This will be the first part in a short series of blogs consisting of photos I took on a bike ride around the lake. Lots of people have their own opinion about the lake so I thought I would go investigate for myself. I grew up in this area but never really took the time to appreciate the lake before. I made sure to photograph both the good and the bad so you can get an honest picture of what it looks like. This post will be about my first stop, Ronkonkoma Beach, located on the corner of Rosevale and Kirk.
Entrance to Ronkonkoma Beach - Summer 2015
So this is the entrance. As you can see there's a crosswalk to nowhere on the right, which unfortunately is a recurring theme here. Aside from that, the nice thing is the entrance signs are large and visible to motorists, and the trees have been cut back so they're not covering the signs. That might sound like a strange thing to point out, but as you'll see later on in this series, that's not the case at every park around the lake. I was also happy to find out that I didn't have to pay any kind of entrance fee arriving on a bike.
Ronkonkoma Beach & Recreation Center - Summer 2015
The beach and facilities are actually pretty nice; clean and well maintained. While I was there, there were people using the tennis courts, families having picnics, and a fair amount of people down on the beach reading or swimming. There was also a playground but no one was using it at the time. All in all the park is pretty pleasant and not full of drug dealers as some would have you believe. I mean, maybe there are at certain spots and at certain hours, but I didn't see any here.
Ronkonkoma Beach - Summer 2015
I made my way down to the water and found that it's clearer than I expected. This beach is kept in pretty good shape and isn't full of driftwood and garbage like some other parts of the lake. The downside though is that swimming is sometimes prohibited due to the blue green algae blooms. However, while I was there the life guard was on duty and plenty of people were in the water. The Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Organization reported in early July that the water is currently safe for swimming, which is a reassuring thing to hear.
On my way out I decided I'd take a picture of the bus stop just outside the park. This is part of Suffolk County Transit's S57 line that runs from around 7:30a - 7:30p between Smith Haven Mall and Sayville. As you can see, there really isn't much to it; no benches, no shelter, and no timetables. Most people driving by wouldn't notice there's a stop here at all. This would be a good site to improve like they did on Portion Rd.
In summary, I'd say this beach is nicer than some people make it out to be. The sand is clean, the facilities are in good shape, and there aren't any shady people hanging around. The one drawback is of course that the water isn't always safe to swim in, but even then that doesn't mean you can't go to sit and relax on the beach or to play a game of tennis.
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