Autumn leaves are falling, Clermont is calling!
- Friends of Clermont
- Sep 29
- 6 min read
Whether it's enjoying our spook-tacular Halloween events, attending the Chancellor's Open House Series, hiking the trails, or simply taking in the fall foliage, Clermont is the place to be this autumn.
Events
1
Bird Walk with Alan Devoe Bird Club
Saturday, October 4
8 a.m.
Grab your binoculars and field guides and join us for a fall walk around Clermont State Historic Site with the Alan Devoe Bird Club! We’ll keep our eyes and ears open as we look and listen for fall migrants and Waterfowl, like geese and ducks, on the Hudson River. Egrets have even been spotted on previous walks! Bird watchers will meet at 8 a.m. in the main parking lot. This program is free of charge, but visitors must register in advance.
2
Livingston's Landscape Tour
Sunday, October 12
2 p.m.
Join us at Clermont State Historic Site for a guided landscape walking tour. On this tour we will look back through generations of the Livingston family and explore how their role as landowners shaped the land and local communities. From the questionable land purchases from Indigenous tribes to enslaved men and tenant farmers tilling the soil, to the Livingston’s own gentleman farmers, the relationship with the land and those who worked it changed many times over the past 300 years.
Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy shoes.
In the event of severe weather this tour will be postponed.
3
Legends by Candlelight Ghost Tours
Friday, October 17; Saturday, October 18; Friday, October 24; Saturday, October 25
Recurring every half hour from 6-8 p.m.
Registration required- please call (518) 537-4240
Adult tickets: $15. Children aged 5 to 12: $5. Children under 5: Free!
Join us for an exciting, one-of-a-kind, Halloween experience! What starts as a campy candlelit tour quickly turns into a quest to quell the spirits of the mansion. You’ll meet ghosts with stories of glory, loss, success, and failure. Be sure to listen carefully, because all their stories are true!
Your haunting experience starts with Halloween treats inside our cozy Visitor Center. After a short walk through the jack-o-lantern lit landscape, your tour begins on the mansion’s porch and ends with a bonfire and marshmallows.
Please wear sturdy shoes and bring a jacket, as it gets bone-chillingly cold along the river!
4
Tour of St. Paul's & Trinity Church and Cemetery
Sunday, October 19
3 p.m.
We often receive inquiries about where members of the Livingston family are buried. This special tour provides the opportunity to step inside the historic church and visit the final resting place of many notable family members, including Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, Judge Robert Livingston, and Margaret Beekman Livingston, along with later generations such as Alice, Honoria, and Janet Livingston. The tour will also highlight the graves of the parents and maternal grandparents of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Please note: This tour includes walking on uneven surfaces and periods of standing. Comfortable footwear is recommended.
5
Geology Walk with Robert Titus
Saturday, November 1
11 a.m.
Join professor Robert Titus as he leads us on a geology walk at Clermont State Historic Site. Titus and his wife Johanna are both retired scientists who have become popular science writers, well known throughout the Catskills. They have recently published a book entitled “The Hudson River Schools of Art and Their Ice Age Origins.” The book relates the Ice Age history of the Hudson Valley to the development of its 19th Century art, literature and landscape architecture.
In short, Robert and Johanna argue that all Hudson Valley culture dates back to the Ice Age. One chapter includes a section about Clermont. The geology of Clermont dates back 450 million years. The bedrock rising east of the mansion takes us back all those years to see the site when it was at the bottom of a marine abyss, similar to the Mariannas Trench in todays’ western Pacific. But there’s more geology here. The mansion lies on a thick sequence of silt and clay. This was, late in the Ice Age, the bottom of Glacial Lake Albany. That lake extended up and down the Hudson Valley. All this geology provided the Clermont estate with an especially scenic setting for the building of the mansion and its outbuildings.
Please note: This event is free, but visitors must register in advance. This tour involves standing and walking on uneven surfaces. Please be sure to wear comfortable shoes.
Children's Events
1
Crafty Kids Halloween
Saturday, October 4
11 a.m.
We’re welcoming the spooky season with paper-plate black cats and cardboard bats! These creepy-cute creations are perfect for crafty kids ages 2 to 12. Light instruction is offered, creativity is encouraged!
This is a program for children; all children must be accompanied by an adult and all adults must be accompanied by a child.
