Olana State Historic Site

Stunning place. Wonderful tour with a very knowledgeable staff. This is probably one of the most unusual houses I’ve ever toured. When you consider the age and how it remains untouched from the 1840s you will be impressed. Very educational in every way. If you are interested in art, and early world travelers. This is the place for you.

This was Frederic Church’s home back in the late 1800’s. It is just an amazing place to visit. The staff did a great job preserving this place. You can see even the brushes that Frederic Church used back then in his studio. Everything from the tables, chairs, paintings, etc… they were all preserved. It’s pretty cool seeing some of his clothings, shoes, & even books from when he was still around, which was over 100 years ago! Amazing!
The view of the Hudson River & the Rip Van Winkle bridge is simply breathtaking!
It’s definitely a must place to visit if you’re in the area.

My only regret in regards to Olana is that we didn’t plan more time here. I think next visit we will make the time to explore the rest of the grounds, as the estate here is HUGE. I definitely recommend touring the house (what we did). The views of the hudson from Olana were stunning, and we learned a lot from our guide. All in all, Olana was worth our trip from New York City.

Docent seemed exhausted, but this place is very nice and the current exhibit is very interesting. The tour lasts almost an hour and a half and I wonder how many of them each docent does each day.
Olana also has fantastic views out over the Hudson river and several good walking paths. Possible biking paths as well.
We took taxis to and from it from Hudson, a quick ten minute ride.

What an amazing place to visit, no matter what the season is. Beautiful scenery of the Hudson River, very relaxing to walk around, and a great place to slow down and relax. The Olana volunteers do an informative tour of Frederick Church’s home and his family’s life here. Something new is always on display, making it a new discovery every time we’ve visited. Love what we’ve bought at the gift shop, too!

Olana was designed and built by Frederic Edwin Church, one of America’s premier landscape painters. This site is well worth a stop and as a plus, it’s close to the expressway and inexpensive to book a tour. The house and surrounding gardens are exquisite and beautifully maintained. If you didn’t book a tour, you can still hike through the beautiful grounds and enjoy the majestic views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains.

A little (or huge) hidden gem.
Walked around Olana with AL and we LOVED it.
Great trails, the house is beautiful. We just walked around the outside of it but it was so nice.
Next time, I’m upstate I would love to go back there.

This is a really beautiful park that overlooks the Rip Van Winkle bridge and the Hudson River.

Gorgeous place for a wedding. Highly recommended.
(Except for that snotty lady who came by while we were taking photos (correctly, in accordance with our contract), who felt the need to ever-​so-​officiously remind us what we were and weren’t allowed to do, despite the fact that e were clearly not confused about that. Twit.)

For a place as heavily visited as Olana, one would think that there would be a system in place for visitors, but arrival is a bit chaotic. Ticket purchase isn’t marked and the ticket seller didn’t advise visitors in the manner of: «The tour will be leaving from the adjoining room [pointing] in 20 minutes; in the meantime you can visit our gift shop or view the film in the auditorium.» The confusion was so minimal and the demeanor of the carriage house staff so laid back and charming, I wouldn’t think of taking off stars for this minor shortcoming.
The house is a knockout, and a treasure of 19^th century American art. I could meander through its rooms every day and never tire of the sumptuous décor, elegant colors and rich variety of artwork. It’s just magnificent — and yet human in scale for a large house. The second floor is much plainer and the servants’ quarters downright Spartan; the contrast is certainly striking. The only mildly sour note was our tour guide. He was clear, competent and interesting in his descriptions. (It can’t be an easy job to repeat the same script over and over.) After delivering his narrative for each room, he offered to take questions. I began to feel bad for him because nobody on our tour had any, which might suggest that they weren’t really listening to him, so I chimed in and asked him what guests came to visit the Churches at Olana. (He had emphasized the significance of guests several times.) Not the most brilliant question, I know, and it could have been improved by my adding: «Would we recognize any names?» Anyway, our dear tour guide looked me up and down contemptuously and haughtily sighed something about the visitors being people who the Churches knew. Well, duh. I felt a little foolish for having opened my mouth. I was only trying to show an interest, but I think our tour guide may have had a wee delusion of ownership of the grand old house and I was intruding on his domain.
Our tour group of twelve included six children under eight years old, including a squalling infant. I suppose the only alternative was to leave the kiddies in a hot car in the parking lot, but still. Young children on a historic house tour? They won’t remember a thing.
The view from the house is second to none, rolling hills and the Hudson River stretching to infinity (well, NY harbor — but it looks like infinity). The grounds are groomed in a simple, parklike manner with no flowers except for a whimsical sunken garden along the approach drive. There are a few rustic benches scattered about where guests (whatever their names are) can sit and catch pleasant breezes off the Hudson. I should really give it five stars. If not for that pissy tour guide…
In town, Relish restaurant serves a terrific, healthy and hearty lunch — but that’s another review.

