Blithewold

Blithewold is a 33-acre summer estate on Narragansett Bay in Bristol, with a 45-room mansion, a 10-acre Great Lawn and gardens laid out in the late 1890s. It is run as a nonprofit and describes itself as one of the most fully developed and intact examples of America's Country Place Era. Adult admission is $22, bought at the Welcome Center by the parking lot, and the gardens are open Tuesday to Sunday from May to October.

Where It Is

Blithewold is at 101 Ferry Road (Route 114) in Bristol, on Narragansett Bay. Route 114 is also the road Colt State Park's address is on (Hope Street), so the two make an easy pair in one day. Admission is sold at the Welcome Center, the building next to Blithewold's parking lot.

2026 Hours

Blithewold posts separate hours for the Manor, the gardens and the shop. As posted for 2026, through January 3, 2027:

• The Manor: March 28 – October 25, Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed October 26 – November 23. November 24 – January 3, Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Gardens and grounds: May 3 – October 25, Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. October 26 – November 23, Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November 24 – January 3, Tuesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Mondays: closed, except most Monday holidays and school vacation weeks.
• Closed all day: July 4, November 26, December 24 and December 25.

The Manor occasionally closes early for special events, so check before a late visit.

Tickets

General admission covers the Manor and grounds and is sold at the Welcome Center; Blithewold has stopped selling it online. Posted prices:

• Adult (17 and up): $22
• Youth (11–16): $11
• Child (6–10): $6
• Family (2 adults, 2 children): $50
• Military and student: $18
• Cyclist: $14
• SNAP/EBT: $2
• Free: Blithewold members, reciprocal gardens and NARM members, and children under 5

General admission does not include programs such as afternoon teas or outdoor concerts. Tours are self-guided, with a downloadable audio tour. Tickets bought online before May 5, 2026 can be redeemed until May 31, 2027.

The Mansion

Blithewold describes itself as nationally significant: one of the most fully developed and intact examples of the Country Place Era in the United States, with a strong Arts and Crafts influence. The name is Old English for "happy woodland." The first manor house burned in 1906; the 45-room Manor you tour today replaced it and is filled with family heirlooms. A 1909 garage, built with its own fueling and repair facilities, survives too.

The Gardens

Bristol landscape architect John DeWolf laid out the grounds in the late 1890s for Bessie Van Wickle McKee, working from the old dirt roads, stone walls and pastures of the site. The 10-acre Great Lawn, with views of the bay, anchors everything. The Enclosed Garden, Orchard and Cutting and Vegetable Gardens date from the 1890s; the Lord and Burnham greenhouses from 1901; the Bosquet, Rose and Water Gardens from the early 1900s; the North Garden from 1911; and Bessie's favourite, the Rock Garden she called "Little Mt. Hope," from the 1920s. The Rose Garden's Moongate and its centenarian Chestnut Rose are highlights.

Trees: the Giant Sequoia

Blithewold is also an arboretum. Its best-known tree is the giant sequoia on the south lawn, which the estate believes is the largest of its species in the eastern United States. Look also for the weeping beech, the Franklin tree (extinct in the wild since 1803) and a bamboo grove planted in the 1930s.

Daffodil Days

Search interest in Blithewold peaks in April, the month of Daffodil Days: Blithewold says about 150,000 blooms of 100 varieties flower from late March through early May. Note that the Manor opens March 28 but the posted garden-season hours start May 3, so check the current schedule if you are going for the daffodils.

Colt State Park and Blithewold in One Day

Colt is free and open sunrise to sunset; Blithewold keeps shorter hours and charges admission. A simple plan: Blithewold's gardens in late morning, then a picnic at Colt (tables need a $5 permit from April to October) and a walk on its bayside paths. Blithewold sells a cheaper cyclist ticket ($14) if you arrive by bike. See Colt State Park, picnic areas and things to do in Bristol.