The classic wooden vistas, sunlit fields and thick forest were the main focus of landscape architect Hans Jacob Ehlers' vision for the property in 1849.
The park's mown and gravel paths are variously lined with wooden benches, and provide access to the 120 acres (0.49 km2) of fields and forest, as well as river views.
[1] The distance from the Information Arbor at the beginning of the path to the Overlook Pavilion is about half a mile, and at a leisurely pace takes the average walker about 15 minutes.
[2] In 1849, the Astors and the Delanos commissioned German born landscape gardener Hans Jacob Ehlers to improve the grounds at "Rokeby" and "Steen Valetje", in the course of which he constructed a woodland path called the "Poet's Walk" in honor of Washington Irving and Fitz-Greene Halleck who are said to have strolled there.
Today, the visual integrity of the Park and its setting is protected by the Scenic Hudson Land Trust's conservation easements on the surrounding 800 acres (3.2 km2).