Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

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.

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.

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

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.

Stone Cottage Visitor Center and Exhibit

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.

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.