Winter Trails
Hildene is an historic home built in 1905 by President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln's son, Robert, as a summer residence. The Home, exhibits, Welcome Center, The Museum Store, Pullman railcar, Hildene Farm, and trails are open year-round, currently 5 days per week, Thursday – Monday, 10 – 4:30pm (please see hours and admissions page for updated info on visiting).
Wintertime can be one of great beauty on the Hildene campus and our 12+/- miles of trails are a wonderful way to experience the property. Open to guests year-round, the trails are of varying levels of difficulty, natural and ungroomed. Guests may find their walking shoes, hiking boots, ice cleats, Nordic skis or snowshoes variably appropriate as conditions change. While Manchester proper has seen abundant snowfall on occasion over recent years, adequate snowfall for skiing has become more and more infrequent with our changing climate.
For many years, we enjoyed providing ski and snowshoe rentals on our property. We have come to the decision, however, to suspend our rental program. If you would care to use your own equipment on our trails, you are welcome to do so. Please be sure to pay admission first in our Welcome Center. Meanwhile, we look forward to focusing on winter programming that both supports our mission and thrives in spite of our progressively unreliable snowfall.
The winter sports season typically runs from mid-December to mid-March (when mother nature cooperates). We encourage those who are looking for groomed trails to visit one of our local Nordic centers including Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, Wild Wings Ski Touring Center in Peru, or Prospect Mountain Nordic in Woodford. Of course, alpine skiers have several options with Bromley Mountain, Stratton Mountain and Magic Mountain nearby. For those wishing to rent skis, in addition to the Nordic centers above, we suggest the The Mountain Goat (nordic skis, snowshoes) in Manchester Center, or Bradley’s Pro Shop (snowshoes) east out of town on Route 30.
Our weather at Hildene matches that in Manchester village and town. Although we will not be updating winter conditions on our website, those wanting conditions before visiting may call our Welcome Center at 802.362.1788 during business hours. While we won’t have tested trails on skis or snowshoes, we are able to share how the conditions appear. You might also check our Facebook or Instagram accounts as we like to share the beauty of a substantial snowfall whenever it comes.
Rates (use of trails is included in Admission)
Adult Admission $23.00
Youth Admission (6 – 16 years) $6.00
Under 6 years, and Members* visit for free
* Interested in Membership? CLICK HERE to learn more!
Parking is adjacent to the Welcome Center. All guests must purchase admission (Members must check in) to use trails. For details on visiting, including health and safety guidelines and current hours of operation, visit: https://hildene.org/visiting/hours
Please note that we are a smoke-free, idle-free and pet-free campus.