4 Estates That Are Easy Day Trips From New York

Within an hour or two of Manhattan by train, the Hudson Valley and Long Island’s Gold Coast hold some of the most spectacular monuments to Gilded Age excess in America: castles, manor houses, and formal gardens built by men who made fortunes in railroads, steel, and arms, then spent them trying to outdo the aristocracy of Europe.

Many of these are now open to the public, and if you can spare a day away from NYC, they’re worth exploring for their beauty and history.

Here are four you shouldn’t miss.

1. Lyndhurst

Of the four estates here, Lyndhurst is the oldest and, to my eye, the most storybook. It’s a Gothic Revival confection of turrets, stained glass, and asymmetrical towers rising above the Hudson, looking for all the world like a castle straight from a fairy tale.

Built in 1838, the house passed through three families: former NYC Mayor William Paulding, prominent businessman George Merritt, who doubled its size to 14,000 square feet, and finally the famous railroad tycoon Jay Gould, who used it as a country retreat from his Manhattan empire.

After your tour, wander the 67-acre grounds, including a fern garden, river overlook, and a spectacular rose garden. You can even step into the bowling alley, built by Jay’s daughter, Helen.

2. Bannerman Castle

Bannerman Castle stands out on this list as the only one you reach by boat.

The crumbling structure, built in the style of a Scottish fortress, sits on its own private island in the middle of the Hudson, looking like it’s been there for centuries. But construction on Bannerman Castle began in 1901, built not as a home but as a warehouse — an arsenal for the military surplus that made Francis Bannerman his fortune.

Bannerman designed the five-story building himself, drawing on the baronial castles he’d admired in Europe. But an explosion in 1920 and a fire in 1969 destroyed the castle, leaving behind the ruin you see today.

You can explore it on a guided tour with plenty of time at the end to walk the trails and explore the Bannerman home, which features a few exhibits about the island and the family.

Tours run May through October and book up well in advance, so reserve your tickets early. They also have special events on the island, from theater to concerts to movies and more.

3. Old Westbury Gardens

The house at Old Westbury Gardens is a stately brick manor, but it’s the surrounding 200 acres of gardens that steal the show.

Inside, you can take a self-guided tour of the house with interpretative panels that highlight the features of the rooms on both floors, or opt for a docent-led tour, included with general admission.

Behind the house, the Walled Garden opens up in tiers of color: roses, asters, peonies, hollyhocks, and so much more framed by clipped boxwood and fronting a long pergola that curves around a lily pond. Wander farther and you’ll discover a rose garden, over 250 lilac bushes (which peak early May), an adorable thatched cottage built for the Phipps children, a historic swimming pool with mosaic tiling, and the classical Temple of Love, affording a scenic view above a small lake.

4. Sands Point Preserve

For the last stop, head to the very edge of Long Island’s North Shore, where one of the great surviving Gold Coast estates spreads across 216 acres above the Long Island Sound. Now known as Sands Point Preserve, this was the home of Howard Gould, son of the robber baron Jay Gould, who you’ll remember from Lyndhurst. It later was passed to the Guggenheims and eventually was converted into a public park.

Hempstead House is open for tours seasonally, and it’s worth timing your visit around — the mansion’s walnut-paneled library and sunken palm court give you a window into how the other half lived a century ago.

But like Old Westbury, the grounds are reason enough to come. Woodland trails wind through old-growth oaks, formal lawns slope toward the water, and there’s even a sculpture garden, featuring contemporary art just installed last year. Bring a picnic and enjoy the scenery.

Making the most of your time

If your time in New York is limited, ambitious travelers can combine the estates above into two day trips. Old Westbury Gardens sits about 25 minutes south of Sands Point Preserve, so the two make an easy pair on Long Island if you take a rideshare between them.

Bannerman Castle requires a ferry, so timing there is more stringent, but both it and Lyndhurst are on the same Metro-North line. If you plan to stick to public transit, you’ll want to book the earliest ferry departing from Beacon and get tickets for the final mansion tour. If you take a car, the ride between these two very different castles is about an hour.