QUIET COVE on the Hudson River n at Poughkeepsie, NY: this park is beautiful sitting directly on…read morethe eastern shore of The Hudson River just a few minutes north of Marist College. Tucked away off of the southbound side of Route 9 also known as Albany Post Road and ( in this area) South Road. There is a big well kept sign at the entrance. FOLLOW THE SIGNS. The road is a one-way loop with bicycle lane. PICKLE BALL:The upper park has 4 well maintained, fenced in Pickle Ball courts. FREE!! PARKING: The upper parking lot has enough parking for players and guests. BATHROOMS: The upper lot has an ACCESSIBLE Porto potty that is LGBTQ friendly. It looks clean from the outside ( but bring a hygiene kit just in case). Follow the well maintained roadway down the hill to reach the river. My dog and I park in the upper lot and walked down. SAFETY: because the roadway is set up as a one-way loop, we felt safe walking. THE RIVERFRONT: Quiet Cove is scenic and serene with spectacular 180' views of the Hudson River. Pack a picnic lunch or your morning tea and take in the views. Worth noting that EVERYTHING IS designed and maintained to the highest standards. SEATING: A variety of viewing and seating means everyone can enjoy multiple views. It is quite- save the cadence of the rowing crews' voices and an occasional bark ( my dog enjoying himself), young and old can find a quiet nook to take in the water view and fresh air. DOG FRIENDLY: on a mandatory 6 foot leash. Two dogs were fetching sticks from the river at a tucked away bit of sandy coastline. They had a blast. Enough trash bins and a dog waste station with reminders to clean up after yourself. This has become my new favorite park in DUTCHESS County because it is so manageable.

Loved the view. Excellent place to watch the sunset. Park closed at sunset. So it might be 6 pm…read morein October or 8 pm in the summer. There are two small parking lots. First is by pickle ball courts. Second is immediately after. If you have a handicap sticker there are a few spots through the one way tunnel.

Beautiful park to see the foliage!…read more Our family visited Berean Park on October 19, 2024. It's a great park to enjoy gorgeous Fall foliage palette! I only wish we had more time to hike big loop trails. We definitely recommend Berean Park for moderate hiking with beautiful foliage views!

4/8/2021 Out of the…read morecenter of Highland, you'll come across Berean Park located off Route 44/55. There is plenty of parking to find, but it expects to be fairly packed during spring/summertime. There is a lake just as you leave along with a playground. Going toward the woods, you'll come across a trail that is marked red. Some of the signatures are not clear as we happened to go off the trail for a bit, but we managed to get back on. Walking further, the lake is still visible until crossing to another trail that is called the white trail. There are a lot of hills on this part, which eventually leads to another trail. I'll have more info about it in my update.

I didn't know about this park until I did an online search, well, it's nice. For history and/or…read moretrain enthusiasts, even more fun. The parking lot is big enough to fill cars in. When we went, it was relatively quiet. There is a playground, benches, and my favorite, a pavilion. There is also a hill featuring steps that leads to the top with a view along with a panic table. During the visit, you may ask, "what's that building?" In the early days, this parking lot was used for the old Hyde Park Train Station, (1851-1981) once owned by New York Central Railroad. You can also enter the building on certain days. Since Amtrak and CSX are routed through here, expect to do some waiting for trains to come by. With that, looking at the river and walking around is a great way to kill time. The Hyde Park Trail also cuts through this park with the map showing it, which is a long trail covering different parks and trails.

Not much to see here, except for the fact that there is a scenic overlook most people probably…read moreignore. I went into the area under the awning using the stairs then came down using the handicapped ramp and towards the end slipped and fell (on my but and non-driving leg. But yes, I'll be fine.) Otherwise, there was no one to look in after this place and the place was deserted. I saw some benches and tables as well as swing sets for both adults and children, but nobody was around to talk to. There was only one other car in the parking lot but even then they left after the Amtrak train (which has a secluded line) came through.

For anyone who is a park and nature lover, this is a place to stop at. Easily spotted from the main…read moreroad, there is plenty of parking to fill up. There is a sign in the parking lot which leads to the trails, which at the beginning a map is provided. Get ready, the signature is well marked, and it's very easy to not get lost. All of the trails cover less than a mile with a mixture of scenery, not with a lot of views but enough to soak in nature. There is some tripping hazard along the trail with rocks and tree roots, so please take caution. There are also tables, a pavilion, playgrounds, a swimming pool, and also a disc golf course. Summer Day Camp is provided at Hackett with these names mentioned. Hackett has a lot to offer in all areas, don't miss out.

Really cute park with lots of easy hiking trails at a former apple orchard…read more The views are really pretty especially for sunset time and it's located at the highest point in Poughkeepsie. I love that throughout the trail you have little signs explaining fun facts about the animals you find there and insects such as frogs and fireflies. Really cool to learn while you walk. Came here in November for some photos but there wasn't too much foliage. Can't imagine how beautiful the park must be during spring with their apple blossoms and being able to Apple pick too! The cool thing is this park is run by a nonprofit, The Friends of Peach Hill and they're always looking for volunteers to help maintain this beautiful place. Porta potties available and beware of ticks. Signs are posted everywhere when you first walk in and I took my very first one home from just walking around and being in low cut grass area. That's the only downfall and main thing I can't evennnnnn deal with in the north east. Other than that, cute park with lots of picnic tables and areas where you can enjoy creation.

