Kazimiroff Nature Trail at Pelham Bay Park

The Kazimiroff Nature Trail is a total of 3.3 miles of loop trails that are connected together in the forest of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, New York. The trails are separated into two different colors, with the one-mile red loop inside the blue 2.3-mile trail. They are both easy trails and are only color coded for mapping purposes.

The blue loop starts and ends at the north end of the Orchard Beach parking lot and takes you over the canal at about 0.1 mile into the trail, which was built for mosquito control purposes. At about a quarter mile into the trail, you can see Twin Island to the east. Although both Hunter Island and Twin Island are both peninsulas now, they used to be islands until the parks department built a beach here.

As you enter the loop part of the blue outer trail at about one-half mile, you will notice that you are in the middle of a dense growth of Norway Spruce trees, which were planted by the parks department in 1918. These and other sections of the forest are excellent places to stop and look for signs of critters like deer, raccoons, squirrels, and other wildlife. As the trees start to thin out, you will see meadows of vibrantly colored wildflowers and greenery as well as switchgrass, sedges, bayberry, and sumac. 

Continuing along the blue outer loop, you will pass through white oaks, tulip trees, and black locusts. At one-mile, look to the south and you can see the highest point in the park where John Hunter built his mansion. In fact, the blanket of periwinkle, daylilies, and hyacinth you see before you are the remnants of his garden. About another 0.2 miles, you will start seeing brown stone blocks along the edges of the trail, which are part of the Hunter’s front gate. 

When you get to the boulder field, at about two miles into the trail, you will meet up with the inner loop of the red trail where you can meander through the meadow of gorgeous flowers. The inner loop circles fire-scarred trees from a past wildfire. There are also a lot of giant, round boulders right off the shore that you can see here as you look out over the Long Island Sound. Follow this trail back to the trailhead.

Make sure you keep your canine kid on a leash and bring plastic baggies to clean up after them. You may also want to bring some extra H20 for you and your pal in case you get thirsty while on the trail. 

You and your pup are sure to find adventure on the Kazimiroff Nature Trail!