Jaynes Hill has a rich history.  Walt Whitman was born at its foot and was reputed to have climbed it several times.

It was originally called by the Indians as Manetto.  It was also called Oakley and High Hill (which is the designation on the USGS Quad).  Jayne’s Hill, honors an area pioneer family. 

An 8-mile circular trail leads from the Walt Whitman home to the summit.  (the proprietors of the museum were unaware of trail when I quizzed them and I could find no signs until I reached the summit which has lots of pictures of the poet).  The easiest approach is to follow West Hills Road from the museum up the hill before turning  south on Reservoir Road and following it to the end where a trail leads to the clearly marked high point.

The Walt Whitman museum itself consists of a small house and a brand new museum extension across a busy highway (Route 110) from the sprawling Walt Whitman Mall.

There was nobody in West Hills the park -- in the middle of suburban New York City on a Wednesday afternoon.

The boulder on the summit had been vandalized so that its plaque was missing.  From the summit you could see 15 to 20 miles including the Atlantic Ocean to the south.

This summit (along with the peaks in New York City itself were formed by a "terminal morraine" when a glacier sat here thousands of years ago.

Links:

• Mapblast Street Directions from Walt Whitman House
• Newsday Hiking/Walt Whitman Trail
• Newsday Animation of Formation of Jaynes Hill
• Newsday History of West Hills
• Newsday Biography of Walt Whitman
• Official Suffolk County West Hills Park
• Melville History
• Book on High Points of Each County