The trail descends past towering hemlock, maple and oak trees, along and over meandering streams as it snakes toward the Hudson River.

For visitors to the Franklin D. Roosevelt historic site, the trail through the surrounding forest is a welcome contrast to the rush of traffic on nearby Route 9.

''It's the woods. It's primeval,'' said Cynthia Carlaw of Rhinebeck, who hiked the trail on a recent afternoon. ''The first time I came, I loved it. That's why I'm back.''

The trail runs from the FDR site north to the Vanderbilt Mansion site. An-other section, recently obtained, connects with the Val-Kill site to the east.

Soon, hikers such as Carlaw may be able to continue north to the Mills-Norrie State Park in Staatsburg.

From NYC to Saratoga

The trails all are part of the growing Hudson River Valley Greenway system, which envisions a network of hiking trails up and down the Hudson River from New York City to Saratoga County.

Nowhere is that growth as evident as in Dutchess County, where a number of recent developments have extended trails or promise to carve new ones.

''We're pretty psyched,'' said Carmella Mantello, executive director of the Hudson River Valley Greenway. ''A trail is not just a recreational benefit, it's an economic benefit.''

Greenway, launched in 1991, aims to create a network of trails from Battery Park in Manhattan to Battery Park in southern Saratoga County. It would eventually include 222 miles of hiking trails and 147 miles of bicycling paths along Route 9.

''The Greenway trail is intended to be a combination of walking and bicycling trails,'' said Bob Wills, geographic information system coordinator for the Dutchess County Department of Planning and Development.

In Dutchess, a network already is taking shape.

The 2.5-mile Hyde Park Trail connecting the FDR and Vanderbilt estates was the first to be designated a Hudson River Greenway Trail in 1992.

Last month, Scenic Hudson, a Poughkeepsie-based nonprofit land preservation group, purchased a 336-acre wooded parcel that in-cludes a carriage trail connecting FDR's home, known as Springwood, and Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt's cottage. Improvement of the historic path is under way.

Further north, the Anderson School in Staatsburg is preparing to grant an easement through its rural property between Vanderbilt Mansion and Mills-Norrie State Park.

To the south, two riverfront parcels in the Town of Poughkeepsie recently were secured, providing key trail linkages.

Such progress in forging the regional trail puts Dutchess on the cutting edge, the state's top Greenway official said.

''We're very excited about the acquisitions,'' Mantello said. ''Dutchess is a very progressive county. Westchester and Rockland -- they're really coming along because they've seen the success Dutchess has had. Other counties are following in Dutchess' footsteps.''

Greenway officials point to the cooperation in Dutchess between various levels of government, and among agencies and public-spirited landowners as key to connecting the trail gaps.

It's no wonder the Town of Hyde Park last year qualified for a $100,000 federal Recreation Trails Grant that was administered through the New York state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

The Greenway's Web site lists the Hyde Park trail among its ''success stories'' in that it ''encompasses all the desired elements of a successful Greenway Trail, including river access, scenic views, access to historical sites and connections to downtown.''

For Larry Miller of Tivoli, who was enjoying the trail recently with Carlaw, the Dutchess trails allow for real appreciation of the woods and river.

''Everything on this side of the river is much more accessible,'' said Miller, who grew up in the Catskills.

Support provided

Hyde Park was provided technical support from Greenway and the National Park Service in applying for the $100,000 grant. ''The partnerships exhibited in Hyde Park will serve as an example for communities throughout the Hudson Valley,'' Greenway's Web site said.

The grant will fund the blazing of five miles of new trail in Hyde Park, establish five trail heads and add signs and improve five miles of existing trails.

''I think the kiosks will introduce a lot of new users to the trail,'' Hyde Park Councilwoman Victoria Kane said.

''Over time, there will be so many places to access the trail,'' said Jay Levine, park development specialist for Scenic Hudson.

Work was under way recently on the kiosk at the trail head directly across Route 9 from the FDR home. This kiosk marks the western entrance to a trail leading to the Val-Kill cottage off Route 9G.

Volunteers on the Hyde Park Trail Committee are pitching in to build the kiosks and improve and mark the trail.

Committee member Bill Volk said use and enjoyment of the trail between Springwood and Val-Kill will not end when the snow begins to fall.

''It's nice for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing,'' Volk said.

The recent Scenic Hudson purchase heralds the spirit of cooperation that is piecing together the Greenway trail.

''Even though this is Scenic Hudson property we're standing on, it's the town that will be improving it,'' Levine said during a visit to the Route 9 head of the Val-Kill trail.

Extension plans

Plans are afoot to extend the trail between the Vanderbilt Mansion and Mills-Norrie State Park.

Property owners and developers of new subdivisions are granting permission for trail easements.

''Momentum is the key thing here,'' Wills said. ''There's a lot of pieces in place.''

The county planning department is ''facilitating'' the acquisition of Greenway trail easements between property owners and land trusts or municipalities, Wills said.

For example, John Golden, developer of the under-construction 23-lot Huyler Glen subdivision between the river and Route 9, this year granted a trail easement on the approved subdivision plan.

It was Golden and his wife, Gloria Golden, in 1990 who granted a 1.6-mile trail easement on another piece of property between the FDR estate and River Road. Both easements were granted to the nonprofit land preservation organization Winnakee Land Trust.

''John Golden has been the biggest supporter,'' Wills said.

The legal agreement for an easement typically absolves the property owner of liability and responsibility for the trail.

The Anderson School in Staatsburg is prepared to grant to the Town of Hyde Park easements along the river and closer to Route 9.

''The Greenway trail is actually part of our master plan,'' said Neil Pollack, executive director of the school. ''It goes the entire the length of the property along the railroad tracks.''

The residential school, which serves children with autism and other developmental disabilities, recently obtained a $15,000 state grant to develop ''a sensory trail'' along the Route 9 property boundary.

Art work to be added

With the help of the Mill Street Loft, a Poughkeepsie nonprofit multi-arts education center, the sensory trail will include works of sculpture and other art ''that you could touch and would be tactile,'' Pollack said.

Elsewhere in Dutchess, Greenway trail easements continue to be pieced together.

In the City of Poughkeepsie, waterfront developers have expressed willingness to provide strips of land for the trail, Mantello said.

And recent developments in the Town of Poughkeepsie will provide two important links of the Greenway Trail: designation by the state of former Hudson River Psychiatric Center riverfront land as Quiet Cove Riverfront Park and a donation by Vassar College of five acres just south of Marist College.

The Vassar donation is for construction of the Hudson River Rowing Association boathouse for use by several local high schools.

Vassar College, which owns 15 acres at the site, is designating the Greenway link the Boathouse Row Walking Trail.

The decision by Gov. George Pataki to create Quiet Cove Riverside Park includes an agreement by the county to maintain it at a cost of $1 million. That includes designating and maintaining the stretch of the Greenway trail through the 27-acre park.

For its detailed vision of a regional trail along the Hudson River, the Greenway agency was honored Nov. 8 by American Trails, a national nonprofit advocacy organization based in Redding, Calif.

The 2004 ''Partnership Award'' from American Trails was given to the state Greenway agency for its production in June of the 117-page Draft Greenway Trail Vision Plan.

Mantello said the national award lends even more momentum to put the draft plan into action. ''The potential is endless,'' she said.

John Davis can be reached at jpdavis@poughkeepsiejournal.com

On the Web

- Go to www.hudsongreenway.state.ny.us to view the Hudson River Valley Trail Vision Plan.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site: www.nps.gov/hofr

- Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: www.nps.gov/vama

- Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site: www.nps.gov/elro

- New York state parks: www.nysparks.state.ny.us/parks