Bill Richards Memorial Park

The woods inside tiny, quaint Bill Richards Memorial park are the same as Blydenburgh. They’re separated only by the entrance road.
Although still a mess post hurricane Sandy, the trail circling the small, picturesque pond is still enjoyable. Inside some patches of thick, thorny brush we heard the rustling of a deer possibly scared out of its mind fenced and cornered by Veterans highway on one side and the luxury homes nested inside the golf course on the other. Hopefully it made it back to somewhat larger woodsier areas up in Blydenburgh park.

I am neither a Town of Smithtown taxpayer nor the type to risk a pesky ticket over a jaunt through a park on a 90±degree day. Consequently, the extent of my familiarity with this park is limited to the parking lot and what you can see from the bridge at the entrance. My first responses to the guidelines set forth on the ubiquitous signs would be: ‘No horseback riding? What nerve! I can’t golf on the grounds?! The audacity!’
Regardless, I always passed this spot and assumed it was Blydenburgh, until of course I visited Blydenburgh; I had since forgotten about BRMP, formerly named the Green Gates Park, and open year-​round dawn to dusk. Parking is ‘free’ (what do you consider taxes, bureaucrats?) but naturally also open to Town of Smithtown residents ‘only’ (sticker required). The creek runs up to 347 and the paths appear narrow but nice and shaded with relatively thick tree cover. The area is ‘perfect for bikers’ and boasts wooden benches & picnic tables for the ‘hikers’.