A Walk Through Time

Eleanor's Walk

• The naturally stony soil produces a crop of fieldstone once gathered by land dwellers to build walls that defined their fields and property lines. Today, it is a place for you to stop and consider your surroundings.

A Walk for All Seasons

While FDR proclaimed the Tulip Tree his favorite tree, he nevertheless made special journeys to Hyde Park in spring when he learned that the dogwood was in bloom.

• While FDR proclaimed the Tulip Tree his favorite tree, he nevertheless made special journeys to Hyde Park in spring when he learned that the dogwood was in bloom.

Burial Site of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

FDR chose the location of his final resting place. It reflects his intense connection to the place of his birth and formative years, the launching point of his rise to public prominence, his refuge from the serious demands of the world, and the place where he found the resources to face head on the challenges first of polio, then of executive office in a time of dire national crisis.

• A garden surrounded by a tall hemlock hedge. At center is a green lawn, surrounded by beds of roses and peonies. A simple, large block of white marble marks the location of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt's graves.

Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill

The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill (ERVK) is an official education partner of the National Park Service offering national youth leadership and character development programs, human rights education, and advocacy initiatives that inspire and empower individuals, organizations and communities to build a just and sustainable world.

• A fieldstone single story building that is the offices and classroom for the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, an official education partner of the National Park Service.

Escaping the Mob

Lamenting his lack of private time on his trips from Washington to Hyde Park, FDR began talking about “building a small place to go to escape the mob.”

• Lamenting his lack of private time on his trips from Washington to Hyde Park, FDR began talking about “building a small place to go to escape the mob.”

For Love of the Land

The reminiscences of Daisy Suckley, cousin and close companion of FDR, remind us of a man who understood, valued, and preserved nature, sharing its restorative benefits with close friends, his Hyde Park community, and the entire nation.

• The reminiscences of Daisy Suckley, cousin and close companion of FDR, remind us of a man who understood, valued, and preserved nature, sharing its restorative benefits with close friends, his Hyde Park community, and the entire nation.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Franklin D. Roosevelt's plan for the first presidential library set a precedent that all future chief executives have followed since. FDR viewed the library as a solution to two problems—how to simultaneously preserve and provide public access to the records of his presidency. His was an attitude of “open government,” believing that the people of the United States were entitled to a better look at how their government was working.

• A stone building surrounding an open, central courtyard.

Multiple Homes, Multiple Purposes

Top Cottage was one of several homes used by the Roosevelts, yet it was never intended to serve as a full-time residence. It would be a place where he could experience solitude, or invite select companions.

• Top Cottage was one of several homes used by the Roosevelts, yet it was never intended to serve as a full-time residence. It would be a place where he could experience solitude, or invite select companions.

Old Beaver Dam

Eleanor's Walk

• All along the Val Kill trail you will encounter the endless pattern of change in nature.

Picnic Fireplace

The large fieldstone fireplace was a central feature of many picnics at Val-Kill where the Roosevelts hosted newsmen, movie stars, activists, civic leaders, school children, and heads of state.

• A large fireplace made of local fieldstone with a chimney.

Pond Wildlife

Eleanor's Walk

• This was one of his favorite places to drive and park his car for a rare moment of tranquility and enjoy a view of this small pond. What his casual observance may not have readily revealed is that this habitat supports an amazing diversity of amphibian and bird life, as well as an uncommon reptile.

Tennis Court

Built in 1950, the tennis court is one of many features offering recreational activity at Val-Kill.

• A block top tennis court with wire backdrops on each end.

The Climb to Top Cottage

• Situated at the peak of a hill, with a commanding view of Hyde Park, is Top Cottage, a modest home where kings and queens and heads of state met with the President, their discussions shaping modern history.

The Cutting Garden at Val-Kill

The cutting garden provided the Val-Kill cottages with fresh flowers in the spring and summer months. It featured raised beds containing a variety of flowers, surrounded by a tall arborvitae hedge. In the garden many of Mrs. Roosevelt’s favorite flowers grow, including tea roses, as well as peonies, asters, zinnias, marigolds, lantana, and phlox.

• A rectangular garden surrounded by a green hedge, with wood lined raised beds running the width of the garden.

The Doll House

Sara Roosevelt had this small but well-constructed cottage built in 1935 for her grandchildren. In 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt relocated the building to Val-Kill where it remains today at the edge of the pond.

• A small wood cottage with portico over a central door situated on the edge of a pond.

