Experience Gilded Age style and splendor at this marvelous estate renowned for its elegant gardens and rare Berkshire “cottage.”
Plan Your Visit
- Overview
- Ideas for Your Visit
- Admission & Hours
- Directions & Contact Info
- What You'll Find
- Facilities & Accessibility
- Property Map
- Regulations & Advisories
Overview
Naumkeag is a public garden and historic home in the heart of the Berkshires, Massachusetts.
This 48-acre architectural masterpiece is, at its heart, a family home. In 1884, Joseph Choate, a prominent New York attorney and U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, and his wife, Caroline, hired the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White to design a summer retreat. The result was a 44-room shingle-style home, where several generations of the Choate family lived until daughter Mabel Choate bequeathed it to The Trustees in 1958.
Naumkeag is now closed for the season, apart from Winterlights running November 25 – January 7.
Ideas for Your Visit
When you visit this National Historic Landmark, carve out time to explore the superlative gardens created by Mabel Choate and noted landscape architect Fletcher Steele. Take in the Blue Steps, a series of deep blue fountain pools, flanked by four flights of stairs and a grove of white birches. Elsewhere walk through the stunning beautiful Afternoon Garden, Tree Peony Terrace, Rose Garden, Evergreen Garden, and Chinese Garden, each of which evinces beauty while revealing the playful, inventive spirit of collaboration between Ms. Choate and Mr. Steele, which played out over the span of 30 years.
Admission & Hours
Naumkeag is now closed for the season, apart from Winterlights running November 25 – January 7.
To schedule a group tour, contact naumkeag@thetrustees.org.
We welcome school and youth groups for experiential educational programs. Please visit our Education Page for details and to initiate a visit request.
Directions & Contact Info
5 Prospect Hill Road
Stockbridge, MA 01262
Telephone: 413.298.8138
E-mail: naumkeag@thetrustees.org
Directions
From Points East:
Mass Turnpike (I-90), Exit 10. Take Rt. 102 West approx. 5 mi. into Stockbridge. Turn right onto Pine St. and bear left onto Prospect Hill Rd. Follow for 0.5 mi. to entrance and parking (20 cars) on left.
From Points West:
I-90 East to Exit B3, NY Rt. 22 South. Take 1st left onto Rt. 102 East. Follow approx. 7.5 mi. to Stockbridge. Turn left onto Pine St., then bear left onto Prospect Hill Rd. Follow directions above.
What You'll Find
Naumkeag encompasses a bucolic country estate including its 44-room “cottage” and 8-acres of formal gardens, as well as acres of meadows and farmland. Due to its age as well as steep, uneven terrain and multiple sets of stairs, Naumkeag is not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible.
Hours change seasonally as we host variety of annual programs, including the Daffodil and Tulip Festival, the Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show, and Winterlights. Parts of the house may be open depending on the time of your visit. The gift shop and concessions are open seasonally.
Facilities & Accessibility
Due to the age of the site and its steep and uneven terrain, Naumkeag is not ADA compliant and is not wheelchair- or stroller-accessible.
There is no parking on-site during the Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show and Winterlights, except during the sensory-friendly early hour from 4-5 pm. Shuttles running every 10-15 minutes will bring visitors from the downtown Stockbridge parking area to Naumkeag and back again. Those with limited mobility, compromised immunity, or who are otherwise unable to ride the shuttle should purchase 4 pm tickets. No vehicles will be permitted on-site after this time. Drop-offs and walk-ins cannot be accommodated. Contact aduquette@thetrustees.org with questions.
Restrooms are available when the property is open.
Property Map
A self-guided landscape tour brochure provided with admission to house and/or gardens. Download a trail map here.
Regulations & Advisories
- Dogs are not allowed.
- Mountain biking is not allowed on the reservation.
- Naumkeag is not ADA-compliant, due to the age of the site. There are many stairs, a steep hillside, uneven footing, etc.
- PHOTOGRAPHY: We ask that photographers or their clients become Supporting Level Members before conducting portrait sessions at this property. Click here for more information, and to request permission for any portrait sessions. The Trustees of Reservations reserves the right, and may give permission to its designated photographers and videographers, or to outside media, to photograph or video visitors and program participants at all its facilities and properties.
