What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm Friday 8:30am - 5pm Saturday 8:30am - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 4:30pm

Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve

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Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve

Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve is a 265-acre forest located in Staten Island, NY.

08/29/2026

This Chinese Mantis was found crawling on the Clay Pit Ponds Nature Center building one early morning.
They were accidentally introduced to Pennsylvania in 1896 by a shipment of plants to a nursery in Philadelphia. Once it was observed that they eat garden pests, people would import mantis egg cases to protect their plants. These insects have spread across much of the eastern and midwestern United States with the classification of non-native in New York.

Fun Fact: Chinese Mantis’ can detect movement up to 60 feet away.

Source: https://dec.ny.gov/nature/animals-fish-plants/insects-and-other-species/praying-and-chinese-mantises
https://www.brandywine.org/conservancy/blog/invasive-mantis-species

08/28/2026

Swipe to see what’s going on in the park this September!

🍁 Tot Time. Every Tuesday, 10am-11:30am. Ages 0-5.
🍁 Farm Tour: Garlic Highlight. Thursday September 3, 2pm-3pm. All ages.
🍁 Nature Explorers: Beautiful Birds. Saturday September 5, 1pm-3pm. Ages 5-12.
🍁 CPP Hiking Club. Sunday September 6, 1pm-3pm. All ages.
🍁 Farm Apple Giveaway. Wednesday September 9, 2pm-4pm. All ages.
🍁 Girl Scouts Love State Parks: Pond Investigators. Saturday September 12, 1pm-3pm. All ages.
🍁 Gentle Yoga. Saturday September 12, 8am-9am. All ages.
🍁 Tai Chi. Saturday September 12, 10am-11am. All ages.
🍁 Tai Chi. Sunday September 13, 8am-9am. All ages.
🍁 Gentle Yoga. Sunday September 13, 10am-11am. All ages.
🍁 Seasonal Crafting for Seniors. Thursday September 17, 10am-12pm. Ages 55+.
🍁 Bug Hunt: Farm Edition! Saturday September 19, 10am-12pm. All ages.
🍁 Gericke Farm Refresh. Sunday September 20, 10am-12pm. All ages.
🍁 Nature Explorers: Ecosystem Energy. Tuesday September 22, 3:30pm-5pm. Ages 5-12.
🍁 Fall Migration Bird Stroll. Saturday September 26, 10am-12pm. All ages.
🍁 Art in the Park: Felt Animal Bookmarks. Sunday September 27, 1pm-3pm. All ages.
Register for all of our events at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com. DM us and we will add you to our mailing list!

08/27/2026

Reminder that on Saturday, August 29th from 10am-2pm, the DMV mobile unit will be visiting Clay Pit Ponds State Park Preserve. Visit the Nature Interpretive Center (2351 Veterans Rd West) to get your REAL ID and handle all other DMV business (except license plates).

For more information on what documents you need, visit dmv.ny.gov/more-info/dmv-document-guide.

08/26/2026

At the Gericke Farm this season one plant towered over the rest: Sunflowers! 🌻
These huge herbs can grow between 6 and 12 feet tall! Bees are the main pollinator for Sunflowers, but the flower is known to attract other pollinators as well. Many of the Sunflowers at Gericke Farm have produced their seeds, which some birds, like the American Goldfinch have been gobbling up! Another wildlife friendly plant here at the preserve! 🐦 🐝 🦋
Thanks for picking your own Sunflowers at the Gericke Farm U-Pick event!

08/25/2026

Thanks for coming to our Gericke Farm edition of Young Naturalists last week! We had such a great time learning about farming, fruits and veggies, and planting seeds!

08/22/2026

We have had a few Monarch Butterfly visitors at our pollinator garden this week! These butterflies are gearing up for their long migration to Mexico this fall.

Each year, four generations of Monarch Butterflies emerge.
In the spring, the first generation of Monarch Butterflies migrate from the south and are focused on migration and reproduction.
The second and third generations focus primarily on reproduction and rarely migrate long distances.
The fourth and final generation (Super Generation), emerging in late summer and fall, are specifically adapted to live longer and travel thousands of miles on their migration south. They enter a state called reproductive diapause which allows them to defer reproduction to save energy for their migration. The fourth generation overwinters in Mexico and begins to travel north in the spring, where they will lay the first generation that will continue the migration north!

To support Monarch Butterflies throughout the year, you can plant milkweed plants including these native milkweeds: Common Milkweed, Swamp Milkweed, and Butterflyweed.

08/21/2026

Join us for a night bugging program next Friday, August 28 from 7:30pm-8:30pm! We’ll get up close and personal with bugs that we don’t normally get the chance to see.
Don’t miss your chance to observe beautiful nocturnal moths, fireflies, and more!
Flashlights provided.

Reminder to wear long pants and closed toed shoes.

For more information and registration, visit ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com.

08/20/2026

Standing at Sharrotts Pond, looking at the water, you will see all kinds of bird action. Red-winged Blackbirds hopping from lily pad to lily pad, or Swallows zooming past catching bugs. But if you look closely, you might see a bird that often gets overlooked: The Eastern Kingbird!

Kingbirds might be small, but they sure are mighty. They are known to fiercely protect their territory and will attack larger birds like crows and hawks! They are crowned “king” birds due to their aggressive attitudes and fighting spirit. They also have a hidden bright red “crown” on top of their heads that they only show when excited or threatened.

Source: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eastern-kingbird

08/19/2026

This summer, our Young Naturalist programs have been full of nature exploration, hands-on experiences, and lots of observations!

🌡We started off the summer learning all about weather, and the young naturalists made their very own thermometer.
🎨 Next, we got creative with water coloring during our nature journaling program.
💦 The fun didn’t stop there, next we learned the water cycle, and young naturalists transformed into water droplets, ending up in clouds, animals, plants, and more!
🐜Then, young naturalists learned all about bugs in this critter themed program. They rolled logs and swept bug nets along the grass, finding many creatures along the way.
🦅What’s up there? Young naturalists observed different birds and their beaks during our bird week program!
🌳Our most recent, but not our last program was all about trees! Young naturalists had a great time on our tree ID hike.

Join us on Thursday August 22nd and Thursday August 27th from 10am-12pm for the last two Young Naturalist programs of the summer! Register at ClayPitPonds.Eventbrite.Com.

08/18/2026

It was a TREEt having our Young Naturalists learn all about the wonderful trees we have here at Clay Pit Ponds.

Thank you to all who showed up to Seasonal Crafting for Seniors to create these beautiful peacock feather lanterns. And thank you Tut, our resident peacock, for donating his feathers!

This summer has been a hot one for sure, so we hope you had a “splash” at our annual Summertime Splash Bash!

Thank you for coming to our Art in the Park: Mosaic Animals program to create beautiful mosaic collages of your favorite animals!

Tune in for more exciting events here at Clay Pit Ponds!

Address

2351 Veterans Road W
Staten Island, NY
10309

Opening Hours

Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm
Saturday	8:30am - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+17186053970

Website

https://parks.ny.gov/parks/claypitponds/

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