Hours & Location
Location
The Thomas Cole National Historic Site is located at 218 Spring Street, near the western entrance to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, in the village of Catskill, New York, at the foot of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley. See below for driving directions.
Hours
ANNOUNCING NEW EXPANDED HOURS FOR 2013
The Main House and Studio are open by guided tour. From the beginning of May through the end of October, the Visitor Center opens at 9:30 am and tours are offered Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10 am-4 pm. Tours leave on the hour and our last tour begins at 4 pm. We are closed on Monday and Tuesday but tours are offered at other times by appointment. Please see our group tours page about arranging a tour during other times.
Tours
Guided tours of the Main House and Old Studio begin on the hour on a first-come-first-served basis. Tours last about 50 minutes, and each tour is limited to approximately 12 people. The tour includes special exhibitions of Hudson River School paintings.
Group tours are welcome by advance appointment by calling 518-943-7465, or use our online form.
Admission
Admission to the grounds, visitor center, and gift shop is free of charge. Viewing the Thomas Cole film is also free. Admission to the Main House and Old Studio is by guided tour and tickets can be purchased in the Visitor Center.
- Tickets are $10 per person during regular open hours.
- Seniors over 62 and students with ID are $9 per person.
- Kids 12 and under are FREE!
- For information about group admission click here.
Announcing Exhibition-Only Tickets
You asked for it, you got it! In response to requests for more opportunities to see our temporary exhibitions, a new ticket option will be offered during 2013: the Art Ticket. For the same price as the regular guided tour ticket, the Art Ticket takes visitors directly upstairs to the special exhibition gallery. Art Ticket buyers will then have a choice of viewing the exhibition for the full 30 minutes or may choose to spend some time touring the 19th-century paintings that are now on display in the West Parlour, including landscapes by Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Doughty, Ralph Blakelock and more. The Art Ticket will be offered in the afternoons on the quarter-hour (at 12:15 1:15, 2:15 and 3:15 pm) Wednesday through Sunday, now through November 3rd, 2013. Ask for it at the Thomas Cole Visitor Center.
Directions
By Train
Take Amtrak to the Hudson train station, which is two hours from New York City's Pennsylvania Station. A taxi stand is across the street from the Hudson station. Ask for the Thomas Cole Historic Site, 218 Spring Street, Catskill. The taxi ride is approximately ten minutes.
By Car
From New York City or Albany: Take NYS Thruway (I-87) to exit 21 (Catskill). Make a left at the traffic light, then proceed 2 miles as the road becomes Main Street, Catskill. At the only traffic light on Main Street, make a left onto Bridge Street. Turn left onto Spring Street (Route 385). The Thomas Cole Historic Site is six blocks down on the right. (Use the shared driveway with Temple Israel).
From Points West: Take Route 23 East. Just before the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, make a right at the light onto Spring Street (Route 385). The Thomas Cole Historic Site is immediately on the left. (Use the shared driveway with Temple Israel.)
From Points East: Take the Massachusetts Turnpike to the NYS Thruway (Route 90 West) to exit 2B (Taconic Pkwy.) Take Taconic Parkway South to Route 23 West. Continue on Route 23 West and cross the Hudson River over The Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Make a left at the first light at the intersection of Route 23 and Route 385 (Spring Street). The Thomas Cole Historic Site is immediately on the left. (Use the shared driveway with Temple Israel.)
OR:
Take the Taconic Parkway North to the Hudson Exit (Route 82 North) to Route 23 West. (Note: Route 82 also crosses the Taconic further south. Do not take Route 82 until you see the sign for Hudson.) Cross the Hudson River via The Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Make a left at the first light at the intersection of Route 23 and Route 385 (Spring Street). The Thomas Cole Historic Site is immediately on the left. (Use the shared driveway with Temple Israel.)
