A Visit To Gates Town Park
A trip down memory lane leads to disappointment.
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Sometimes in my travels I find myself with nothing to do. No restaurants I want to dine at. No attractions I want to visit. Just do nothing more than relax. I have found usually the best way to spend this time is a little walk down memory lane. This was how, my friends, I found myself going down a short stretch of road that shot me out into Gates town park.
I grew up in the area where this park is located but I don't really have any fond memories of it despite the numerous chances one would have when they live in walking distance. That is because, according to my memories and memories of my childhood friends, this park was always closed for one reason or another. It seems like it was a rare occurrence that it was open to begin with.
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I was never much good at soccer
One positive thing I would say is there is a lovely playground. In fact as a kid I would have liked to visit this. There are two separate constructs of slides and places to climb and a pretty fair number of swings. As a child I preferred the slides to be a bit taller but that was only a personal preference. The benches are close by and allow for parents to sit. You will notice a grill fairly close to these benches. I was disappointed to discover this was the only grill in the entire park. I did not dare use it not wanting to ruin a family's plans were one to stop in.
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That grill looks so alone and sad
In the far off sections of the park there are soccer nets and what appeared to be an unused soft\baseball field. It had recently been tended to in that the grass had been cut but I would be surprised if this field had seen a single game all summer. I found most of my amusement sitting in the area of a small pond watching tiny fish dart around in the water. Curiously a number of small stations for playing disc golf have been set up and were in the process of being used on my stroll.
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Surprisingly the most relaxing place
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The sound of frogs almost beat out the road noise. almost.
There is one building at the center which contains a few restrooms and a drinking fountain. Fortunately the doors were unlocked but this has not been true of every visit I've had here so I would advise being prepared to use alternative means of restroom were you to plan a long picnic here. The drinking fountains have a strong irony taste to the water. I recommend bottled.
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When the water tastes like iron you're gonna have a bad time
I found my stroll was not very quiet. A large amount of road noise penetrates this park and rather ruins the experience, even in the very back of the park the dull roar of cars and trucks going by on the road can unfortunately be heard. For those who enjoy nature walks you will only find one trail and it is a whole 200 feet. I finished the entirety of the walk in 5 minutes. I found several other trails that appeared to be nature trails but I quickly found myself being injected into the nearby neighborhoods and homes.
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I was very tempted to walk off the beaten path
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Surprise surprise. This was more than half of the trail
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turns out this nature trail was the "woodlands" part of disc golf
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Looks an awful lot like a nature trail. Feels like one until you're in someone's back yard.
I found my brief time in Gates Town park rather unpleasant. My family did not go here very often when I was a child and now I can see why. Its noisy and there isn't very much to do. My recommendation is to go here only if you live close or if you only have a small amount of time to kill. I left after only 40 brief minutes. There are a great number of better parks in the New York area. If you find yourself driving past it....keep going.
About the Creator
Relaxed Tourist
I am someone who is lucky enough to be able to travel and vacation frequently. I will be posting reviews of hotels, parks, attractions, and generally anywhere I travel to.
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