Hyde Park Heritage Greenway Trail System

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White Trail at Mills-Norrie SP. Photo by Trish Ellis

River at Pineswood Park

Bench on Red Trail, Hopeland Area

Blue Trail at Hopeland Area

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The Hyde Park Trails committee is an active public-private partnership that: develops, promotes, and maintains walking trails that are open to the public; sponsors annual trail events to promote healthy lifestyles; provides interpretive information about relevant history and natural history; and reaches out to the community to support the trails through volunteering for trail monitoring, work days, events, Scout projects, and other activities.

The Hyde Park Trails (HPT) committee was established in 1988 with a mission to provide public hiking trails along the Hudson River, and linkages to the countryside that provide recreational, scenic, and health opportunities to the local community as well as visitors to the Hyde Park area. The first section of the Hyde Park Trail to be completed linked two National Park Service sites: the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Vanderbilt Mansion. Opened in 1991, this 3.5-mile link was one of the first trail segments designated by the Hudson River Valley Greenway, taking a first step toward the Greenway vision of a trail along or within sight of the Hudson River, extending from New York City to the Capital Region and beyond. The National Park Service provides technical, planning, and programming assistance to the HPT committee, as a partner and advisor, through the NPS Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program.

The HPT system currently includes about 34 miles of trails, including trails within 3 National Park units, a State Park complex, 3 Town Parks, and a land trust nature preserve, connected in large part by trail easements across private lands, as well as on-road linkages. All trails in the Hyde Park Trail system were designated National Recreation Trails by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 2006, and their formal designation as Hudson River Valley Greenway Trails was underway in 2018.

TRAIL SECTIONS:

Dominican Overlook Trail

Length: 1.85 miles.

Relatively easy 1.85-mile walk on a woodland path with magnificent views of the Hudson River and Esopus Island. The trail starts at the field on Thompson Lane at Mills-Norrie State Park.

More details online.

Eleanor's Walk (Val-Kill) and Top Cottage Trails

Length: Val-Kill Loop Trail is a 1-mile loop. Top Cottage Trail is 2 miles round trip

Moderate walking on woodland paths with some steep hills on both Eleanor's Walk (red) and Top Cottage Trail (tulip-tree leaf marker). Parking is at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site parking lot. Val-Kill entrance. Visitor Center information desk and restrooms are available seasonally.

More details online.

Hackett Hill Park Trails

Length: Woodland and Guinea Community Trails (1.1-mile loop)

Woodland trail (green) easy walking, Guinea Community trail (red) moderate, rough surface. Park office information desk and seasonal restrooms. Parking is at the Hackett Hill parking lot, on East Market Street.

More details online.

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Trails

Length: Roosevelt Woods Trail is 3.3 miles round trip.

Henry Wallace Visitor Center info desk, restrooms, and seasonal cafe are available. Moderate walking on dirt-surfaced woods roads with some steep hills. Tulip-tree markers and green blazes. Parking is at the main parking area for the FDR National Historic Site.

More details online.

Mills-Norrie State Park

Length: Mills-Norrie Blue Trail is 2.4 miles one-way. Mills-Norrie White Trail is 1.75 miles one-way.

Enter and park at Mills Mansion, and walk down the paved road toward the river. Moderate to steep walking. Rolling hills on paved and woods roads with river views. Mills Norrie State Park Website.

More details online.

Pinewoods Park

Length: Pinewoods Nature Trail loop is 0.7 miles around.

Easy 3/4 mile walk on a woodland path. Follow orange blazes. Parking is in Pinewoods Park, next to the playground.

More details online.

Roosevelt Farm and Forest Trails

Length: Roosevelt Farm Lane Trail is 3.6 miles round trip.

Bicycling is permitted from March to November on Farm Lane. No biking on Red, Yellow, Blue, or any other trails. Easy walking on gravel-surfaced woods roads with gently rolling hills. Parking at Route 9 trailhead, just north of Hyde Park Steakhouse & Brewing Company, or at Route 9G across from Val-Kill entrance.

More details online.

Winnakee Nature Preserve

Length: Winnakee Nature Preserve Trail is 1.3 miles round trip.

Easy to moderate walking on dirt-surfaced woods roads with rolling hills. Parking is in the back of Pete's Famous Cafe and Grill on Route 9, or at the end of the Terwilliger Road extension. Solid lines are measured loops, dashed lines are other open trails.

More details online.

Reviews

Patricia Ellis

Aug 16, 2024

Woods walking in different parts of Hyde Park

The trails in the three National Historic Sites (Vanderbilt Mansion, FDR Home, and Eleanor Roosevelt) are well-maintained and lovely strolls through the woods with some water/marsh views depending on the specific trail. The trails in Roosevelt Woods are considered their own National Recreation Trail in addition to being part of the Hyde Park Greenway Trails NRT. My brief comments on the other trails in this complex - Hackett Hill: closed when camp kids are there, which they were on my visit. Pinewoods Park: short loop trail with convenient river access, well-maintained and easy to follow. Winnakee Nature Preserve: Overgrown with head-high vegetation in places, the parking lot is abandoned and grassy. Mills-Norrie SP: Nice trails, well-maintained, White Trail by the water was especially nice. Dominican Overlook Trail: Long trail through the woods. Hopeland Area: Lovely meadow/woods loop, good birding spot. Hiked August 14 and 15, 2024 by Patricia Ellis (formerly “Janie Walker”)

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Allowed Uses:

Other Activities

• Snow, snow play general
• Wildlife viewing / observation

• Certified as an NRT
  May 31, 2006