Where Red-Clay Bluffs Meet Meadows On Staten Island's Shore
Roam one of the city's largest grasslands to red-clay bluffs above the bay on Staten Island's south shore.
🌾 Grassland to shore
Mount Loretto Unique Area protects one of New York City's largest remaining grasslands, a state-managed preserve on Staten Island's south shore in Prince's Bay. Trails cross open meadows toward the water, where bands of rust-red clay drop in low bluffs to a quiet Raritan Bay beach. Ponds and hedgerows draw grassland birds through spring and fall, and the flat mown paths stay easy underfoot. A stone grotto and the spire of the old mission church mark the site's history at the northern edge. This New York State parkland stays open to walkers at no charge, sunrise to sunset.
