vanderbilt mansion national historic site

We visited this historic home in early March. I cannot comment on the grounds because they were covered in snow. Nevertheless, there was still a beautiful view of the Hudson River from behind the house. The house itself is well worth visiting. It is beautifully maintained, complete with its original furnishings, artwork and lighting. You can only see the house via guided tour. Our tour guide was excellent--entertaining and informative, while still giving us plenty of time to take in the home on our own. There is adequate on-site parking, as well as a small gift shop. The home tour takes right around an hour.

Vanderbilt standards were always in a grand scale but this beauty of a Mansion sits in a grand estate of land with Hudson Valley River views. Contains rose gardens for a tranquil walk. Ground picnics are allowed but its a carry-in and carry-out location. A wonderful place to go for the whole year. The Mansion contains beautiful furniture and bedrooms to view. Definitely another mansion to visit in the heart of Hudson Valley.

If you've been to Newport and seen the awesome mansions there, this one is a bit of a disappointment. It is not really "pretty" on the outside - seems almost like a giant concrete block on the outside - and the rooms are so overdone they are distasteful. The tour is done by everyone standing in a group on each floor and the guide talks to you about the family, then you look around on your own. While our guide was excellent (funny, engaging), the talk is not really related to what you are looking at. Normally you get a talk while standing in a room and at least a few interesting things are pointed out - but really, you don't get much info on specifics at all.

The park around the house is large, very beautiful, and enjoyable in any season. Worth a visit at any time.

This is a summer home for the family while in upstate NY, definitely not as large as their main home in Asheville NC. But of course anyone today could fit several families into this house and feel comfortable! I have been here several times at least twice a year including last summer. That's technically not true because I was there again just a few weeks ago but did not enter the house, just enjoying the scenery with the snow covering everywhere. I have many visitors (friends, relatives) so the usual suspects would be Woodbury Common, FDR, Walkway, and Vanderbilt mansion. The ground is beautiful with mature trees. You have a great view of the river. The guy is knowledgeable and very funny! I recommend it.

Glad I visited. A little cold but some great history & stories. Not to be missed. Make a day of it and pop on over to the FDR Estate/Library

The National Park Service ranger who did my tour did a great job talking about: (1) the Vanderbilts who lived here, (2) comparing them with their family, (3) unique qualities about the architecture and other features of this house, and (4) the Guilded Age era of US history. As a rule people might rather choose to visit from late spring to the fall when the grounds are more enjoyable to explore.

It made the gilded age come alive to see how they lived in one of their many homes. Seeing the bedrooms, living areas and dining room set up just as they had it was like being a true guest of the Vanderbilts.

If you are interested in American history, make sure you see all the attractions along the mighty Hudson, from USMA (West Point) to the mansions (Vanderbilt and Roosevelt) of Hyde Park. We took the tour the week of Christmas, so the mansion was decorated for the holiday. Quite beautiful. I recommend guest read about the extended Vanderbilt family, the owners of this home, and the manner in which they differed from others in the Vanderbilt clan. I wish I could recall the name of the female park Ranger who was our tour guide, as we thoroughly enjoyed her tour and the information she provided.Though it was winter, we did walk the property and I recommend others who appreciate beautiful landscaping and old trees take the time to walk the grounds.

Step into the Gilded Age at the Vanderbilt "summer cottage". The mansion is beautiful and the park rangers are very knowledgeable and fun. You can do this tour in about half a day. Very worthwhile.

The grounds and home are well worth the time and small fee to go through. Its awesome to hear the history of the home! The grounds are very inviting to walk around and offer wonderful views of the Hudson. Don't miss the carriage house on the south side of the estate. A must see!

My wife and I were visiting whilst driving to Hurley for a 5 day visit over Christmas. We passed the Historic Site and turned around to have a look and glad we did. We only walked around the grounds and visited the shop but the Ranger was most helpful and wished we had more time to do the full tour of the mansion. A great place for a relaxing walk around the grounds. The shop si well stocked with some great products that I wished we could fit in our bags to take back home to Australia. Highly recommended.

My relatives were in from the Mid-West for the holidays and we were looking for something to do that is interesting and educational. We decided to tour the mansion and its grounds. There are about 50 rooms and they represent the riches of the gilded age. We learned about the Vanderbilt family and its branches as well as the evolution of the building and its use as a seasonal home. We toured the dining room, den, bedrooms, servants' quarters, and sitting rooms as well as the parlor. The guide was very good and she answered all of our group's questions. The fee was $10 per each adult and the kids who are 14 years old got in free. We also toured the garden and grounds. The views of the Hudson River are breath-taking. (The grounds are free to visit.)

Vanderbilt mansion is run by the National Park Service. Tour was $10 and guide was quite good. Learned quite a bit about the Vanderbilts and their lifestyle. Went on Christmas Eve, interestingly enough guide said that the mansion would not have been decorated for Christmas during the Vanderbilt era because they were never there at Christmas. However, the Park Service had decorated with some Christmas things to make it festive.

Vanderbilt Tour is $10/ and runs approximately one hour led by a very knowledgeable (and personable) National Parks Ranger. Locals are seen walking dogs and enjoying the gorgeous property. If you have mobility issues, this site is quite doable. If you have children ages 9-13, I would recommend this trip because it will give them a great insight into their future high school literature assignments. If you are the type of adult that watches HGTV you will love this tour. If you are a lawyer specializing in taxation or trusts & estates, this tour will remind you why you help others. (young children on the tour were quite unhappy, if you are the type of parent that enjoys dragging children around, you will love this tour.) Note: The FDR home is not as easy for people with mobility needs (I would not recommend going to the FDR home which is funny since FDR was in a wheelchair).