Bellmore Creek, Wantagh

Throughout the New York metropolitan area, there are highways that follow the courses of streams, built atop the marshy banks as there were fewer properties to condemn. One such example is Wantagh State Parkway, which follows Bellmore Creek for nearly three miles within the community of Wantagh on Long Island.

The most prominent feature of Bellmore Creek is Twin Lakes Preserve, which appears unspoiled except for the sounds of speeding cars on the parkway behind the line of trees. The ponds are filled with lilies, creating an impressionistic scene that is a short walk for many residents of Wantagh.