In 2020, New York State opened the Empire State Trail, a continuous 750-mile multiuse trail that spans the state from Plattsburgh in the north and Buffalo in the west. Those trails connect in Albany, in the center of the state, and continue south to the Battery at the tip of Manhattan. But it ends there—leaving out more than 8 million New Yorkers who live east of Manhattan on the arm of Long Island.

Now, a plan is in motion to change that by creating the Long Island Greenway, a new trail that will stretch east from Manhattan all the way to Montauk and link residents of Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens) to the Empire State Trail. The Long Island Greenway is slated to run 175 miles, connecting 27 key communities and 26 existing parks in the process. The Greenway will be 60 percent off-road, offering a refreshing way to travel between these communities—or all the way out of the city for those seeking a longer adventure.

This project kicked off in 2018 with a feasibility study, determining if and how the Greenway could come to life. A particular challenge was the first 25 miles of the trail, navigating the dense urban landscape of Long Island. From 2020 to 2021, we engaged the community to dive deeper into the possibility of the Greenway, leading to the current design stage of the project.

Construction of the first 25 miles of the trail will begin in 2024.

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