Sunken Meadow State Park Group Foraging Tour

Experience exceptional early spring foraging at Sunken Meadow State Park, where the seashore offers pungent sea rocket, nutrient-rich rockweed, and gourmet mushrooms. Learn to identify and prepare coastal and woodland wild foods.

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Provider	Vetted Local Provider You’ll be connected with a trusted local event partner directly after booking. (4.4-star rating across 212 reviews)
Location	New York - Btwn park's bathhouse & Parking Field#1
Pricing	$650 for up to 15 people; $15 per additional person
Duration	Up to 2 hours For a shortened session, please request desired length in special requests at checkout.
Group Size	Up to 35 people Group size can be changed after booking if needed.
Materials	See event description.
Other	General Notes Please Note: Participants should be dressed for the weather, and be aware of very bad subway service. Trains are often canceled due to track work. No sandals (there are mosquitoes, thorns and poison ivy). Everyone should have plastic bags for veggies and herbs, paper bags for mushrooms, which spoil in plastic, containers for berries from late spring through fall, water and lunch, and extra layers when it's cold. Digging implements and pocket knives are optional. Please bring plastic bags for vegetables and herbs, paper bags for mushrooms, drinking water, and a pen (to sign in). Dogs are permitted. Children are encouraged to attend. There's no smoking whatsoever at any time. Policies Price Match Guarantee If you find a similar event with a competitor at a lower price, we’ll gladly match it. This applies to events of comparable description and duration. Simply provide the details when booking, or within 72 hours of your booking, and we’ll ensure you get the best value. Contact an event concierge to get started. Terms and conditions apply

Explore early-spring foraging at Sunken Meadow Park on Long Island. Its habitats include beaches, oceanfront, thickets, cultivated areas, wetlands and wooded trails.

Sea rocket grows directly in the sand within sight of the ocean, a pungent, succulent mustard plant found nowhere else in the landscape. It is as nutritious as it is bold in flavor, one of the distinctive rewards of foraging at the shore.

In the Long Island Sound itself, rockweed is a reliable and rewarding find. Used as an ingredient in soups and Japanese preparations, rockweed can also be prepared like kale chips for a mineral-rich, deeply savory snack. It has been valued by herbalists for centuries as a source of iodine and trace minerals. Sea lettuce is another excellent seaweed option, outstanding when sauteed with garlic and olive oil, stirred into soups, or even candied. Irish moss, a natural thickening agent for soups and beverages, may also be present.

Moving inland through the thickets, you will encounter northern bayberry (the native version of the bay leaf), sour sheep sorrel, yarrow, field garlic, poor man's pepper, and mullein growing along trail edges and open fields.

Given adequate rainfall, choice gourmet mushrooms may appear as well, including dryad's saddle, which makes an outstanding meat substitute when marinated and baked, and savory fairy ring mushrooms.

The diversity of the seashore environment and its immediately adjacent habitats - beach, thicket, wetland, and woodland - makes Sunken Meadow one of the most rewarding foraging destinations in the region, with an unusually wide range of finds available in a single outing for a group of any experience level.

Meeting Place:

This foraging tour of Sunken Meadow Park begins at the benches between the Sunken Meadow Park Bath House and Parking Field #1, in Kings Park, NY.