Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park - Things To Do (U.S. National Park Service)

Visitors linger in the sun in front of the beige three-story renovated barn, whose steepled dormers point toward the blue sky. NPS Photo.

Jim Westphalen

The Carriage Barn also houses offices for park staff and other National Park Service programs.

Visit the Carriage Barn
Built in 1895 and rehabilitated in 1999, the Carriage Barn serves as the national park's visitor center. Features include:

- People Taking Care of Places, an exhibit on conservation history
- Visitor reading library
- Self-guided maps and activity brochures for those with limited time
- Bookstore

Visit with park rangers, schedule a tour, learn about hiking opportunities, or just relax and read a book! Open daily from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Memorial Day weekend (late May) to October 31.

A stylized and brightly-colored sketch of the three-story brick mansion. A large Norway Spruce stands to the right of the Mansion. NPS.

Graphic by Eastern National

Take advantage of a ranger-led tour to see the inside of this 19th-century Queen Anne mansion.

Guided Mansion Tours
Ranger-guided tours of the historic Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Mansion and gardens are offered several times daily, from Memorial Day weekend (late May) to October 31. Click here for fee and reservation information. This hour-long tour explores the history of conservation, the stewardship ethic of the Marsh, Billings, and Rockefeller families, and community-based conservation in a more modern context. In addition to original furnishings and personal items, the mansion displays works of art that include some of America's finest landscape paintings, highlighting the influence painting and photography had on the conservation movement.

A ranger speaks with a group of people on a sloping green lawn, lit by the waning afternoon light of a fall day.

NPS Photo

Special Programs
Special tours and events are held throughout the season. Click here for all schedule and fee information. Conservation through the Artist's Eye showcases paintings that tell the story of conservation history and land stewardship in America. On Causes and Consequences: The Civil War Home Front in Woodstock, Vermont, you'll see places associated with the Underground Railroad, abolition meetings, the town's free African-American community, and Woodstock's pivotal role in Vermont's war effort. Other tours include The Formal Garden and Beyond, Hidden Spaces, Unique Places, and Green Infrastructure: Explore the Park's Sustainable Future.

Nora Mitchell

Stillness prevails at The Pogue, a mountain pond.

Take a Walk (or a Snowshoe) in the Woods
Walk through one of Vermont's most beautiful landscapes, under the shade of sugar maples and 400-year-old hemlocks, along winding woodland carriage roads and trails. On the gentle slopes of Mount Tom you will find mountain pastures, a mysteriously-named pond, and spectacular views of nearby hills and valleys.

NPS Photo

Learning the tricks of the trade

Working Woodlands Series
These free public programs, sponsored by Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, the US Forest Service, and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, provide landowners and resource professionals with useful tools and techniques for forest stewardship. For more information, please call 802-457-3368 ext 22.