Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park

Escape to Middle Earth for a day... bring a lounge chair for a tree shaded nap.

Need to get away from the hustle and bustle of New York? Want to go to a fairly secluded grounds that is probably unheard of by many. Planting Fields Arboretum is just the place. The fee is $8 per car for parking. If you have an Empire Pass, you can enter the grounds for free. On the grounds, expect to walk through a network of hiking trails, greenhouses growing flowers and various cacti, formal gardens and rolling lawns. If you're more into the history of the Coe family and it's historic landmarks, you can tour Coe Hall which is an additional $5 per person. While visiting, you may notice wedding shoots, kid's events or musical bands being held on the grounds.

It's a perfect place to bring some blankets and a picnic basket. The kids can run around freely on the clean lawns which are for the most part, very quiet. It reminded me of the gardens in various European countries, making me feel like I was on vacation yet only a car's drive away from home.

If there's one thing they can do, it is to spruce up and update the grounds. Everything felt a little dated. However, being that the grounds are so big and not a lot of people frequent, I can definitely understand the budget constraints and limitation of resources. But that sort of gives it the private secluded feel that I've come to appreciate when visiting the arboretum.

Planting Fields Arboretum is on my list of secret (low-profile) spots to check out while on Long Island. I will definitely return with some friends to enjoy a nice peaceful afternoon with food and drink on the grand lawn. Maybe I'll see you there!! (Just don't tell too many other people about it.)

I have been a lifelong visitor to Planting Fields, and my great-grandfather was even one of the original gardeners of the estate. I spent my childhood there, and I have taken countless out of town visitors and family members to visit the estate over the years. It has always been one of my favorite places.

However, after today I will never be returning to Planting Fields due to the extremely rude and inappropriate behavior of one of the staff members. My fiance and I had a friend visiting from Brooklyn, and we brought her to Planting Fields this afternoon to show her around. My friend asked my fiance and I to pose in front of a tree for a picture. Immediately a man in a golf cart pulled up next to us and told us we would have to leave the park because we did not have a permit to take professional pictures. Mind you, we were NOT taking professional pictures. My friend is NOT a photographer, nor did she have any photography equipment with her, but just because she happens to have a big camera it was assumed that we were taking professional pictures. I attempted to explain to him that we were just friends visiting the park to take some pictures, and he did not even let me explain myself. He just insisted we had to leave the park. He was LOOKING to throw us out of the park that we PAID to get into and accused us of something we DID NOT DO. We had only been in the park about 10 minutes.

At this point we were tired of trying to explain ourselves so we turned around and walked back toward the parking lot. He then followed us to make sure we actually left, and had the nerve to offer to give us his employer's number if we wanted to "challenge his decision", whatever that means. This man was definitely on a power trip for some reason. Not sure why, you work at a state park.

That being said, Planting Fields is a beautiful place. Just be careful not to take any pictures with anything other than an iPhone or you will get kicked out.

This is my favorite place to go. Beautiful grounds, sprawling landscape, many great places to walk or sit. Love the greenhouses. Very serene.

Planting Fields Arboretum is one of the most exquisite arboretums in New York State. You will not be disappointed by the variety of vegetation.

The grounds are kept spotless, and it has a lovely luncheonette available for food and drink purchases.

Well worth the visit.