Great view of the Hudson, close to the thruway, and inexpensive. I’ve been twice now and the second time they had a waiting list for tours. Make sure you plan ahead if you want to see the inside of the home, but I went the second time just to see the grounds. The gardens are so beautiful. An experience you won’t forget. The gift shop is full of beautiful items, but some are pricey
All in all a great way to spend a few hours!

Really enjoyed the tour of the home and walking around the beautiful property. The guide for this tour knew a lot and really brought the home to life. I would recommend this tour to anyone and have been back just to walk the trails around the property.

You’ve never seen a home like this before! The moorish architecture is beautiful. The stenciled paint on the walls is very beautiful. The artwork on the walls is beautiful. The artwork alone is worth seeing. We were awed. The only thing is you don’t see the kitchen, the basement, or the second and third floors, no bedrooms! Apparently to make the house open for tours like to install ventilation they had to use the bedrooms to run ductwork. We were disappointed. The tour lasts an hour.

Beautiful house with amazing views of the Hudson.
We didn’t go inside the house because didn’t want to wait for the tour and besides we will definitely be back.
But you can still visit the place and enjoy the enormous land that surrounds the house as well as the stunning views.

Yes it is awe inspiring! You can’t imagine how or why anybody built such a thing. It’s pseudo Persian in architecture with Arabian nights fantasy decoration inside. If Frederic Church liked it, he threw it in. So you get Buddha statues, Mameluke designs and stuff from Pacific North West Indians! It’s great! There are also a fair number of Church paintings. Unlike the less affluent Cole’s, the Church’s did not have to sell off the land and the estate is huge and beautiful. You could film a great horror movie here!

I’m embarrassed to admit it but I’ve probable gone to Olana 50 times and never been in the house. It’s not that I don’t want to but we usually go with our dogs and hike all the trails.
This is a NYS Historic Site, the former home of Frederick Church. He built a Moorish inspired mansion on possibly the most beautiful spot in all of the Hudson Valley. The house is just south of Hudson and sits at the top of a hill.
When you walk the trails from the original cottage to the top of the hill you are rewarded with gorgeous views in all directions. Lately they’ve been doing some serious rehab to the view to the north, great views of the Taconics, Berkshires, and on a clear day you can see the Adirondacks and Greens.
As you curve around on the trail, a panorama of the Catskills and Hudson Valley open up before you. Church planned all of the road to maximize the views, including making a pond that mirrors the lines of the Hudson.
The site is beautiful in all seasons of the year but for me it’s especially beautiful in Fall and Winter.

With family living nearby, I have a lot of childhood memories of Olana and other parks in the vicinity. This is one of my favorite places to go for a picnic, although it’s quite a drive from Albany (and an even bigger drive from Boston).
Although these days you have to pay an admission price, it used to be that you came to Olana and didn’t have to pay unless you took a tour of the house. That meant you could spend almost an entire day picnicking, touring the expansive grounds, rolling down the hills, checking out the heart shaped pond, or playing frisbee. I have no idea what they charge these days for admission, but I imagine it’s still worth going.
While the house is certainly the focal point, I wouldn’t consider it the most important part of the estate. In fact, I can’t even remember being inside the house, although I’m sure I toured it as a kid.