The Legacy of the Land

FDR had great input in the overall design of Top Cottage, which came from his life-long passion for history. He worked to preserve and interpret the past, making it valuable and relevant to future generations.

• FDR had great input in the overall design of Top Cottage, which came from his life-long passion for history. He worked to preserve and interpret the past, making it valuable and relevant to future generations.

The Orchard at Val-Kill

The orchard was created in 1931 and grew a variety of crops including raspberries, blueberries, pears, grapes, and apples.

• A group of apple trees surrounded by a rectangular post and wire fence.

The Playhouse

The Playhouse at Val-Kill was originally constructed in 1928 as a three-car garage and tool shed. In 1936, the building was expanded to relocate the forge for manufacturing Val-Kill Industries pewter wares from the adjacent factory building. By 1941, the building was used and known as the Playhouse.

• A single story white painted wooden structure with roof gently sloping toward the rear. One side has large windows and a single door. The other side has a double garage door.

The Pond

Val-Kill's water resources have long played an active role in influencing land use and spatial organization of the area. The bridge provides access to the east region of the park from Route 9G. The Roosevelts dammed the Fall-Kill in the 1920s and 1930s, changing the stream north and west of the Val-Kill cottages into a seven-acre pond.

• A wood plank bridge with rustic open railings crosses a stream. Beneath the bridge is a small concrete dam with water cascading over the edge toward a wetland and forming a large pond on the opposite side.

The Pond & Bridge

Hyde Park Trail: Eleanor's Walk

• Val-Kill established itself as the gathering and recreation place for the Roosevelt family. The Roosevelts enjoyed outdoor activities, and Val Kill offered plenty of opportunities—tennis, horseback riding, swimming, and hiking on wooded trails.

The Road to Top Cottage

When you are the President of the United States, there is no vacation from the immeasurable responsibility of the office. But the trail you are about to climb leads to a place that, for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came as close to a retreat as possible.

• When you are the President of the United States, there is no vacation from the immeasurable responsibility of the office. But the trail you are about to climb leads to a place that, for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came as close to a retreat as possible.

The Stone Cottage at Val-Kill

The stone cottage was the first structure built at Val-Kill. Architect Henry Toombs of Georgia designed the cottage, with substantial input from Franklin Roosevelt, who had very definite ideas regarding details of the Dutch vernacular building traditions in the Hudson Valley. Franklin offered to serve as general contractor, but the entire building was financed by Eleanor and her friends Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook.

• A one and a half story fieldstone cottage with steep gabled roof and large screened porch on one side. The opposite side has a connected terrace enclosed by a brick wall and a pergola with shuttered doors. The prominent, gabled end of the house has a flagstone terrace leading toward and around a swimming pool.

The Swimming Pool

The swimming pool provided FDR with one of his few opportunities for rigorous physical exercise. Constructed 1935, it replaced an earlier pool fed naturally by the adjacent pond. The new swimming pool was necessary to meet water filtration requirements established by FDR’s doctors when he became President of the United States.

• A swimming pool surrounded by a narrow flagstone path set among the grass with a large flagstone terrace between the pool and the house.

Time and Transition

Since the President’s death in 1945, the 1,525-acre family estate has undergone extensive transformation.

• Since the President’s death in 1945, the 1,525-acre family estate has undergone extensive transformation.

Top Cottage

Franklin D. Roosevelt built Top Cottage for use as a private retreat where, after his presidency, he could write his memoirs and history. But world events intervened. The simplicity of Top Cottage belies its significance as a gathering place for the Roosevelts, world leaders, royalty, and the president's administration who convened in this restful setting to witness a world disintegrating into war and imagine a future with nations united in peace.

• A one-and-one-half story fieldstone building with central block and recessed symmetrical flanking wings, steeply pitched gable roofs. It sits atop the wooded crest of a broad hill surrounded by a rough lawn and canopy of oak trees.

Val-Kill

From a place she called Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote books and newspaper columns, served as the first U.S. delegate to the United Nations, chaired the committee that drafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Val-Kill was a center of her development as activist, humanitarian, diplomat, and one of the most consequential leaders of the twentieth century.

• A residential complex including two houses, a swimming pool, stables and a garden set on the banks of a pond and surrounded by agricultural fields and woodlands.

Val-Kill Cottage

This former furniture factory was converted into a rambling, modest cottage for Eleanor Roosevelt in 1937, today known as Val-Kill Cottage. Following FDR's death in 1945, this became Eleanor Roosevelt's primary residence, frequently inhabited by grandchildren, friends, and associates.

