oktoberfest pumpkins

Oktoberfest at Appleton Farms

The spirit of Oktoberfest is taking over Appleton Farms for the weekend! We’ll have a special Oktoberfest-inspired menu and food offerings both Saturday and Sunday along with lawn games, traditional German Hammerschlagen, a stein-holding competition, local breweries on site, and Wunder Kapelle, a German oompah band playing through the weekend. Read More

oktoberfest pumpkins

Oktoberfest at Appleton Farms

The spirit of Oktoberfest is taking over Appleton Farms for the weekend! We’ll have a special Oktoberfest-inspired menu and food offerings both Saturday and Sunday along with lawn games, traditional German Hammerschlagen, a stein-holding competition, local breweries on site, and Wunder Kapelle, a German oompah band playing through the weekend. Read More

Macbeth smaller logo

Theater on Castle Hill: Macbeth presented by Theater in the Open and Firehouse Center for the Arts

Theater in the Open invites you to “Come & experience a drum-beating, hair-raising, blood-pumping, two-faced production of William Shakespeare’s Tragedie of Macbeth. This Fall we will bring our ensemble together to create our Macbeth in five days, using a “quick-raise” rehearsal process which combines original Elizabethan theatrical practices with modern… Read More

Full Moon Over Dunes

CraneExplorer Hike: Family Full Moon Hike in the Dunes

CraneExplorer events are designed to appeal to the little ones* while giving their parents a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Crane Estate. These hikes cover less ground to accommodate smaller strides and have more frequent stops to look, listen, and learn from our CraneOutdoors guides. Not just… Read More

Wolly Hudsonia on Castle Neck (photo credit T. Barrieau)

CraneOutdoors: First Day Hike in the Dunes

Join us to celebrate the New Year by getting out in nature! Winter at The Crane Estate has much to offer, and while just about everybody on the North Shore has probably been to Crane Beach, the dunes of Castle Neck are a much less-explored world unto themselves. Offering one… Read More

snowy owl

CraneOutdoors: Snowy Owl Prowl

Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, the owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge. Join us as we hike the dunes in search of these magnificent birds. Unlike most owls,… Read More

snowy owl

CraneExplorer: Family Snowy Owl Prowl

Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, these owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge. Join us for a family snowy owl prowl as we hike the dunes in search of… Read More

sunset essex bay

CraneOutdoors: Sunset Hike to Cedar Point

There’s no better excuse to explore Cedar Point—the western-most part of the Crane Estate—than a hike at sunset. This two-hour adventure in a lesser-known part of the property has it all… A stroll through the beautifully manicured gardens of the Great House A hike down the Woodland Trail leading… Read More

snowy owl

CraneOutdoors: Snowy Owl Prowl

Wide-open coastal sites are the location of choice for wintering Snowy Owls; common perches are dunes and salt hay staddles. In winters past, the owls have been frequent visitors to the Crane Wildlife Refuge. Join us as we hike the dunes in search of these magnificent birds. Unlike most owls,… Read More