Naumkeag

My wife and I drove a little over an hour from the Hudson Valley to see The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show, and it was absolutely worth the trip! Parking and shuttles were plentiful and well organized. We parked in town near the Red Lion Inn and only waited about five minutes for a shuttle to the estate. I imagine weekends get much busier, but visiting on a weekday made everything easy and relaxed. The event itself is a beautiful walking tour through the Naumkeag gardens, all lit up with thousands of glowing pumpkins. Most of the displays are made with foam pumpkins (which makes perfect sense—real ones wouldn’t last the season), but they’re done so creatively that you barely notice. The walk through the grounds was peaceful and enchanting. We never felt rushed or crowded and were able to take our time enjoying the displays and lights. Just note: the paths have some hills and uneven spots, so it could be challenging for anyone with mobility issues. It reminded us of a similar event at an estate in the lower Hudson Valley—just on a slightly smaller, more intimate scale. All in all, a wonderful evening out and well worth both the ticket price and the drive. Not scary at all, so it’s perfect for families—kids will love all the glowing pumpkins! 🎃

We attended their Halloween event. You buy tickets in advance online. Parking in Stockbridge was easy and the shuttle bus runs frequently. We never waited more than 5 minutes. The displays are well done. The path leads you through the woods, a greenhouse, and the residence. We walked through in about 45-60 minutes, but you could easily spend 90 minutes there as there is so much to see. The path has some steps or mild grades to walk up and down. Total distance of the walk is likely 1/3 mile, maybe a little more. There is a snack shack for drinks and snacks. The bathrooms are closed but plenty of portapotties available.

Beautiful Gilded Age home of the Choate family built 1885 and well preserved. Gorgeous maintained gardens on 48 acres of land. Tour guides are well versed and very informative. Enjoy the glory and many acquisitions of the Choate family home as they expanded their magnificent abode from the Gilded Age to modern times, when they decided to preserve the home and grounds in their entirety to the Trustees landmark organization. **$20 admission - tours are included ** Thank you!

Absolutely stunning. The mansion is beautiful, but the real star is the gardens that surround it. Some reviews from Halloween or Christmas visitors were underwhelmed, likely because they went at night when it’s too dark to fully appreciate the landscape—no surprise there. I highly recommend going in late spring or early summer to truly take in the scenery that makes this place so special. The staff was also friendly and helpful. A must-go!

We went to the Incredible Pumpkin Show. Lots of fun for young and old. It took about an hour to go through. You have to take a shuttle (school bus) from downtown to get there. We grabbed a bite and some wine at the Lion's Den after. Great time.

Very pretty amazing place for family and loved ones. The pumpkins where amazing. A bit pricy overall but a good meet up with family and friends 🧡

We loved this place, a little bit of the Gilded Age history. Interesting learning about the family that built this house. The gardens and the architecture were gorgeous.

Very nice place for a day trip. House and garden are² very well maintained. Garden tour was very informed, I will recommended for everyone. Place is lockeded on the top of hill with butiful views.

Another really underrated museum and estate in the Berkshires, the gardens and grounds are amazing. You have a wonderful view of the valley below and the house has a lot of stately charm. The tour guide we had was fantastic and is probably one of the best ones I've had for a museum tour. He was informative but kept it light. I didn't feel like he was flooding the zone with information to flex. There's some Asian/Chinese flavor in the home and the surrounding gardens, as the Choates had a keen interest in Asia. There's significant walking up and down, so keep that in mind, and not a ton of parking. This summer cottage is worth a visit, especially if you're interested in estates during the Gilded Age.

Beautiful Gilded Age home of the Choate family built 1885 and well preserved. Gorgeous maintained gardens on 48 acres of land. Tour guides are well versed and very informative. Enjoy the glory of the estate, and many acquisitions of the Choate family home as they expanded their magnificent abode from the Gilded Age to modern times, when they decided to preserve the home and grounds in their entirety to the Trustees landmark organization. **$20 admission - tours are included ** Thank you!

Not even an hour from albany. I had no idea this place existed. So fun. We went during the day but at night all the pumpkins are lit up. Ill definitely check it out next time at night. The house it not open for touring during the month of Oct is what I gather from the website. I'd probably come back smother time of the year to see the rest of the place.

Came here for the Pumpkin Town trail! Parking was fairly easy as shuttle busses pick you up from a designated location in town. Our tickets were scanned once we were in line and before getting on the bus. The drive was about 4 minutes from the town hall parking lot to the Naumkeag House. BEAUTIFUL carved pumpkins through the home, both inside and out. The trail took about an hour to walk though, minus the star gazing we did. Concessions available also! Warm cider and a donut along with a cider mimosa was a nice treat

This Gilded Age summer cottage in the Berkshires is absolutely beautiful. You can only tour part of the interior, but it gives you a great idea of what it was like over 100 years ago. The grounds are the big star here. There are multiple gardens throughout the property. Make sure to bring your walking shoes--the walk from the parking lot below up to the house can be steep. It is not handicapped accessible--if you have a dynamic disability and sometimes use mobility aids, you might need them. I wore my AFO on the day I visited and much appreciated having it. The Chinese Garden is, in particular, a serene hidden spot on the property. Take some time to just absorb it all. I do have a membership to The Trustees, so the self-guided tour was free. I highly recommend the membership, as it will gain you access to other Trustees properties, as well as companion historic homes and museums.

What a great experience visiting the Winter Lights display for Christmas 2024! The house was beautifully decorated and the piano player was truly magical. The gift shop, the staff , this whole experience was truly inspiring and I will drive again for 2 hours just to experience it again! Great job to the organizers!

Highly recommend a visit to this gilded age mansion and gardens. There are so many unique things about this house, and the one that makes the biggest impact is the fact that when it was donated to the Trustees of the Reservation, it was donated with all of its belongings...from the monogramed bed linens, to the China, to the bed pans, to the artwork, to the books in the library and the private study of its wealthy owner, to the garden tools in the greenhouse and barn. This makes it so much more realistic and easy to imagine what it must have been like to live here during its heyday. Plan to spend a minimum of 90 minutes, but one could spend a half day easily. There is a little snack bar /cafe on site, and if you plan ahead, bring a blanket and a picnic basket, you could find a lovely spot to have lunch on the grounds. A highlight of the house are all of the porches...so many. Highly recommend the "backstairs" tour where you can see the very nice servants quarters, the nursery, the governess's room, the bedrooms, the butlers pantry. The views from the house are spectacular, even on a cloudy day when the clouds hang low in the valley. The gardens are spectacular...everything from natural wildflowers, to formal Chinese garden, to manicured rose garden, to a lovely succulent garden, and a very nice fountain, a unique tea garden, and the blue steps are not to be missed. The staff are so friendly, and so happy to share their knowledge. Be sure to visit the unique and lovely gift shop in the former music room. It is more like a mini museum shop...so many interesting things!

Came here for the pumpkin show! It was a great time. Beautiful pumpkins all around. Also offer a concessions stand offering a lot of different beverages and snacks.

We had an amazing tour of the garden. The guide was so knowledgeable and engaging. I highly recommend spending time here.

Awesome holiday lights 2022. Easy access via shuttle from Main Street and a beautiful light display. Lights refreshments and beverages enroute as well as a small firepit area to warmup!

Beautiful grounds and interesting history. The staff there were incredibly friendly and helpful. They were knowledgeable about the family and the mansion. The grounds were beautiful with a variety of pathways and gardens to enjoy. There was seating in all the gardens to enjoy moments of peace and the view. There's a cute gift shop, as well as a small cafe. I highly recommend for a relaxing few hours. Depending on the season, remember to bring sunblock and bug spray. Wear good walking shoes as well.

Absolutely beautiful. We went to the winter lights and it was breathtaking. You walk through and it is amazing. You can also go through the house which is all decorated for Christmas. Very easy to get to, there is a shuttle bus from Main Street by the Red Lion Inn. This is something you MUST experience!

1. Annual Pumpkin Show - Highly recommended as you take a tour behind the mansion at all the Jack-O-Lanterns and there are TONS of them -- all shapes and sizes. Light displays, music, mechanical stuff going on -- I don't want to spoil all the surprises but this a perfect thing to do with the family outside during October. 2. House Tour -- TAKE THIS! One of the great, restored "Cottages" of the Berkshires. You learn about the family who once owned this 19th century gem and marvel at all the original furniture and decor that has survived all these years. We opted for the House Tour and wandered the gardens on our own. Perhaps next time we'll go for both.

My family attended Winter Lights. It was easy to find the parking lot. A school bus shuttle took us to the site. It was a short trip and wasn't overcrowded. The light show was spectacular. We especially enjoyed the walk through the woods. However, the magical atmosphere was completely ruined by loud disco music at one end of the display and terrible Christmas music at the other end. There were quite a few people but not uncomfortably crowded with the exception of a few small spaces. We appreciated the refreshments and loved seeing a small part of the historic house. The shuttle back to our car was quick and efficient. We saw no staff or volunteers who could answer questions and received absolutely no information about the house. We didn't even receive any info about how to donate. No signs, no QR code or hand out anywhere. I would love to have had some basic historical info and music that enhanced the magical setting.

It's a beautiful house and their gardens are breathtaking. Take the tour of the house

It was ok. I expected more for 20 admission. There was some landscaping but no guides so you know what you are looking at. The Asian garden was odd It was much smaller than I thought it would be Worth a visit if in the area but not a destination

Beautiful house and extensive gardens on a stunning hillside site. Loved everything about it, from the turreted and shingled exterior to the giant oak door and paneling inside to the half-dozen garden spaces outside. The views from inside across the valley are amazing, but it's also great to look at the family objects in the rooms. We took the garden tour of about an hour, and it added so much to our experience--don't miss that opportunity.

My review is specific to the pumpkin festival. For $22-27 per person, I was disappointed that 95% of the carved pumpkins were plastic. My husband and I were also under the impression that we would get a tour of the first floor of the house, which wasn't the case. It took us 90 seconds to walk the first floor, which was set up with more plastic pumpkins / candles and some fake skeletons sitting at a table. We were charged for warm apple cider at the beginning of the tour (our choice) but after taking the full "tour" I feel the least they could have done is throw in a beverage. The website description does not properly describe what you as the customer are getting for your investment.

Visiting this historic house was an amazing experience. I recommend it highly to anyone visiting the area. I took a guided tour of the house and did a self guided tour of the grounds and gardens. Our tour guide was a lot of fun. Her personality combined with fun details about the history of the house made for a great tour. It's really worth taking the inside tour at least once. The house is beautiful and has been maintained quite nicely. Some tours include the servants quarters upstairs. We learned not only some fun facts about the family that lived here but historic facts about the time period that were reflected in the different rooms of the house. The view here is absolutely breathtaking. Be sure to set aside some time to view the gardens and sit out on the back porch.

If you're going to emulate a culture, at least do some research. The Chinese garden was insulting to anyone who knows anything about Asian culture. Haikus are Japanese. Blue roofs are Japanese. And what's with the rickshaw lounge chair?? Totally culturally insensitive and ignorant. $15 dollars per head is ridiculous as it stands. Yes, your gardens are nice, but not nice enough to justify that amount just to walk around for half an hour. Lady who was giving the tour was rude as well, at first insisting on speaking to us through a screen door. No way I'd do this again. The Berkshires has many other fine scenes to enjoy without this garbage racist garden.

What a beautiful amazing place. Terraced gardens, water fountains feeding down steps and a steep hill. You can get snacks if you need, but this is not a place for food. Amazing views at the Choate family house. Well worth the visit if you are in the area. And in the summer, on thursdays 6-8 they have music concerts on the lawn.

This is such a beautiful place - inside and out. The tour is interesting and informative. The gardens are lovely and provide a pleasant walk. Try to get a pass from a local library !

We went to Winter Lights last night ( 2nd night if 2021 season). We had an almost 3, a 13 yr old and a 14yr old in our group along with a few adults. Everyone had a great time. The concession station outside the house has cookies, popcorn, donuts, hot cocoa, hot & cold cider, eggnog and a few adult choices. The paths were well marked and the lights were beautiful. Staff was stationed around the grounds to help out and answer questions. Having never been here ( even for a normal tour of the grounds) we were very impressed and the house has been so well maintained by the trustees. What a gem

This is for the Pumpkin Show. Yes, there were jack-o'lanterns, pumpkins, and gourds. But for $20, I expected a little excitement, not just a walk around part of the garden looking at cute jack-o'lanterns, pumpkins, and gourds. The walk was expected to take an hour. It took me 15 minutes. Don't waste your money.

I loved the house tour as it was more about the family with some history of the lifestyle of the time.

Naumkeag is probably one of my favorite guilded mansions. Admission includes either the garden tour or house tour - we picked the house tour since you can wander the grounds on your own. The house tour was more than your usual perfunctory guilded mansion tour - we saw multiple areas of the mansion and the narrative was informative but also entertaining. I recommend calling ahead to coordinate your visit with one of the tours.

