Grey Towers is a place to visit any time of the year, including during its winter beauty. Grey Towers was the home of Gifford Pinchot, founder and first Chief of the US Forest Service. Located in Milford, Pennsylvania, Grey Towers was completed in 1886 by Gifford's father, James Pinchot, a successful businessman and philanthropist. Today Grey Towers offers, trails, various wayside exhibits, free visitor films, conference center, leadership training, free parking, a visitor center, gifts shop, and ticketed museum tours.
Forest Service News Release
Winter Happenings at Grey Towers NHS
Walking around Grey Towers there is a crisp chill in the air. Our water features have been drained and winterized, the tents have been removed for the season, and the smell of pine lightly envelopes the area. Winter at Grey Towers is underway. The Horticulture Team staff and volunteers are working 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. Elizabeth Hawke, Horticulturist and Acting Facilities Specialist at Grey Towers National Historic Site, states “one of the highlights of getting ready for winter is draining the Moat. 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”.
Holiday tours of all three floors of Grey Towers, a 1886 mansion will be offered every day at 11am and 1pm starting Monday, December 4, 2023 through Sunday, December 17, 2023. Decorating takes weeks of work and planning and is a collaborative effort between Grey Towers Staff and the Milford Garden Club. Each floor is set to a theme: traditional Victorian era decorations, a nature theme, and a children’s theme with dried fruits adorning the garland. Guests will enjoy holiday music as they tour the ground floor. There will be several Christmas trees and period décor to see throughout the hour-long visit. Tickets must be purchased in person the day of the tour at the Visitor Center located in the historic Letterbox starting at 10:30 am. Tours may be cancelled due to inclement weather. Please call our weather line at 570-296-9638, visit our webpage at www.fs.usda.gov/greytowers or our X account at Grey Towers NHS (@GreytowersNHS) / X (twitter.com) for weather related updates. Our last day of public tours for 2023 is Sunday, December 17, 2023.
The Grey Towers giftshop will be open during our winter tour season from 11:30am through 1:30pm. We are fully stocked with great holiday gifts like our ornaments and Grey Towers apparel. Don’t forget our biodegradable pens that turn into flowers, they are great stocking stuffers!
Our Winter lecture series will be held at Forest Hall at 214 Broad Street Milford, PA. The lecture series, held on Saturdays, is called Lunch and Learns and will highlight serval different topics and speakers.
January 06, 2024, Behind the Tower with Joe Koloski Director of Grey Towers
January 20, 2024, Conversation with Peter Pinchot
February 03, 2024, Gardening for the Greater Good
February 17, 2024, Conversations with Our Community Partners
March 2, 2024, Habitats: Protecting and Creating Sanctuaries
March 23, 2024, Conversations with Women Making Differences
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. Please note, Forest Hall is not currently handicap accessible. Tickets will be available for purchase after December 01, 2023. For tickets, as well as further information on lecture topics and speakers please visit www.greytowers.org/events
The grounds at Grey Towers remain accessible throughout the winter to pedestrians’ traffic daily from sun up to sun down. Please check our website www.fs.usda.gov/greytowers , our X account at Grey Towers NHS (@GreytowersNHS) / X (twitter.com) or our weather line at 570-296-9638 for any weather-related closures. Grey Towers will be reopening for public tours spring 2024. Have a safe and happy winter.