Wolfe's Pond Park natural areas

Holton Ave., Chisolm St., Luten Ave., Arbutus Ave. and Raritan Bay

As one of Staten Island's largest parks, Wolfe's Pond Park encompasses 281 acres of mature upland woods, swamp forest, open marsh, ponds, and sandy beach on Raritan Bay, making it one of the most diverse parks in the city and a refuge for scores of native plants and animals. The beach at Wolfe's Pond Park is part of the shoreline that runs continuously south through Lemon Creek Preserve and Mount Loretto to Ward’s Point in Conference House Park.

Every May and June, horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) emerge from the Raritan Bay to breed on the beaches of Wolfe’s Pond Park. In the spring, common yellowthroats (Geothylpis trichas), American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla), and other warblers forage in the thickets at the pond edge and in the surrounding forest. Wood ducks (Aix sponsa) and mallards (Anas platyrhychos) feed and nest among aquatic plants such as arrow arum (Peltandra virginica), swamp rose mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos), and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are conspicuous members of the pond community. Black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), great blue herons (Ardea herodias), and belted kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) hunt for fish and frogs along the pond edge.

Walkers and mountain bikers can enjoy more than 2 miles of trails throughout the natural area, where they can observe native tree species such as black cherry (Prunus serotina), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) and some rare species such as eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides).