Duke Farms

Casual hiking on level, easy paths through a beautiful historic estate.

6.1 miles or much less. Trails are easy and mostly level; surface varies between grass/wood chips, gravel, and paved. Sunny, most paths not wooded.

• Shorter: Plenty of short options.
• Longer: Add some interior paths in, and/or do the entire section behind the Orientation Center.
• Optional: Certain paths are OK for biking. Bike rental available.

Our two cents: 

Best suited for short hikes or easy strolls, and is a good place for new hikers. 

This is not a rustic hiking area – it’s manicured, more “walking” than “hiking”, and very popular – but  even for diehard hikers this might be worth a visit.

There’s a lot here – easy scenic paths, a nice visitor center, a café, and lots to explore and photograph. In addition to extensive grounds there are many buildings, sculptures, and water features.

Of note is an accessibility shuttle to assist those with limited mobility but this now requires reservations.

*Winter hours as 12/2020: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. CLOSED WEEKENDS. Check park site for updates.*

Update 11/2018: Intersections are no longer numbered as in the description below. We’ve left them just for rough guidance. Added fall foliage photos to the winter ones.

Map:

There is now a Duke Farms online locator map or print one out ahead as we didn’t see the larger paper maps available anymore.

The park is marked with signposts at major intersection but with such a large network of unmarked paths it’s possible to get turned around.

Books:

Not in any we know of.

Parking: N40.54576° W74.62491°

From Rt. 287 N – Exit 13B, 28W, L on Finderne Ave, R on Dukes Pkwy, L on 206 S, R on Dukes Pkwy W, L into lot.

Large paved lot plus overflow parking on dirt, all can fill quickly on nice weekends and closes when full.

Restrooms:

In the Farm Barn Orientation Center plus several composting toilets around the property (marked on the map).

Hike Directions:

It’s easier to wander and create your own route on the fly using the map instead of trying to follow detailed turn-by-turn directions.

Back when the intersections were numbered it was possible to attempt a route description, and this route gave an idea of hike length and scale. We’ve left the info here.

This 6.1 mile route is basically a counter-clockwise loop around the majority of the property:

• Follow the Pedestrian Path from the lot/Orientation Center to cross the road. (The majority of the trails start across the road).
• Paved to #7, R through the Hay Barn, Quick L
• At #34 – Around the Nursery Loop and back to #34
• R on Railroad Way (paved)
• #33 to #29 Coach Barn (under construction and closed but we walked around)
• #28
• #27
• #26
• #25
• #24 and then out-and-back along Wood Duck Lake
• West Way (paved)
• #16 and Fox Hollow Lane (Need to cross the bridge to pick up this loop). This is the only minor hilly area we encountered)
• Cross under the bridge
• #18
• #19 and walk over to look at the Old Foundation. Walked down the steps into the lawn area.
• R to #13
• Old Foundation Lane to #14
• Eagle Gate Path to #12 then #11
• Habitat Lane to #10
• Hay Barn Meadow Path to #7
• R on the paved path back to the Lot

Optional extension: There are trail loops behind the Orientation Center. We did one section which added 1.2 miles – #1 to #6 to #5 to #6 to #1. It’s not overly exciting, so we’d recommend only doing it to add miles to your route.
—
Hiked: 11/4/18. Wandered around in the opposite direction for 3.8 miles.
Hiked: 2/7/16. Trail Blog “Duke Farms in Winter“.