Experience the grandeur of a 2,100-acre seaside estate and its marvelously landscaped grounds, notable for a broad, undulating lawn running down to the shore.

Castle Hill was well known by Indigenous communities, who called the area Agawam, referring to its right fishery. Beginning in the 1880s, J.B. Brown transformed Castle Hill Farm from an agricultural holding into a gentleman’s farm, improving roadways and plantings, and renovating his modest farmhouse into a rambling, shinge-style cottage thta is now The Inn at Castle Hill.

After Chicago Industrialist Richard T. Crane Jr. Purhcased the property in 1910, Castle Hill came to exemplify the American Country Place Era with its farm and estate buildings, designed grounds and gardens, and diverse natural areas. The first house built atop Catle Hill, an Italian Renaissance Revival villa designed by Shepley Rutan and Collidge, was razed and replaces in 1928 with the Great House, the 59-room Stuart-style mansion designed by architect David Adle you see today.

Advance passes for grounds admission to Castle Hill are suggested but not required. Having an advance grounds admission guarantees grounds admission for the day and time of your visit. Admission is otherwise first-come, first-served. We tend to sell out on weekends and holidays in the summer and when the weather is fine.

Tour the Great House, gardens, and/or landscape and be transported back to 1929. See what it was like to summer in Ipswich with the Crane family, visit the roof and learn about the architecture and innovation contained within the Great House walls, or explore the formal gardens.

Garden enthusiasts will be transfixed by the spectacular Italian Garden and its sister, the show-stopping Rose Garden. Both have been renovated and are tended with expertise, love, and care. Laid out in the classic “garden room” style, these gardens offer tranquility, musing, and stunning backdrops for the special moments of our lives.

Castle Hill is a hiker’s paradise with hiking circuits that wind through manicured gardens, lawns, and paths, each dappled with statuary, fountains, and reliefs. Stroll across our meadows, dip into our woodland trails, and summit our sandy dunes. Visit CraneOutdoors for our offering of guided hikes, and check out our property-wide trail map if you plan to set out on your own.

Picnic overlooking the Atlantic! Bring a picnic and a favorite blanket and you’ll be the envy of everyone you know on social media. A relaxing seaside meal with your loved ones cannot be beat!

Photo credit: Stoney Stone