You ever feel like Long Island is just one giant strip mall connected by a series of aggressive lane changes? It’s exhausting. But then you turn onto a quiet road in Mill Neck, pull into a small gravel lot, and suddenly the sound of the Long Island Expressway is replaced by the "clack" of bamboo. Honestly, the Humes Japanese Stroll Garden is probably the best-kept secret in Nassau County. It isn’t just a park. It’s a four-acre (now technically part of a larger seven-acre parcel) exercise in slowing your heart rate down.
Most people stumble upon it by accident. They’re looking for Shu Swamp or just driving through the Gold Coast to look at houses they can't afford, and there it is. A small sign. A red cedar gate.
The Kyoto Connection in Mill Neck
Back in 1960, John Portner Humes and his wife Jean took a trip to Kyoto. Humes was a big-deal lawyer (later the U.S. Ambassador to Austria), but apparently, Japan changed him. He came back and decided he needed a piece of that zen on his estate. He didn't just plant some cherry blossoms and call it a day. He hired Douglas DeFaya—born Shoju Mitsuhashi in Hokkaido—to transform a literal "wooded corner" of his property.
DeFaya wasn’t some corporate landscape architect. He was an artist who used the terrain of the North Shore to mimic the mountains of Japan. He spent four years, from 1962 to 1965, moving rocks and shaping the earth. You can feel that effort when you walk through the gate. It feels intentional.
Why the "Stroll" Part Matters
In Japanese gardening, there are different styles. You’ve got your zen rock gardens where you just sit and stare. Then you have stroll gardens (kaiyu-shiki). These are designed to be experienced as a journey.
The path at Humes is basically a metaphor for life—or at least a very peaceful mountain hike.
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- It starts with a climb.
- The stepping stones (tobi-ishi) are uneven on purpose.
- They force you to look down, to be present, and to watch your step.
- Then, the path opens up to a "mountain peak" before descending toward the pond.
It’s about "miegakure," or "hide and reveal." You don't see the whole garden at once. You turn a corner and—boom—there’s a stone lantern covered in moss that looks like it’s been there for three centuries.
What You’ll Actually See (and Hear)
One of the coolest spots is the Chikufuan tea house. The name means "bamboo wind tea house," which is a vibe if I've ever heard one. It was actually prefabricated in Taiwan in the 1960s and shipped over. It looks out over a pond that’s supposed to represent the ocean.
The water features here are clever. There’s a waterfall that was restored in the late 90s, and the gravel paths are meant to symbolize streams flowing down from the mountains. It sounds a bit "woo-woo" until you’re actually there, and then you realize the sound of the water is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for your mental health.
Pro Tip: If you go on a Saturday, there’s often a flutist or traditional musician playing. It makes the whole "otherworldly" thing feel way more real.
The Moss and the Bamboo
If you’re a plant nerd, this place is a goldmine. There are at least 11 different species of moss. Most people try to kill moss in their lawns; here, it’s the star of the show. It creates this deep, soft green carpet that absorbs sound.
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Then there’s the bamboo grove. Massive 40-foot stalks that creak when the wind hits them. It’s a very specific sound—sorta like a wooden ship in a harbor.
The Struggle to Keep it Green
It wasn't always easy to keep this place open. After Ambassador Humes died in 1985, the garden went through some rough patches. The Garden Conservancy stepped in for about twenty years to keep it from falling apart. Eventually, the North Shore Land Alliance took over in 2017.
They’ve done a lot of work recently, including putting up a massive six-foot deer fence. If you know anything about Long Island, you know the deer will eat anything that isn't made of concrete. The fence has allowed the native woodland plants and the Asian shrubs to actually grow back without being mowed down by a hungry buck.
Today, the garden is part of a 150-acre "conservation corridor." You can actually walk from the garden through the Humes property and link up with Shu Swamp Preserve. It’s a massive win for local biodiversity.
Planning Your Trip (The Logistics)
Look, you can’t just show up here on a Tuesday afternoon and expect to get in. They have very specific hours, mostly because it's managed by a non-profit and they want to keep the impact on the land low.
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2026 Schedule:
The garden is generally open from May 2nd through November 1st.
- Saturdays: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
- Sundays: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
It costs about $15 for non-members, though they often do donation-based entries for certain events. Honestly, just become a member of the North Shore Land Alliance; it gets you in for free and helps keep the moss alive.
A Few Ground Rules
- Wear real shoes. No flip-flops. The "path" is literally rocks and dirt.
- Leave the dog at home. It’s a meditative space, and Fido’s excitement doesn't really fit the "mountain retreat" aesthetic.
- No bathrooms. Yeah, you read that right. Go before you get there. There are no facilities on-site.
- Parking is tight. The lot at 3 Dogwood Lane is small. If it’s full, don't just park on the grass; the neighbors in Mill Neck are... protective of their lawns.
Why You Should Actually Go
We spend so much time looking at screens that we forget what it's like to just be somewhere. The Humes Japanese Stroll Garden doesn't have Wi-Fi. It doesn't have a gift shop. It just has a very old tea house, some very green moss, and a path that tells you to slow down.
It’s one of the few places on the North Shore where you can genuinely feel like you’re miles away from the suburbs. You've got the Japanese maples turning bright red in the fall, the shakuhachi music in the spring, and the feeling that, for twenty minutes, the world isn't quite so loud.
Next Steps for Your Visit:
- Check the Weather: The garden is best on overcast days when the colors of the moss really pop.
- Register for a Tea Ceremony: The North Shore Land Alliance hosts these periodically (like the one scheduled for June 6, 2026). They sell out fast.
- Combine your trip: Park at the garden, do the stroll, and then hike down through the Humes Preserve to Shu Swamp for a full afternoon of North Shore nature.