Walk the planks: A Long Island boardwalk tour

BY JOHN HANC | Special to Newsday

July 1, 2008

Sun, sea breezes and forgiving, easy-on-the-joints surfaces: Is there any better place for your walk, jog or bike ride than one of Long Island's boardwalks?

Although they hark back to an era when taking slow promenades and admiring the view were the main priorities, boardwalks have in recent years become the epicenter for fitness activities.

Here are the big three on Long Island. These are boardwalks long enough to give you a heart-pumping workout while providing unparalleled vistas. What's more, they have rest rooms and water fountains along the way.

1) Long Beach Boardwalk

Length: 2.2 miles

Activities permitted: Walking, running and biking allowed. No rollerblading, skating or skateboarding.

This is the "three-lane highway" of boardwalks. Two pedestrian lanes, 14 feet wide on the north side and 18 feet on the south, flank a 14-foot-wide bike lane. Stay in your lane, and enjoy the Long Beach scene. "There's a lot of diversity in what you get there," says Lewis Bauer, a Massapequa chiropractor who returns to his native Long Beach to run the boardwalk. "It can be very serene or very active," he says. Plus, "it's a nice surface, very even." The boardwalk extends from Neptune Avenue on the east to New York Avenue on its western end.

2) Jones Beach State Park Boardwalk

Length: 2.0 miles (includes concrete portions, from Field 1 to Field 6)

Activities permitted: Walking and running (biking allowed between Oct. 1 and March 31).

The main pedestrian artery of Long Island's oceanfront jewel, the Jones Beach boardwalk has become a fitness-walking and jogging thoroughfare, particularly in the early mornings and evenings. The old exercise stations along the boardwalk had to be removed, however, because, according to park director Sue Giuliani, "people were sitting on incline boards to do sit-ups and getting splinters." Still, she points out, there are lots of other activities offered along the boardwalk: basketball courts, paddle tennis and volleyball.

3) Gov. Alfred E. Smith/ Sunken Meadow State Park Boardwalk

Length: 3,890 feet (about ¾-mile)

Activities permitted: Walking and running (biking allowed before 9 a.m. Monday-Friday, but not on weekends). No skating, scootering, skateboarding.

On mornings, walkers rule at Sunken Meadow, with its magnificent views of the Sound and Connecticut shoreline. Like the others, it's a democratic boardwalk, too: "We get all ages, from young mothers to grandmothers," says park director Miriam Newman-Cruz. Four times back and forth will get you three miles, but Sunken Meadow's trail network provides a nearby opportunity for those who want a change of scenery to take a longer walk.State Parks fee is $8 per car. Daily passes for Long Beach non-residents are $10; for more information, visit longbeachny.org.