Hudson Valley On The Water: When Can You Walk To Long Island?

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Getting to Long Island without a boat requires taking one of a handful of bridges and tunnels — unless the conditions are just right.

Last century, the Long Island Sound only froze over solid enough to traverse the briny divide separating Long Island from the mainland just three times, according to a 2012 Patch Neighbor report from Alana Joli Abbott. Records from Jane Bouley of the Branford Historical Society indicate that deep freezes on the Long Island Sound that were thick enough to hold a car happened in 1917, 1934 and 1976-77.

Connecticut Magazine's Erik Ofgang related the fascinating tale, first reported in the Port Chester Daily Item, of teens who took advantage of an especially deep freeze in February 1857 to walk and ice-skate across the Sound to the Long Island shore near Huntington Bay and then returned to the mainland in Rye.

Before you plan a winter hike to the Nassau Coliseum, keep in mind that it has been more than 165 years since anyone has been brave (or foolish) enough to try to cross the navigable estuary on foot and it may never happen again.

"Long Island Sound never freezes across today due to warmer winters and increased ship traffic," Ofgang writes. "Some modern-day observers say a shore-to-shore freeze is impossible, even in the chillier winters of yesteryear."

SEE ALSO:

• Hudson Valley On The Water: Long Island Sound's Most Peculiar Private Island
• Hudson Valley On The Water: The Birds Of Huckleberry Island
• Hudson Valley On The Water: Walkway Over The Hudson
• Hudson Valley On The Water: Playland Memories For Sale
• Hudson Valley On The Water: Execution Rocks Light
• Hudson Valley On The Water: 'Albany Beef' Saved From The Brink