New York · National Seashore trail

Land Use Trail: Boardwalk Landing

in New York · centroid 34 mi from Bridgeport

Long before the Floyds arrived, this land has been home to the Unkechaug people. Today the Unkechaug Nation is centered nearby at the Poospatuck reservation. Poospatuck, meaning “where the waters meet,” is one of the oldest recognized sovereign Native American reservations in the United States.

Over the centuries the Unkechaug have fished, farmed, hunted, lived and worked on this land. When European colonists arrived in the 17th century they utilized a complex legal system and foreign bureaucratic procedures to dispossess Indigenous Long Islanders of their land, conferring ownership to individuals and making claims to large areas such as the Manor of St. George, patented originally to William “Tangier” Smith.

While the land that would become the William Floyd Estate was originally deeded to the Unkechaug in perpetuity from the Manor of St. George, it was later sold by the Smith family to William Floyd’s grandfather, Richard Floyd II. Soon after purchasing the more than 4,000 acres of land in 1718, laborers for the Floyd family began the back-breaking work of clearing fields, constructing ditches, planting and tending crops, and doing the innumerable agricultural and domestic jobs that were required to establish and operate a farm of this scale.

States: New York
Trail type: National Seashore trail
Centroid nearest city: Bridgeport, CT · 34 mi · ~60 min drive
Centroid coords: 40.7729°, -72.8306°

About Fire Island National Seashore

National Seashore

This trail is inside Fire Island National Seashore, a national seashore managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.

Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/land-use-trail-boardwalk-landing.htm

Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/fiis/index.htm

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Land Use Trail: Boardwalk Landing and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

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Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Bridgeport, CT — 34 miles away (~60 min drive). See accommodation in Bridgeport on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.