ABOUT THE PARK:
Hyde Park Trails Audio Podcasts - National Park Service
DIRECTIONS:
GPS Coordinates 41.76163, -73.90036
TRAIL MAP:
Hyde Park Trails/Mills-Norrie State Parks - Dutchess County, NY
HIKE DISTANCES:
All hikes combined with short drives from one to the other - 8.9 miles:
THE HIKE:
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Walk towards the buildings from the parking lot and... |
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... turn right on the road which is the Hyde Park Trail. |
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Continue across the bridge. |
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Keep following the Hyde Park Trail signs. |
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Eleanor's Walk is a 1 mile loop. The Top Cottage Trail is 1 mile each way out and back. If you are going to do both, do Eleanor's Walk first because it will be anticlimactic after the Top Cottage Trail. |
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You can call from your cell phone for the audio tour. I did not know there were MP3 downloads available until just now (link above). I would have preferred those over calling the number at every stop. |
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Back at the intersection, on to Top Cottage. |
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There are several bridge crossing. |
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If you are so inclined. |
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Lots of old stone walls everywhere. |
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Almost at the top ... |
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... at Top Cottage ... |
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... and views of the Catskills and Hudson Valley! |
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There might not be much in the way of views in the summer so this was definitely the right time to visit. |
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The Catskill Mountains |
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Heading back down. |
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We stopped at the FDR Visitor Center on the way out for our hiking patch since we hiked 5 of the Hyde Park Trails. |