The hallmark piece of Fletcher Steele's many landscaping projects. The Naumkeag is the summer cottage of Choate family in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Berkshires. The cottage and its gardens is located on 46 acres of land (originally 49 acres), overlooking an endless field of beautiful green grassland. There are two main pieces to visit: the Naumkeag house and its gardens ($15 admission includes both). We took the free house tour (~ 1 hour), our guide (David) was very informative and detailed at giving us as much context and history about Choate's family lives as possible. We learned about the incredible interior design, decors, interesting histories and stories behind each set of paintings and tapestries, even little secrets about wallpapers! Much of the house items are treasures of art dated back to 16th - 17th centuries, it was such a treat for an art enthusiast - me. We also learned about Mabel Choate's (late owner) many acquaintances - John Singer Sargent, Fletcher Steele. There is a 10 minute video at the end of the tour which outlines the design and construction of each garden of Naumkeag. I highly recommend sitting down for this as it's a fitting introduction before heading to the famed gardens. The garden is absolutely beautiful at the dawn of summer, the blue bridge is a masterpiece combining both engineering and artistic elements into one. The Chinese Garden is filled with an oriental air and the Afternoon Garden is blossoming with beautiful flowers. A walk among the gardens is such a relaxing and amazing experience. The best part of it is that Naumkeag has been expertly maintained by the Trustee of Reservations since Mabel's passing and almost every bit of it is preserved in its original condition.

After years of seeing Naumkeag's gardens and home in various books and publications, it was a thrill to finally see it in person! Naumkeag is a classic shingle sided Gilded Age 'cottage' from the firm McKim, Mead, and White. Additionally, it is filled with the original furnishings, courtesy of the final generation of the home's owners, the Choates (the senior Choate was the lawyer to many of the Gilded Age's corporate giants). Th docent was personable and gave a nice tour ofthe home. To be on the property over the course of a brisk Autumn day, when the picture windows of the public rooms framed the glorious colored landscape of the Berkshires, was divine. The garden is also iconic to mid-20th century landscape design. Although a bit rough around some of its edges, it was also superb. The owners of the property, the Trustees for Reservations, is doing a fine job of upkeep. I look forward to returning to Naumkeag when we can experience the garden in all of its Spring glory.

A spectacular way to spend a few hours in the beautiful Berkshires!! I took the garden your and the house tour and loved every minute! I'd love to learn more about the family and I wish I could see more photos. The restoration is amazing and the preservation is excellent.

We went on a garden tour at Naumkeag House and it was interesting and beautiful. Our tour guide, Scott, was engaging and had many historical, architectural, and artistic facts about Naumkeag and its gardens. The tour lasted an hour. To see the inside of the house one must go on another tour, which starts each hour on the half hour. We will need to go back for the house tour because I am certain it is fabulous!

The grounds were beautiful and there was a little bit of everything for everyone. Definitely a picturesque spot! Get the tour of the house or else it won't be the same trip without it!

This place is quite a gem. After reading reviews and comments left by visitors on several websites, I thought I might be bored because I'm not the artsy type. Wow, was I wrong. This place is beautiful! We took the self guided garden tour with the supplied recorded device. Then we took a tour of the home with volunteers. You must see to appreciate. We are sitting on the patio of the cafe eating lunch catered by the Red Lion inn. I've attached a photo of the view from our table. Great place! Great time. Breathtaking beauty!

If you are interested in and knowledgeable about Gardens, Naumkeag may be interesting from a historical perspective. The gardens however are not very interesting as they stand right now. The view is nice and the house may be interesting but after viewing the gardens I did not take the house tour. Also the area outside was quite buggy. I would recommend the Mount instead

The first thing you need to do is call ahead to make sure they are open all day. I checked the website and there were no events scheduled but when we got there at noon we were told they were closing at 2pm because of an event. I told the clerk it wasn't mentioned on the website so do yourself a favor and call. We had enough time but others might want to linger a bit longer. The house itself is great, it still looks like someone lives there. It's a true cottage, not in the Newport style more New England style. The gardens look like they are in the process of being restored and they are doing a nice job. This is a hidden gem. Go!

It's amazing to think this home was considered a cottage since its a massive mansion. The grounds are lovely and have an amazing view of the mountains. We took a waking tour of the inside and it's a wonderful look into the history, architectural nuances and changes over different time periods. The home is the seafaring name of Salem, MA where Mr. Choate was born. A lovely stop.

Fun little stop along the way...the gardens are pretty and the house tour was nice. Julie was a great tour guide