Cuckoo For Jogging Maps: Why This Hotel Running Map is Different From Others

I have been to the Hyatt Regency Long Island quite a few times. It is one of my favorite staycation hotels. It is a category 2 hotel, which frequently has points and cash availability. Plus, it is close to an outlet mall, we get treated well there, they serve Lobster Benedict at breakfast, and they have a nice indoor pool and fitness center! Need I say more?

Here are some of my prior reviews:

Hotel Review, Presidential Suite

Hotel Fitness Center Review

The hotel is right on Motor Parkway, a somewhat busy thoroughfare, with little or no shoulder to walk or run on. In years past, when I asked for a running map, I was told that they didn’t have one because Motor Parkway was too dangerous to run on. I considered this a small drawback, and tried various workarounds, like running around the hotel’s large parking lot one time, and around a nearby gated community another time. I continued to explore the area and did find smaller roads that were more amenable to running.

Through further exploration, I found the the hotel was right next to a hiking trail. It is called Hidden Pond Park, and is part of the 200-mile Long Island Greenbelt Trail. I am not an experienced trail runner or hiker, so I did not attempt to go there on my own, but once I cajoled Dave into going for a walk (I mean hike) there with me, and the course was far more technical than either of us wusses were accustomed to (see this map).

I was more than a bit shocked on my next visit that Hyatt Regency Long Island – which never before had a running map for safety reasons – now had a running map (created by Athletic-Minded Traveler). What surprised me even more was that the fact that the running map leads guests through the hiking trails at Hidden Pond Park! 

I’m not saying that a hotel shouldn’t have a trail running map, I was just surprised to see one. Plus, the instructions make the course look easy, when it isn’t.

I’d like to drag Dave to go jogging on the trails there again. But, before I’d go, I think I’d download a more detailed map of the course.

What do you think?