Hyde Park: Roosevelt Sites, Vanderbilt Mansion, & More

The attractive town of Hyde Park, located just north of Poughkeepsie, is one of our favorite places to run in the Hudson Valley. The 16-mile Hyde Park Trail System includes the Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, and Vanderbilt Mansion (all administered by the National Park Service) and Mills-Norrie State Park just north in Staatsburg. This map is a very useful resource on the trails!  Some of our top running recommendations are below. Several of these routes can be combined!

Farm Lane Trail: 3.6 miles out and back. Gorgeous run on dirt woods roads that connect the FDR NHS and the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, through the Roosevelt Farm & Forest.

Roosevelt Woods. 3.3 miles out and back. At the Roosevelt NHS, a bit more challenging run฀on฀dirt-surfaced฀woods฀roads฀with฀some hills.

Eleanor Roosevelt NHS: Can do 3 miles combining Eleanor’s Walk and Top Cottage Trails. Hilly.

Vanderbilt Mansion Grounds. Vanderbilt Loop is 2.5 miles and is a bit hillier. Great views of grounds, Hudson River. Also a nice run from Riverfront Park to Bard Rock (3.2 miles out and back, partially overlapping with the Vanderbilt Loop. You can also run along River Rd., a quiet riverside road, for 0.7 miles south from Riverfront Park.

Pinewoods and Hacket Hill. Combine these two woodland walks for a 2-3 mile loop.

Mills-Norrie State Park. Located 4 miles north in Staatsburg, this 1,000-acre park has several miles of hiking trails. A lovely road/trail run is along Old Post Rd., through the historic town of Staatsburg, and then around the roads and grounds of Mills Mansion. For trail running, the White Trail is a lovely riverfront path between the Environmental Center and Mills Mansion, with nice water views. It’s more of hike/trail run, with some tricky footing.(3.5 miles out and back).  The interior Blue Trail is hillier, combining paved roads and wood paths (2.4 miles one-way).