The Incredible Hike In New York That Leads To Fascinating Abandoned Greenhouses

The Welwyn Preserve in Glen Cove, New York is the home of the former Pratt family mansions. While the actual mansion is now the site of a museum, those that take a hike through the grounds via the Welwyn Preserve County Park Loop can find some of the family’s old greenhouses, which are run down and full of graffiti. There’s something cool and a little bit creepy about these greenhouses, though, and they are a good reason to take a hike around the grounds. For more information about this interesting hike, which contains some of the best abandoned greenhouses in New York, keep reading, below.

Welwyn Preserve is located in Glen Cove, New York, which is around 30 miles away from New York City.

To find the greenhouses, all visitors have to do is park at the preserve and take a trail that is located on the right side of the mansion. After a period, hikers will notice a brick path that heads straight toward the greenhouse. There is even a beach on-site that visitors can walk to, as well!

The trail is a 2.4 mile loop and considered by most to be a very easy route, so it makes for a great hike for families, both young and old.

The actual mansion the grounds are located on was built in 1906 for the oil industrialist Harold Irving Pratt. After Pratt’s wife Harriet passed away in 1969, the house was given to Nassau County, and the estate slowly started to rot.

Though the mansion is now in better shape, the greenhouses have not fared as well.

For those with an interest in graffiti, viewing the greenhouses will be a visual feast.

But everyone should be able to enjoy this sliver of history, now gone natural.

For a nice, easy hike filled with some vital New York history and some creepy abandoned greenhouses in New York, the Welwyn Preserve County Park Loop makes for an excellent way to spend the day. For those looking for more to do—and to eat–around Glen Cove, we made this fun Long Island roadtrip with exactly that in mind. It takes tourists through the area, with stops along the way for some of the best pie the region has to offer. And, additionally, for those looking for a place to stay in the area, we recommend the Hilton Garden Inn Roslyn, which is only four miles away from the town.