Clove Lakes Park Trail

Where else can you find Staten Island’s oldest living thing, but along the Clove Lakes Park Trail? The 107-foot-tall tulip tree here is more than 300 years old and is one of the highlights of this hike at Clove Lakes Park. Other pawesome things you and your poochie can see along this three-mile loop trail include ponds with ducks, floral meadows, waterfalls, bridges, brooks, and the gorgeous thick forest right in the heart of Staten Island, New York. While there is water access on the trail, there are no cleanup bag dispensers, so bring your own baggies to pick up after your fur buddy. 

Your adventure starts at the Clove Lakes Park, on Clove Road, which boasts baseball, football, and soccer fields, basketball courts, playgrounds, restrooms, picnic areas with BBQ pits, and a lake full of fish. Starting at the baseball field, the path takes you around the baseball diamonds, and then meanders along the eastern edge of Clove Lake for about a half mile. Then, it enters the forest and circles around the Martling Pond for another half mile. At the far northern point of the pond, you will find a water station, which is right across the parking lot from the Staten Island Zoo. 

After stopping for a water break, you can stop and take some selfies with your canine kid and the giant tulip tree, which is right there by the Martling Pond. Afterward, you and your pupster can continue along the western side of Martling Pond and back through the woods for about another quarter of a mile. The path then takes you along the western edge of Clove Lake, across the lake over a bridge, and back to the baseball fields. 

All through the park, you will see serpentine rock on the crests of hills. Serpentine rock is a rock that is composed of several serpentine minerals, which are green and glassy looking. It took millions of years for this amazing metamorphic process to happen. 

Your pup will love a walk through this lovely and unique park on the Clove Lake Park Trail!