, hydration calls.