Westchester County has many state, county, local, and private preserves. Let us know your favorites! Also, if you have favorites in Fairfield, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Bergen, Hudson, NYC, and Long Island—we can include those parks as well. Leave a note in the comments below.
From the parks web site: “The Westchester County Parks system spans nearly 18,000 acres and offers some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. There are nearly 50 parks and recreational areas where you can hike, swim, bicycle, fish, skate and picnic, or just spend quiet time in the outdoors. Each weekend a wide range of educational, recreational, entertainment and sporting events are offered for people of all ages and interests. County Parks has the distinction of being the first County in New York State to become accredited by the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA).”
Links to individual parks: http://www.westchestergov.com/PARKS/Parks.htm
Map of Westchester County Parks: http://www.westchestergov.com/parks/pdfs/ParksMap2007.pdf
Here is a link to an older site that collected information about parks and walks in Westchester: http://thesalmons.org/lynn/walks/ Some of the site links are no longer working, but there is a ton of great information and description in each entry.