Poets' Walk Park facts for kids
Poets' Walk is a beautiful park located in Red Hook, New York, right by the Hudson River. It's a special place that celebrates how nature and poetry are connected. When it was designed in 1849 by Hans Jacob Ehlers, he wanted to highlight the amazing views, sunny fields, and thick forests.
Exploring Poets' Walk
The park has paths made of mown grass and gravel, perfect for walking. You'll find wooden benches along the way where you can rest and enjoy the scenery. The park covers 120 acres (about 0.48 square kilometers) of fields and forests, offering wonderful views of the river. The way the trees and stone walls are placed makes the park feel like a series of outdoor "rooms," just as its designer, Ehlers, planned long ago.
Walking from the start of the path, called the Information Arbor, to the Overlook Pavilion is about half a mile. Most people can walk this in about 15 minutes at a relaxed pace. The walk back is a little bit uphill and takes a bit longer. From the Overlook Pavilion, you can continue to the Summerhouse, which is another 20-minute walk one way. You can also walk from the Pavilion to the Flagpole, which also takes about 20 minutes one way.
A Look Back in Time
The land where Poets' Walk is located today was originally part of a large area given to Colonel Pieter Schuyler way back in 1688.
Around the year 1800, General John Armstrong Jr. owned a farm here. He was married to Alida Livingston, whose family owned a famous estate called Clermont. General Armstrong later sold his farm and served the country as a Senator and then as a Minister to France. Around 1811, he started a new estate nearby called La Bergerie. Here, he raised special Merino sheep that were given to him by Napoleon!
In 1818, the Armstrongs' daughter, Margaret, married William Backhouse Astor Sr.. Around 1835, William Astor bought the 728-acre estate as a summer home. Margaret Astor renamed it "Rokeby".
In 1844, William and Margaret Astor's daughter, Laura Eugenia Astor, married a businessman named Franklin Hughes Delano. As a wedding gift, William Astor gave the couple 100 acres of the "Rokeby" estate. This part became known as "Steen Valetje," which means "little stone valley" in Dutch.
In 1849, the Astor and Delano families hired a German landscape gardener named Hans Jacob Ehlers. He helped improve the grounds at both "Rokeby" and "Steen Valetje." During this work, he created a woodland path and named it the "Poet's Walk." He did this to honor famous writers like Washington Irving and Fitz-Greene Halleck, who were said to have enjoyed walking there.
Many other famous writers have visited the park over the years, including William Cullen Bryant and Jack Kerouac.
Today, the beautiful look of Poets' Walk and its surroundings is protected by the Scenic Hudson Land Trust. This group helps make sure the land stays natural and beautiful. The park is open every day from 9 AM until dusk. Scenic Hudson also helped design the information kiosk at the start of the path and the rustic Overlook Pavilion, which offers some of the best views in the park.
