Meadow seen along the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

• Length: .4 mile  (1.25-mile loop with the Forest Trail from the parking lot)
• Time:  10 minutes for the official trail, 30 minutes for the round-trip hike from the parking lot
• Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

The Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site is located on the west side of the park near the Hudson River. It is only .4 mile long, but to get to it you must hike .3 mile from the parking lot at the Visitor Center, which includes a short hike along the Forest Trail. The U-shaped Meadow Trail branches off the Forest Trail and then reconnects to it farther down. At that point, if hiking the Meadow Trail is all you set out to do, return to the parking lot via the Forest Trail for a 1.25-mile overall hike.

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Trail Map (click to enlarge)

To get to the Forest Trail from the parking lot, head towards the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum on the paved path that runs between the short edge of a rectangular vegetable garden and the library. As soon as you get past the garden, take the path on the right that runs parallel to the long edge of the garden, away from the library. At the end of this path is a road with a wayside exhibit about security during World War II at Roosevelt’s home, Springwood.

Road at the southwestern end of the Home Garden leads to the Forest Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Forest Trail is on the left about 100 yards down the road. The bulk of the west-side trails are located in the valley near the Hudson River, and Springwood is on a plateau a hundred feet above, so it should come as no surprise that you must walk down a hill to get to the Forest Trail (and uphill on the way back). In fact, the road to the trailhead is probably the steepest hill in the park.

The Forest Trail officially starts on a gravel road that forks off from the paved road. An old guard station is at the intersection.

Start of the Forest Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Forest Trail continues downhill, but the slope isn’t nearly as steep as the road. It passes through an orchard before coming to the eastern intersection with the Meadow Trail, .15 mile from the guard house. Stay straight at the intersection to start hiking the Meadow Trail. The Forest Trail is to the right, though this is a little confusing since the directional signage at the intersection indicates that a right turn is the Hyde Park Trail. What you need to know is that the Hyde Park Trail is a longer trail that starts at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, runs through Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site, and continues north along the Hudson River to Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. At this point, the Hyde Park Trail and the Forest Trail are one and the same.

Eastern intersection of the Forest and Meadow trails at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Meadow Trail continues as an old road, only now it is covered with grass. It quickly comes to its namesake meadow, and there is a nice view of Springwood. The trail is level when running through the meadow.

View of the Springwood Mansion from the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The meadow and the level terrain don’t last long, and after a little over a tenth of a mile the trail enters the forest where it remains for the duration of the hike.

Typical terrain in the wooded section of the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Meadow Trail heads downhill for the next quarter mile, which is nearly all the way to where it ends back at the Forest Trail. The hill is only moderate in difficulty, but the topsoil is often washed away, exposing small ankle-breaker rocks, so watch your step.

Example of the rock-strewn surface of the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

About a tenth of a mile down the hill is a stone wall, and you can actually get a glimpse of the Hudson River through the trees from this spot. Despite being down in the Hudson River Valley, this is actually about as close as any of the west-side trails get to the river.

Glimpse of the Hudson River from the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Not long after passing the stone wall is a marsh area. I did the hike in late August, and there were quite a few mosquitoes in this area. I didn’t bother applying mosquito repellant at this time, but later when I was hiking the Forest Trail I grew tired of the pests and finally broke out the bug spray—and I hate applying bug spray.

Wetland along the Meadow Trail at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

The Meadow Trail ends a tenth of a mile past the wetland area, dead ending into the Forest Trail. Take a right if you wish to head back to the Visitor Center. Take a left if you want to continue on the Forest Trail, hike around the loop at its far end, and then return back to the parking lot. This adds 2.2 miles to the .7 mile you have already hiked up to this point.

Western intersection of the Forest and Meadow trails at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

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