Vanderbilt Mansion NHS || Hyde Park, NY

The Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site is located in a small town outside of NYC called Hyde Park. It was about a twenty minute detour on our way home from the Adirondaks this summer so we decided to check it out! My husband & I enjoy visiting NPS sites as we can while traveling because we always find we learn something new at these places. Admission to the grounds is free and there are guided tours of the mansion for $10/person, but they were actually free with our annual parks pass! 

The tour took about an hour and explored three different floors of the home. The mansion is one of the oldest estates on the Hudson River and was completed after in 1899. It was owned originally by Frederick William Vanderbilt, son to the famous businessman, William Vanderbilt. The property includes many buildings and a formal garden as well.

We loved the formal gardens and fountains - they were a beautiful site and all but empty!

All together we spent about two and a half hours at the mansion, which was a perfect amount of time to take a tour, see the grounds, and browse the museum. If you're looking for a nice getaway outside of New York, be sure to add the Vanderbilt Mansion as a stop!