Which family's land is under your boots on a given trail in Muttontown Preserve? The county treats the whole property as one preserve, about 550 acres by Newsday's count and 568 by the Nassau County Soil & Water Conservation District's. On the ground, the old ownership lines still show. Most of the preserve was once three private estates: Charles Hudson's Knollwood, the Moore family's Chelsea, and the Winthrop place that became Nassau Hall. Their staircases, gates, gardens and halls still mark where one estate ends and the next begins. Once the leaves fall, those features are easier to see from the trail. Newsday described the preserve at this time of year as a place where "wind blowing through bare tree branches seems to roar like winter waves."
This season's two guided hikes split along those same lines. The November walk heads for Knollwood. The December walk covers Chelsea and the former Winthrop grounds. Before choosing a date, it helps to know what each estate left behind.
Knollwood: the estate everyone comes for
Knollwood was stockbroker Charles Hudson's estate. Sources give different sizes for it: the Roslyn Landmark Society's 2021 trail history says 150 acres, a 2013 account reprinted on the same page says 260, and the Soil & Water Conservation District's history says Hudson owned 240. The Roslyn history says King Zog of Albania bought it in 1951 but never lived there, then sold it in 1955. The 60-room mansion stood empty, vandals damaged it, and it was torn down in 1959.
Plenty of the estate survived the demolition. The Roslyn Landmark Society's trail history includes a 2013 walk-through that lists what was still standing along the path:
- The grand double staircase
- A few sections of balustrade
- Traces of brick and stone garden work
- A separate garden staircase
- Columned garden structures
- Fragments of the estate's gates
That account is more than a decade old, and even then it described some upper stair treads as buried and the garden structures as crumbling. Expect the ruins to look rougher now. The Soil & Water Conservation District's historical summary adds a few surviving Hudson-era pieces of its own: gazebos, a concrete-walled garden, and the main gate at Route 106 and Muttontown Road.
Those ruins are the main reason the trails have markers today. Newsday reported in March 2023 that more people started visiting during the pandemic, and with them came more complaints about hikers getting lost. In 2021 the conservation district began installing trail markers, widening paths, and clearing obstructions and invasive plants. Derek Betts, the district manager, told Newsday the preserve had been "an underutilized resource" mostly "because people weren't aware of it and also because the trails weren't marked." He added that "the King Zog ruins are obviously a big draw for people and they were having trouble finding it."
The first marked trail was King Zog's Loop, about 2½ miles through woods and open grass. It was finished in 2021 with 65 numbered wooden posts, and the ruins are a short walk from Muttontown Road. In 2022 a second loop got 35 posts in the southern part of the preserve, and two more loops with 40 posts between them were planned for 2023. Newsday reported that the district applied for a state grant to pay for the work, with additional funds from the Muttontown Horseman's Association. Today's marked loops grew out of that push to help visitors find the ruins.
Chelsea: the estate that arrived in pieces
Knollwood's main house is gone. Chelsea's still stands, and the estate passed into public hands far more slowly. Benjamin Moore and Alexandra Emery Moore built Chelsea in 1924, and Benjamin went on to serve as Muttontown's first mayor. After he died in 1938, Alexandra married Robert McKay in 1955, according to the Long Island Past and Present history.
Alexandra Moore McKay gave the land to Nassau County a section at a time, close to 100 acres over roughly ten years. Long Island Past and Present puts the first gift in 1964 and notes that she died in 1983. The Soil & Water Conservation District puts the first gift in 1966 and says the county acquired the Chelsea Estate itself in 1983. The same Long Island Past and Present history describes a moat among the estate's features and notes that Chelsea Mansion has hosted charity events and summer concerts.
The Chelsea Center is still in use. The Village of Upper Brookville's guide to nearby places says its rooms can be rented by nonprofit educational and public-service groups, though not for fundraising events. For hikers, Chelsea is the part of the preserve where the estate house still stands, while Knollwood's stairs now lead nowhere.
Nassau Hall: the estate that still has a staff
The third estate goes back the furthest. The Soil & Water Conservation District credits Bronson Winthrop with buying the original farm in 1903 and building the house that is now Nassau Hall. The district's history also calls it the Egerton L. Winthrop Jr. House, or Muttontown Meadows. Lansdell Christie bought the estate in 1950, and his widow sold the house and 183 acres to Nassau County in 1969.
Nassau Hall is the district's office today, so the agency that marked the trails works out of one of the original estate houses. The grounds also hold a notable collection of pine trees. Upper Brookville's guide dates the hall to about 1904 and lists it as home to the Nassau Parks Conservancy.
Even with the smallest figure for Knollwood, the documented acreage adds up quickly. Knollwood's 150 acres, Winthrop's 183 and Chelsea's nearly 100 come to more than 400 of the preserve's roughly 550. The three estates make up most of the preserve, which is why you can't walk far without crossing from one into another.
Two guided walks, two different estates
The Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference has two Muttontown dates on its calendar before the end of the year. Each one stays mostly on one side of those old property lines.
| Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026 | Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing | Muttontown Co. Preserve | Muttontown Preserve Meander |
| Time | Noon to 2 p.m. | 9 a.m. to noon |
| Distance and pace | 3+ miles, moderate, rolling and flat | 6.5 miles, light to moderate, 3 mph, 300 to 400 ft of climbing |
| Estate focus | Knollwood and the King Zog ruins | Chelsea Estate and former Winthrop Mansion grounds |
| Meeting point listed | Bill Patterson Nature Center, 38 Muttontown Lane, East Norwich | By the Bill Paterson Nature Center, Locust Lane entrance; listing address 34 Muttontown Lane |
| Sign-up | Registration required; joint hike with the Sierra Club L.I. Group | Contact the leader named on the listing |
| Weather | Any rain cancels | Heavy rain cancels |
The November listing invites hikers to "visit the ruins of the King Zog mansion's grounds and see what it looked like just ten years ago." It also promises some discussion of the native and non-native plants on the property. The December walk is longer and covers more of the preserve. Its listing says it passes "some of the old ruins of the previous owners," includes one road crossing a little past the halfway point, and warns that some trails are uneven and narrow.
Both walks meet at the same building, but the two listings give different addresses. Check the entrance with the hike leader before you drive over.
The nature center at the trailhead
Both hikes start at the Bill Paterson Nature Center, which is named for the preserve's own longtime naturalist. A 2010 village profile says Paterson ran the preserve from 1968 to 1992. A Long Island Botanical Society newsletter describes him as a Long Island naturalist who grew up in Baldwin. According to Upper Brookville's guide, the center provides maps and brochures for self-guided walks, and guided public walks can be arranged by appointment.
If you'd rather go on your own, the Village of Muttontown's listing puts the preserve at 34 Muttontown Lane, off Route 25A west of Jericho-Oyster Bay Road, with the county parks number 516-571-8500. A few practical points from the Greenbelt listings:
- Park and meet at the north end of the preserve, at the end of Muttontown Lane off Route 25A.
- The nature center restroom is only open some of the time, so plan around that.
- Trails get wet and slippery after rain, and some sections are narrow, so wear proper footwear.
- Bring water and a snack for anything longer than King Zog's Loop.
From the trailhead, King Zog's Loop is the quickest way to Knollwood's staircase, and the December route continues on toward Chelsea and the Winthrop pines.
At Batul Morbi, we have spent more than three decades getting to know Muttontown's large properties, including the estates that now make up the preserve and the homes that border it. If you live near Muttontown Lane and want to know how your property compares with today's market, we'll walk you through it. Request a Home Valuation, or learn more about the village on our Muttontown neighborhood page.
