Five North Shore Drives from Great Neck Worth Taking This Fall

The best scenic drives from Great Neck follow Route 25A and the roads off it into the old Gold Coast: Sands Point, Roslyn, Oyster Bay, Bayville and Cold Spring Harbor. Each of the five drives below fits in a morning or an afternoon, and two of the main stops are free. I LOVE NY, the state’s tourism office, says peak color here has historically arrived in early to mid-November, so the first half of the month is often the best window.

All five start from Northern Boulevard, where North Bay Cadillac sits at 720 Northern Blvd in Great Neck. They are listed from the shortest outing to the longest.

Drive	Main stop	Entry	Best for
Sands Point	Sands Point Preserve	$15 per car	A short morning
Route 25A	Roslyn, Oyster Bay	Free	An easy afternoon
Planting Fields	Arboretum, greenhouses	$8 on some days	Fall color
Bayville	Long Island Sound	Free to drive	Sunset
Cold Spring Harbor	State park, village	Free	A longer loop

Park fees and hours below come from each park’s own website or New York State Parks, as of November 2026. They change by season, so check before you go.

1. Sands Point and Port Washington

Sands Point Preserve is the closest of the five, under 10 miles from our showroom, and the best choice for a short morning outing.

Head east on Northern Boulevard, then turn north on Port Washington Boulevard. The road runs up through Manhasset and Port Washington and ends near the tip of the peninsula in Sands Point. The preserve is at 127 Middle Neck Road.

The Sands Point Preserve Conservancy describes it as a 216-acre park on the original Guggenheim estate, owned by Nassau County and run by the Conservancy. Visitors can walk the forest trails, the Great Lawn and the Hempstead House Garden, and the grounds look out over Long Island Sound. Castle Gould holds the welcome center and gift shop. Hempstead House and Falaise, the other two mansions, open only for scheduled guided tours.

What to know before you go:

• Days: open Wednesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Hours: they change by season. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.
• Cost: $15 per car, $4 per person on foot. Conservancy members enter free.

On the way home, Main Street in Port Washington runs down to the water on Manhasset Bay. It is an easy place to stop for coffee before you get back on Port Washington Boulevard.

2. Route 25A east through Roslyn to Oyster Bay

Northern Boulevard is Route 25A, so the simplest scenic drive from Great Neck is to stay on it heading east.

Past Manhasset, 25A crosses high over Roslyn on a viaduct. To see the village itself, take Old Northern Boulevard instead. It runs through the center of Roslyn, past the clock tower and the pond, before rejoining 25A on the other side.

I LOVE NY, the state's tourism office, says peak color here has historically arrived in early to mid-November, so the first half of the month is often the best window.

East of Roslyn the road passes through Greenvale, Glen Head and Brookville. The strip malls thin out and the old estate walls and wooded lots begin. At East Norwich, turn north on Route 106 to reach the hamlet of Oyster Bay and its waterfront.

A few minutes east of the hamlet is Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Theodore Roosevelt’s home. The National Park Service lists these details:

• Grounds: open daily, year-round, from sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. There is no fee to visit the grounds.
• Old Orchard Museum: Thursday 1:00 to 4:30 p.m., Friday through Sunday noon to 4:30 p.m.
• Roosevelt Home: tours by advance reservation only.

I LOVE NY points to the nature trail at Sagamore Hill, which runs from forest down to the shoreline of Cold Spring Harbor, as a good fall walk. It is a natural place to stretch your legs before the drive home.

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3. Planting Fields Arboretum

Planting Fields is the strongest fall color stop on this list, and it sits a short way north of Route 25A in Oyster Bay.

The official address is 1395 Planting Fields Road. New York State Parks describes the site as over 400 acres of rolling lawns, gardens, woodlands and nature walks. I LOVE NY calls out its Japanese maples and winterberry as fall highlights. The back roads leading in from 25A are wooded and quiet, which makes the approach part of the outing.

Item	Details
Park hours	9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Greenhouses	10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed Tuesdays
Car fee	$8, weekends and holidays to Nov. 15
Summer fee	$8 daily, May through Labor Day

The state park page says the Camellia Greenhouse holds the largest collection of camellias in the Northeast. That makes the greenhouses worth a visit once the outdoor color has passed. Coe Hall, the Tudor Revival home of the Coe family, opens for seasonal guided tours. Its hours and tour fees are set by the Planting Fields Foundation, so check those separately.

On fall weekdays, the state park page lists no vehicle fee.

4. Bayville and Centre Island

Bayville is the drive for open water views, with Long Island Sound stretched out along the shore road.

From Oyster Bay, head north and west into Bayville. The road along the shore runs beside the Sound for much of the way. From there, Centre Island Road heads out along a narrow strip toward Centre Island, with water on both sides. It is flat and open, a good drive in the late afternoon.

Plan to enjoy this one from the car. The Village of Bayville says its beaches are for village residents only. A BAY sticker or guest pass is required year-round to park at the beaches, and cars without one can be ticketed. Town of Oyster Bay beaches nearby have their own resident rules, so check with the town before you plan a stop.

Head back the way you came, or return to 25A and continue east toward Cold Spring Harbor.

5. Cold Spring Harbor

Cold Spring Harbor is the far end of the loop, and the best place to turn around.

Follow 25A east past the Oyster Bay turnoffs and into Suffolk County. The road drops down to the water at the head of the harbor and becomes the village’s Main Street, lined with small shops. You will pass the fish hatchery near the village on the way in.

Cold Spring Harbor State Park, on Harbor Road, is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and collects no fees.

New York State Parks describes the state park as 40 acres of hilly terrain with scenic vistas of the harbor. It has a mixed hardwood forest with large oaks, thickets of mountain laurel, and good fall songbird watching. It is also the northern trailhead of the Nassau Suffolk Greenbelt Trail, so you can walk as little or as much as you like.

Cold Spring Harbor State Park, on Harbor Road, is open year-round from sunrise to sunset and collects no fees. It is the easiest stop on this list to fit around a busy day.

For the trip home, retrace 25A west for the full scenic drive, or head south to the highway if you would rather get back to Great Neck quickly.

Before you go: timing, fees and your car

The best day for these drives is a clear Thursday or Friday in early November, when every stop on this list is open.

• Pick the day. Sands Point Preserve is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. The Planting Fields greenhouses close Tuesdays. The Sagamore Hill museum opens Thursday through Sunday. Thursday and Friday are the only weekdays when all three are open.
• Watch the color. I LOVE NY says peak color in New York City and on Long Island has historically arrived in early to mid-November. Its weekly Fall Foliage Report shows where the color is now.
• Start early. Planting Fields and Sands Point Preserve both open at 9:00 a.m. An early start gives you the most daylight now that the clocks have changed.
• Charge at home. All five drives are short regional loops. A LYRIQ or OPTIQ that leaves home full will cover any of them easily. Our home charging guide covers the setup.

If your Cadillac is due for service, book it the week before. North Bay Cadillac service is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and closed on weekends. Call 516-487-2222 or use the service booking page. Sales hours are Monday through Thursday 9:00 to 8:00, Friday and Saturday 9:00 to 6:00, and Sunday 12:00 to 4:00.

For more drives and local guides, browse DriveWise Local Guides.