The Great House, atop Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, is open weekends and holidays from mid-April through May and November, and Tuesday – Sunday from June through October. The Castle Hill grounds are open year-round from 9AM-5PM (closing at 4PM from November-January). Special evening hours are also offered from 5-8PM on Wednesdays in June and July and 5-7PM on Wednesdays through Labor Day. Please check the website for the most up-to-date listing of hours, programs, and events. 

Castle Hill is the centerpiece of the spectacular 2,100-acre Crane Estate. The Great House, a glorious 59-room Stuart-style mansion, presides over Castle Hill’s 165-acres of designed and natural landscapes with commanding panoramic views of the Atlantic ocean and the Great Marsh.  Its famous, rolling lawn – the Grand Alleé – stretches half a mile from the terrace of the Great House to the ocean’s edge, where you may cast your eyes toward Maine and the Isles of Shoals. Also part of the Crane Estate are  Crane Beach, a four-mile expanse of pristine, white-sand shoreline and meandering trails through the dunes, and the Crane Wildlife Refuge, accessible by guided kayak or riverboat trip. 

Castle Hill is preserved as a National Historic Landmark, offering guided house, garden, and landscape tours; a gift shop; and an extensive schedule of public events – including picnic concerts, roaring twenties events, an art show, theater, and holiday celebrations. A network of footpaths and winding drives invites visitors to explore the multitude of historic buildings, formal gardens, natural habitats, and unique vistas across this breathtaking landscape. Castle Hill is one of over 120+ properties across the Commonwealth – including working farms, historic homesteads and gardens, community parks, beaches, woodlands, and mountain vistas – owned and managed by the non-profit organization, The Trustees. For more information, and to download a map, visit www.thetrustees.org/craneestate. 

Photo credit: Stoney Stone