2
Trick-or-Treat at Clermont
Friday, October 31
10:30 a.m.
Happy Halloween! Swing by our Visitor Center between 10:30am and 4:00pm to trick-or-treat at Clermont. Come for the candy, stay for the photo ops at our spooky-cute Halloween photo stations!
Chancellor's Open House Series
The Chancellor's Dinner is being reimagined this year as an open house series. Join us Saturdays this fall!
Each open house offers a unique experience—some feature guided tours, others include light refreshments, and a select few offer full dinner service. Availability is limited, so be sure to read each listing carefully and reserve your spot today!
The Chancellor's Open House Series raises funds to support Friends of Clermont's low or no-cost community programs and initiatives. Your gift is 100% tax-deductible.
1
Edgewater Estate
Saturday, October 4
11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Edgewater was built for John R. Livingston as a present to his daughter Margaretta on the occasion of her marriage to Captain Rawlins Lowndes Brown of Charleston, South Carolina. It was one of several river-side seats built by the Livingston family in this era, including Montgomery Place, Teviotdale, The Hill, and an eccentrically designed house known as “Old Turtle.”
In 1853, Edgewater was purchased from the Browns by Robert Donaldson, a North Carolina native who moved to New York to pursue a career in business. Thirty-five years earlier, Donaldson had toured the Hudson River Valley and recorded in his private journal he thought it “the consummation of Earthly Bliss to live in one of those palaces, on such a Noble River, under such a Government.”
Donaldson was committed to the house and enlarged it the following year with an octagonal library after designs by Alexander Jackson Davis. Davis also provided designs for two new picturesque gatehouses flanking the entrance to the property. Other surviving early structures include two small frame cottages, which were probably used by domestic servants. Historical records indicate that during the Donaldsons’ ownership of Edgewater, a majority of the servants employed by the family were recent Irish immigrants.
There are two tour times to choose from, 11 a.m. or 1 p.m. Each includes a tour of the interior of the home, with time to explore the expansive ornamental grounds. Parking is outside of the gates with an approximately one-quarter mile walk to the house. Shuttle transportation is available.
2
Harper House
Saturday, October 18
11:30 a.m.
Perched atop a hillside that overlooks the hamlet of Staatsburg sits a stately two-story home that was built for the housekeeper of Ruth Livingston Mills and Ogden Mills. The house was constructed in 1885 and is in close proximity to Staatsburgh State Historic Site.
Tour the home with owners Mary Alden and John White, learn about its rich history, and enjoy brunch on their beautiful porch! Mary grew up here when her parents purchased the home in 1960. Mary also serves on the board of the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh.
3
Boltwood House
Saturday, November 1
5 p.m.
This is a unique opportunity to have dinner with our Executive Director, Randy Tryon, and his spouse in their charming 1913 center hall colonial. The evening will include a multi-course dinner service, and a fun game of trivia centered around our beloved Clermont.
4
Dow Van Buren House
Saturday, November 8
6 p.m.
Enjoy a multi-course dinner in a stately Federal period home, circa 1795, owned by our board member John Delikanakis and his partner, German. Get to know more about them and the Friends of Clermont during this charming and unique dining experience.
Planning a daytrip?
The autumnal fun doesn't stop at Clermont! There's a wide variety of activities for everyone in and around Columbia and Dutchess County.
Have you heard about New York State Parks' Wellness Challenge? Throughout the year, immerse yourself in a variety of wellness activities at state parks and historic sites across the Empire State.
1
Fall foliage
Calling all leaf-peepers! Leaves across New York State are starting to show their brilliant autumnal colors. Clermont offers visitors breathtaking views of the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains.
Peak foliage is predicted to reach Clermont in early October.
2
Walking and hiking trails
Autumn is the perfect time to enjoy the great outdoors. What better way than to explore the walking and hiking trails of Columbia and Dutchess counties? Clermont State Historic Site is conveniently located along the Empire State Trail. The 750-mile trail network showcases New York’s iconic landscapes and diverse history. Activities on the trail include walking, bicycling, picnicking, and more!
Clermont is located along the Hudson Valley Greenway Trail, in the Tivoli to Olana sector.
View the entire Empire State Trail map here.
Looking for more fall fun?
Be sure to check out Columbia County Tourism and Destination Dutchess for more ideas on how to enjoy autumn.
