MILFORD, PA — Walking around Grey Towers National Historic Site, there is a crisp chill in the air. The water features have been drained and winterized; the tents have been removed for the season; and the smell of pine lightly envelopes the area. 

Tours of Grey Towers are over for the season. But there’s still plenty to do. 

Winter at Grey Towers

The grounds at Grey Towers remain accessible throughout the winter to pedestrian traffic daily from sun up to sun down. 

The horticulture team staff and volunteers worked hard to create a winter landscape. Fresh pines fill the planters that once held pumpkins and mums. The annual blooms throughout the landscape have been composted. Winter berries surround green and purple cabbages, as they poke out of their containers on millstones and pathways. The greenery in these planters, such as white pine, hemlock, juniper cabbages, greens, cones and berries are all harvested from the property. 

“One of the highlights of getting ready for winter is draining the Moat,” said Elizabeth Hawke, horticulturist and acting facilities specialist at Grey Towers. “Staff catch the fish and relocate them to a tank in the maintenance facility. The moat, designed by Cornelia Pinchot as a landscape garden room will welcome the fish back in the spring.”

For more information, see below.

Lunch and learn at Forest Hall

Although tours are over for the season, you’ll still find opportunities to learn and meet new people.

Ranging from such topics as Gardening for the Greater Good to creating habitats and much more, the winter lectures from Grey Towers—called Lunch and Learns—are held on Saturdays and take place at Forest Hall, 214 Broad St. The scheduled lectures for January are: 

Saturday, January 6, 2024, “Behind the Tower,” with Joe Koloski, director of Grey Towers 

Saturday, January 20, 2024, “A Conversation with Peter Pinchot,” grandson of conservationist Gifford Pinchot. 

Forest Hall has direct ties to Grey Towers. It was built by the Pinchot family to provide education to students through the Yale School of Forestry. It is not currently handicap accessible. 

To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.greytowers.org/events. 

Grey Towers will reopen for public tours in spring 2024.To learn more or find out about weather-related closures, visit www.fs.usda.gov/greytowers, Grey Towers NHS on X or call the weather line at 570/296-9638.