• A two story rambling stucco structure with gabled roof lines, several screened porches, and many windows.

Val-Kill Cottages

• Stopping here for a moment gives you an opportunity to view the historic core of her former property, buildings with great stories to tell!

Welcome to Top Cottage

While never designed to be a residential home, Top Cottage nonetheless received an astounding list of visitors.

• While never designed to be a residential home, Top Cottage nonetheless received an astounding list of visitors.

Where Eleanor Walked

• Today, you can walk these woods just as Eleanor Roosevelt did each day during her time at Val Kill. This was often a starting point for Eleanor’s daily exercise routine.

Women's Rights National Historical Park

Many people who actively supported women’s rights supported the abolition of slavery. Several participants in the 1848 First Women’s Rights Convection in Seneca Falls, New York had already labored in the antislavery movement. The organizers and their families, the Motts, Wrights, Stantons, M’Clintocks, and Hunts, were active abolitionists to a greater or lesser degree. Frederick Douglass, noted abolitionist and former slave, attended and addressed the 1848 convention.

Stone Cottage Visitor Center

• Stone Cottage Visitor Center
• The Stone Cottage Visitor Center offers exhibits on the history of Val-Kill. Start your visit here, where park rangers and volunteers will help you plan your visit. Building hours and tour schedules change seasonally. The visitor Center remains closed from January 2025 through May 24th.

• Stone Cottage Visitor Center
• Stone Cottage Visitor Center and Exhibit

• Tour Val-Kill Cottage
• Everything you need to know about access to Eleanor Roosevelt's home and how to obtain your tickets. Tour days and times change seasonally, so check here for more information on planning your visit.

• Explore the FDR Presidential Library Exhibits
• The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is independently operated and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration, a federal agency.

• Close to Home
• Eleanor Roosevelt: Close to Home is an overview of the inspirational life of Eleanor Roosevelt and highlights her dedication as champion of social justice and racial equality. The film, which won the United Nations Association Film Festival Award in 2013, introduces viewers to Val-Kill, the home of this extraordinary American who became a world leader in human rights and creator of the UDHR.

• View the Park Film: Rendezvous with History
• The park film runs daily at the Henry Wallace Visitor & Education Center. The 140-seat theater features a high-definition film written and produced by Tom Spain Productions. The twenty minute film, "Rendezvous with History," features interviews with two of the Roosevelt grandchildren, Curtis Roosevelt and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as historic footage. There is no fee to see the film.

• Eleanor's Walk
• Get to know Eleanor Roosevelt—wife, mother, and grandmother; Hyde Park neighbor, activist, and diplomat—as you hike the paths she walked daily for recreation and quiet contemplation. See the historic buildings that hosted family gatherings as well as powerful dialog among national leaders. Explore the woodland trails that inspired many of Eleanor’s famous My Day columns.

• Farm Lane Trail
• Roosevelt Farm Lane is part of the historic road network that connected the Roosevelt Home, Val-Kill, Top Cottage, the Home Farm, and FDR’s tree plantations. From the 19th century through 1945, the flat, fertile lands along the Albany Post Road and Violet Avenue were used for growing crops, while the rugged,rocky and wet interior was only suitable for growing trees. FDR planted over 21 acres of trees were planted between 1912 and 1944.

• Top Cottage Trail
• This trail takes you to the highest point on the Hyde Park Trails. When you reach the summit, you will have made the same climb that kings and queens and a host of foreign leaders made during some of the most critical days of the 20th century. Top Cottage, FDR’s humble hilltop getaway hosted pivotal meetings that shaped world history. It also provided guests with a dramatic vantage point from which to view the natural beauty of the Hudson River Valley, FDR’s cherished home.

Eleanor's Walk

This self-guided audio tour of Val-Kill is part of the Hyde Park Explorer Series. Walk the grounds and hear the stories of this place. Wife, mother, grandmother; Hyde Park neighbor, activist, and diplomat—get to know Eleanor Roosevelt as you hike the paths she walked daily for recreation and contemplation. See the historic buildings that hosted family gatherings as well as powerful dialog among national leaders. Explore the woodland trails that inspired many of Eleanor’s famous My Day columns.

Top Cottage Trail

When you are the President of the United States, there is no vacation from the immeasurable responsibility of the office. But the trail you are about to climb leads to a place that, for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, came as close to a retreat as possible.