Recreation department formally launches Park Passport program

The Southold Town recreation department has formally launched its new Park Passport program.

The program was announced in May as way for residents to discover local parks and hiking trails.

The park passports are available at several locations throughout town, including the outdoor kiosk at the recreation center in Peconic and the town clerk’s office in Southold Town Hall.

To help kick off the program, residents can participate in the Park Passport Challenge and enter a prize drawing for a gift certificate to Magic Fountain in Mattituck.

Seven trails are featured in the passport booklet. Anyone who collects seven badges, which can be found at kiosks at each trail, can submit the booklet to the recreation department by Sept. 30 to be entered into the prize drawing.

Parks included in the passport program include the Ruth Oliva Preserve at Dam Pond, Downs Farm Preserve, Paul Stoutenburgh Preserve, Soundview Dunes County Park, Laurel Lake Preserve, Hummels Pond and the Custer Preserve.

Recreation department supervisor Janet Douglass said at a May Town Board work session that the department worked with the town’s youth bureau, GIS and department of public works to coordinate the new program. 

“It’s a fun way to bring attention to the fact that we have these great trails and parks within the town,” she said at the time.

Ms. Douglass described the program as “a little bit of a scavenger hunt.”

For more information, email the recreation department at [email protected] or call 631-765-5182.