Belmont Lake State Park (Teens/Adults)

Autumn is one of the most rewarding seasons for wild food foraging, and Belmont Lake State Park in late fall is a particularly fine place to find it. With woodland trails, an open lake, and varied recreation areas, the park offers a rich mix of habitats where the most adventurous seasonal wild foods thrive.

Autumn Olive Berries

• One of the highlights of any fall foraging tour, autumn olive berries grow in extraordinary abundance near the park entrance. These small, red, spherical, lightly spotted fruits are as easy to identify as they are delicious, with a compelling sweet-tart flavor that makes them worth seeking out.
• Cold-weather wild greens also begin reappearing in grassy areas and along trail edges in late fall. We'll look for lemon-flavored sheep sorrel, curly dock, garlic-flavored garlic mustard, corn-sweet chickweed, spicy field garlic, and young, mild dandelion greens. We'll also search for culinary and medicinal herbs, including common spicebush, jewelweed, common and long-leaf plantain, and yarrow.

Sassafras

• Sassafras is one of the most versatile and interesting wild plants you will ever encounter. A prolific producer of saplings, it is easily found growing at the edges of the woods. The outer bark of the roots can be used as a seasoning, or the entire root can be simmered into a tea or used to start a homemade root beer. Sassafras leaves come in three distinct shapes: an oval, a mitten shape, and a three-lobed form that resembles a T. rex footprint, making identification easy and fun.

Tree Ear Mushrooms

• If there has been adequate rainfall in the preceding weeks, late fall mushrooms may be plentiful. Look for savory blewits, pear-shaped puffballs, seafood-flavored oyster mushrooms, and gelatinous tree ear mushrooms. The tree ear, often dismissed as merely textural in Chinese cooking, is genuinely delicious when baked with a savory or sweet coating.

With so much in season and so much to discover, this is a foraging tour you will not want to miss.

Please Note:

• Dress appropriately for the weather. Be aware that subway service can be unreliable due to frequent track work; plan accordingly.
• No open-toed shoes. The terrain includes mosquitoes, thorns, and poison ivy.
• Bring plastic bags for vegetables and herbs, paper bags for mushrooms (which deteriorate in plastic), sealed containers for berries (in season from late spring through fall), water, lunch, and extra layers in cold weather. Digging tools and pocket knives are optional.
• Dogs are welcome. Children are enthusiastically encouraged to attend.
• No smoking of any kind at any time.

Meeting Place:

The 3-hour foraging tour of Belmont Lake State Park begins at the benches between the building with the concession stand and the parking lot, off Exit 38 of the Southern State Parkway, in North Babylon, NY.