My kids and I have been going to Peach since they were little -we love it ! Great place to walk the…read moredogs ,get a vigorous walk in if you so choose or have a picnic. They have done an amazing job maintaining the trails and creating positive changes throughout the years. We get to see wildlife, birds and flowers and the view at sunset is incredible! Ive never seen trash on the ground or stepped in anything unpleasant-and the people I've encountered are generally friendly. The only thing to take into consideration is the bugs / ticks but hey we do live in the hudson valley . Thanks to those who work tirelessly to keep Peach going for us ,its part of our family history!

A fun little excursion. Didn't have time to walk the whole thing, but it offers some nice views…read moreand plenty of room for pedestrians and bikes. Was a popular place when I was there, and some food trucks too, so you can immediately put back all the calories you burned off walking.

Definitely worth a stop for the views and to stretch your legs. We parked in a lot near entrance,…read moresigns said paid parking, but machine was covered? We had no ticket or issues when we returned to vehicle. Restrooms near start of walkway (open & clean), walk was slight incline, but paved. The views were very nice once over the Hudson. There were food trucks & a gift shop, but nothing was open due to Holiday.

3/18/26: The Vanderbilt Mansion is a must see when visiting Hyde Park!…read more You first drive up a winding driveway, till you reach the visitor's center to purchase tickets. Should you have a National Service Park Pass, you'll be able to enter for free. It's best to call at 9 AM just to be sure there's availability. Inside the center, you'll find restrooms and a large display of the Vanderbilt family tree. Our docent Mike first started the tour at the visitor center. Mike was very knowledgeable and had wonderful wit. The visitor center used to be the guest house for Mrs. Vanderbilt's bachelor friends during their stay over. Mike walked us over to the main estate. The outside of the estate is stunning. We then entered the beautiful estate. All the furnishings are absolutely gorgeous. The last part of the tour is walking down the servants stairs. However, the best photo view is probably looking up from the bottom of the staircase. Hope you enjoy the photos. Photos are allowed, but without flash.

Nice grounds to walk around and picnic as well as gardens and a mansion from the gilded age…read more Arriving on a Saturday afternoon, parking was a a breeze and grounds were open. We just missed the 3 pm Mansion tour (free with national park pass) so waited an hour for the next one. We walked over to the garden area and saw some roses and other flowers, all 5,000 varieties planted by volunteers and staying true to the types back in time. Two friendly volunteers were stationed there, readEra, chat and provide information. The mansion tour was informative and interesting, largely due to the ranger tour guide. If you like history or that era, you'll likely enjoy the tidbits shared. There aren't many places to sit inside the house and even I had a hard time standing for so long after a long day. They did have elevator access for those who have trouble with mobility. The info center doesn't have a store anymore but has a few artifacts.

5/21/21 This hot and…read moremoggy day brought us to this trail, with an endless amount of shade along the way. We started on the 9G end and walked toward Route 9. There are not a lot of views in the distance you'll get along the way but will notice turns and hills with endless views of the woods. The main trail is on a gravel path followed by two additional dirt trails indicating yellow and red. Both of these trails end up back at the gravel trail if you choose to go that way. We had a great experience going round trip enjoying the scenery. The name of the main trail is called the Hyde Park Trail which connects with other trails along the way, which a matter of fact connects with River Front Park (see my other review). Please, I strongly encourage you to bring bug spray because we screwed up. It's very bad along the whole journey. Also, check for ticks.

We really enjoyed our afternoon hike at Roosevelt Farm Lane Trail. This park came to my attention…read morewhen I was doing a search for local parks with carriage roads. Not only are the roads here in good condition, but most of the road has great shade from the trees, so even if it is hot out you are not suffering too much. I am not a tree expert or anything, but I think there are a lot of pine trees in these woods because the smell of pine was strong throughout our hike, which was really nice. Located in a few places on the trial were information plaques with QR Codes, so make sure you have a QR reader app installed on your phone before you visit so you can scan the code and listen to the guided tour on your phone.

I have to say, Hyde Park has a lot of cool parks and trails to check out, but this one stands out…read morethe most in terms of the best signature, decent good views, and peace and quiet. Most of the trails contain gravel along the journey along with some occasional tall grasses, rocks, and tree roots along the way. Speaking of all that, bring bug spray and check for ticks. There are five trails: Red, Green, Orange, Blue, and Yellow with the Red doing a big loop with the other trails having a dead end or connecting with the others (see a photo of the map). There technically are three starting points one at the Red trail end, Terwilliger Road, and also at the Yellow, on Route 9. The signature and location isn't that clear. The green trail comes out at a small road with no parking lot, instead in a neighborhood on Spruce Road. Beware of yellow paintings on tree branches which mean it's private property. All of that mentioned, enjoy the nature at Winnakee.

Did the tours of the three historic sites in the Hyde Park area. We were lucky as it was Fee Free…read moreday so we were able to visit the Presidential library as a bonus. The house holds so much history and covers Franklin Roosevelt's life from childhood to his older years. He is buried on the grounds. The Rangers give a detailed history and answer questions concerning the estate.

First time visiting a presidental library and opted to tour the FDR home because we have the…read morelifetime park pass. Yes, sometimes I'm cheap . While we waited for the tour, we walked the grounds which includes a working vegetable garden and rose garden that was being re-done. FDR and his wife are buried there. The house is very cool because it takes you back in time and the guide was very knowledgeable. It's a nice historical stop on a great piece of land. Beautiful in fact! Parking is free, nice visitor center with a cafe and short movie that runs every half hour. Enjoy!