EPCAL recreation trail closed through the end of the month

The EPCAL recreation path is closed through the rest of January due to shotgun deer hunting on the property, the town announced today.

The annual hunt during the special firearms season, for shotgun and muzzleloaders, is open through Jan. 31 on weekdays. Riverhead officials started opening up lands at Enterprise Park at Calverton a few years ago to thin the herd, though this season, three-day slots that hunters had been given last year will be reduced to two-day openings.

A lottery was held in town hall in mid-December for the annual shotgun hunt, which drew a filled meeting room.

Suffolk County plans to partner with Riverhead Town to complete the unfinished trail. In December, it devoted $200,000 to close the loop.