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
- 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.
Advance passes are strongly encouraged, with on-site sales possible if capacity allows.
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
Advance passes are strongly encouraged, with on-site sales possible if capacity allows.
Public Garden Operating Hours (starting Thursday, May 27):
Thursday-Monday 10AM to 4PM with last admission at 3PM
Admission Fees
- Nonmember Adults: $20
- Nonmember Child (3-12): $5
- Children under 3 are FREE
- Admission is FREE for Trustees Members. Verify with your Member ID to receive free admission when checking out.
Discounts are available as part of the EBT Card to Culture Program. For more information, please reach out to tickets@thetrustees.org.
Please email naumkeag@thetrustees.org for more information.
Directions & Contact Info
5 Prospect Hill Road
Stockbridge, MA 01262
Telephone:
In season (June 1-Oct 8) 413.298.8138
Off season (Oct 9-November 27) 413.298.3239 x3008
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.
Facilities & Accessibility
Bathrooms are now open.
Accessibility features
Due to the age of the site, Naumkeag is not ADA compliant. There are many stairs, a steep hillside, uneven footing, etc. However, we do have accessible parking spaces at the front of the house, an accessible bathroom and many parts of the garden and first floor of the house can be seen regardless of mobility issues. Scroll down for additional information on accessibility at Naumkeag.
Wheelchair access: While the property is not 100% wheelchair accessible, there are many parts of the garden that can be seen via wheelchair by way of the driveway. We can also bring people in a wheelchair through the front door to the first floor of the house and back onto the top lawn.
Wheelchair accessible bathrooms: There is a ramp into the entry way of the bathrooms and a handicapped stall in each.
Wheelchair accessible parking: We have parking up at the front of the house that is wheelchair accessible and on the side of the house near the restrooms.
Wheelchair accessible trails: While many parts of the gardens can be viewed via wheelchair, mostly by access of the driveway, the trails through the gardens are mostly made of woodchips or stairs/steep hills that are not wheelchair accessible.
Please email naumkeag@thetrustees.org for additional information.
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.
- The Trustees reserves the right to photograph or video visitors and program participants for promotional use, and usage of our properties implies consent. Read the photo and video policy.
