President Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most beloved presidents of U.S. history, and for many years, also a resident of Long Island. From 1885 until his death in 1919, the 26th American president spent his time at Sagamore Hill on Long Island's Gold Coast in the town of Oyster Bay, leading the estate to be dubbed the "Summer White House" during his presidency.

Over 80 acres wide, Sagamore Hill contains a 1/2 mile wooded loop trail meandering from the Old Orchard Museum to the Eel Creek salt marsh all the way to the beach at Cold Spring Harbor. One of Long Island's prized grand estates, it was a family home before it was anything else. Manhattanite Theodore Roosevelt spent his childhood summers on Long Island's shores and decided that Oyster Bay was a prime area in which to raise a family with his first wife, Alice. Renowned architects Lamb and Rich began designing a modern (for the time) Queen Anne style house shortly after the purchase of the farmland in the Cove Neck Peninsula, and construction began in 1884.

Sadly, the work was halted due to the death of Alice Roosevelt in February, two days after giving birth to her namesake in February. Reportedly, the urgings of Teddy Roosevelt's family encouraged him to finish construction to provide a home for young Alice, and a relationship developed between himself and an old family friend Edith Kermit Carow just two short years later. The couple moved to Sagamore Hill full-time a year later, raising six children under the estate's roof and spending 30 years living in the splendor of the palatial home.

After President Roosevelt passed on, Edith continued to live on the estate, but awarded her eldest son and husband's namesake several acres to build what is known as the Old Orchard House.

Today, the house remains in lovely touring conditions that remain true to the century before ours. Modern-day amenities such as air conditioning has not been installed, making the third floor subject to closure at high temperatures during the summer. Sagamore Hill experiences cold and damp winters like the rest of Long Island, and good walking shoes are recommended regardless of the season touring. Volunteers at the grounds offer tours and work with educators throughout Long Island to expose children to the grandeur of a century past, and the Friends of Sagamore Hill, a site-specific chapter of the Theodore Roosevelt Association also support the estate.

Tours are available only by guided tour with a National Park Ranger or volunteer, from 10-4 from Wednesday through Sunday. The Visitor Center and Bookstore operates Wednesday through Sunday as well, but from 9-5. Tour tickets are only $5 for adults and anyone under 15 gets in for free; the Roosevelt Museum at Old Orchard is also on a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, but from 10-5. Admission to the Roosevelt Museum is free of charge. The grounds itself, though, are open to the public from dawn until dusk, and pets are allowed!

For more visitor information, contact 516.922.4788. The address is 20 Sagamore Hill Road, Oyster Bay, New York 11771.