Bennett Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Length: .2 mile (one way)
Time: 5 minutes (one way)
Difficulty: Easy

The Bennett Trail is one of three traditional hiking trails that branch off from the Roosevelt Farm Lane, a former road that connects Franklin Roosevelt’s Springwood estate at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site with Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-Kill cottage at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. The Farm Lane is 1.8 mile long, one way, so if you hike it and don’t have a ride waiting at one end, you have a 1.8-mile return trip ahead of you. Instead of hiking out and back on the Farm Lane and seeing the same things twice, the side trails provide hikers with a chance to cover new ground during one leg of the journey. They are ultimately all just walks in the woods and do not pass anything interesting or remotely scenic, plus they add about a half mile to the trip, so if your goal is just to get to and from the parks as quickly as possible, stick to the Roosevelt Farm Lane. Also keep in mind that bikes are allowed on the Farm Lane but not on the side trails.

Note that while all of the side trails have directional signage at their intersections with the Roosevelt Farm Lane, the trail names are not mentioned on the signs. However, there are painted squares on the signs, and the colors represent the different trails. Blue is the color for the Bennett Trail. You will also find blue paint splotches on the trees along the trail. These are known as blazes, and they serve as Hansel and Gretel breadcrumbs that hikers follow to stay on the correct path. They actually come in handy on the Bennett Trail.

Roosevelt Farm Lane Trail Map (click to enlarge)

From the eastern end of the Roosevelt Farm Lane at Violet Avenue / Highway 9G, the Bennett Trail comes .3 mile from the start. It is 1.5 mile from the western trailhead at Albany Post Road / Highway 9, which is where you will be starting from if you are at Springwood. From the Farm Lane intersection, the Bennett Trail runs about .2 mile before dead ending into the Newbold Trail. If your destination is Springwood and you want to stay on the side trails, take a right on the Newbold Trail. Take a left if you just want to get back to the Roosevelt Farm Lane.

Intersection of the Bennett Trail and the Roosevelt Farm Lane, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

If you set out from Violet Avenue to hike the Newbold Trail, there is no reason to take the Bennett Trail in the first place. The Newbold Trail-Farm Lane intersection is just a hundred feet from the Bennett Trail, so just get on the Newbold Trail to begin with. I don’t see any point in hiking the Bennett Trail unless you are simply looking to form a short loop hike from Violet Avenue and back.

As for the Bennett Trail itself, it covers fairly level terrain, and the trail surface is largely free of rocks and roots that can trip you up. It is narrow for most of its length, so be sure to check yourself for ticks whenever you brush up against greenery. For the record, I didn’t pick up any ticks on any of the trails in the park when I visited in late August.

Typical terrain on the Bennett Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Typical terrain on the Roosevelt Farm Lane at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Near the halfway point is a fork that is not on the map. There is a double blue blaze on a tree that stairsteps to the left. Double blazes indicate a turn, and the direction of the stairstep indicates which way to turn, in this case left. I have no idea where a right leads to.

Fork at the halfway point on the Bennett Trail when hiking north from the Roosevelt Farm Lane, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

There’s not much more to say about the very short Bennett Trail. As mentioned, it eventually dead ends into the Newbold Trail. There is a directional sign with yellow blazes on it attached to a tree. Yellow is the blaze color for the Newbold Trail.

Intersection at the northern end of the Bennett Trail with the Newbold Trail, Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

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