Hillwood Estate: A Walk Through Rich Rooms and Gardens

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, is located about 5 miles north of Washington DC, and is a great destination to add to any DC itinerary. We stumbled upon the estate in our DC research, specifically when we were looking for things to do outside of your typical DC visit – hidden gems, non-standard museums, non-memorials. The museum and gardens are great for museum-lovers and non-museum lovers. Inside, there’s a great balance of visuals and historical collections. Plus, you can walk around the grounds and garden. Whether you’re looking for more info to plan a visit to Hillwood Estate, or you’re looking for pictures to motivate you to go, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for more info and pictures!

Planning Your Visit to Hillwood Estate

What is the Hillwood Estate?

Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, is an estate last owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post that has since become a museum. Marjorie Post was a wealthy businesswoman and socialite. As you walk through the museum, you’ll notice she loved 18th-century French decorations. The museum has done an excellent job maintaining the décor, as you can see by comparing to the pictures from the 1950s.

In the Japanese-style Garden, you continue to see Marjorie’s love of collecting decorative objects. The grounds also feature a French Parterre, dog cemetery, and rose garden. The greenhouse was also originally part of the estate, and Marjorie used it to grow her favorite flower, the orchid.

How to Get There

Hillwood Estate is about a 20-minute drive from downtown DC. The estate is directly north of the city. If you’re planning a visit, we recommend driving (renting or bringing a car) and taking a full day to explore the outskirts of the city. Parking is available on site. Need ideas on what to do in the outskirts of DC? Check out our full DC itinerary in our blog post: The Perfect Weekend in DC: How to Make the Most of Your Time.

If you’re looking for public transportation, the red line of the DC metro also runs north towards Hillwood Estate. The train ride itself is 15 minutes leaving from Shady Grove, plus a 20 minute walk to the estate.

How Much Time to Spend at Hillwood Estate

Most people spend 2-3 hours at the Hillwood Estate. The place is broken into four main areas: the mansion and museum, the grounds, the Japanese-style Garden, and the greenhouse. It takes at least an hour to walk through the estate and museum. The grounds, garden, and greenhouse can take another 1-2 hours.

Best Time to Visit

The best time of day to visit the estate is whenever you can carve out 2-3 hours to visit. Visiting upon opening, at 10 am, will probably result in the smallest crowds. Visiting around 5pm, depending on the time of sunset, could be particularly beautiful in the gardens.

Any time of year is good to visit Hillwood Estate. But, each season gives its own charm to the estate. Fall and winter will mean the estate is decorated for Christmas. For prettier views of the garden, we recommend spring or fall. At the end of November, we did miss the rose garden. A wintery snowfall would also look beautiful in the garden.

Tickets, Reservations, and Hours

Reservations to Hillwood Estate aren’t required. However, you can book your tickets in advance. The estate is open Tuesday – Sunday, from 10 am to 5 pm. They are closed on Mondays, for some holidays, and during a few weeks in January.

The recommended donation for tickets is $18/adult ($15 for senior citizens). Students are $10 and children are $5 or free (under 6 years old).

Pictures to Inspire Your Visit to Hillwood Estate

We recommend visiting the estate in this order: estate, Japanese-style garden, grounds, and saving the greenhouse for last. That way, if you run out of time, you are sure to see the estate, and can run over to the Japanese-style garden before closing.

Estate and Museum

The mansion is the main destination at the Hillwood Estate. So, if you’re a thorough museum-visitor, budget about 2 hours to get through all the rooms and read all the signs. If you’re faster, you can walk through it in about an hour.

You’ll walk through the servant’s quarters, kitchen, dining room, library, reading room, Russian porcelain collection, and theatre on the first floor. The upper level has a napping room, Russian sacred arts gallery, children’s room, and Marjorie’s lavish dressing room, closets, bedroom, and ALL-PINK bathroom.

Entry

The entrance hall of Hillwood Estate is decorated with lavish portraits and chandeliers. Take a moment to appreciate every corner of decoration.

Dining Hall

We visited at the end of November, so they had decorated the dining hall for Christmas. As you move through the estate, you’ll see pictures of what the estate looked like originally. And, you’ll notice they’ve done a great job of keeping it true to it’s original French décor style.

Bedrooms

Marjorie Post had almost half of the second floor just for her dressing room, bathroom, and bedroom. Since she had a passion for jewelry and fashion, they have some vintage gowns and attire on display. You’ll notice she really loved the color pink.

Library

There are a few rooms throughout the estate for a library, living-room, and even a purple room in a theatre-style setup (with a piano in front). Take your time walking through each room, there’s a ton of lavish décor and beautiful paintings to admire in each.

Japanese Gardens

When you’ve finished with the mansion, you can wander through the grounds, towards the Japanese-style gardens. There’s a nice collection of statues, waterfalls, and colorful plants and trees. We visited in end of November, so we can only imagine it gets more beautiful in spring and early fall.

Grounds

French Parterre

Off to the side of the mansion, Hillwood Estate has upkept a French Parterre garden featuring a pool and ivy walls. Marjorie’s bedroom is right above this garden, where she had a special bay window to enjoy the view.

Lunar Lawn

Check out Leo the Lion watching over the Lunar Lawn. If the weather is clear and you look hard enough, you can see the Washington Memorial between the trees behind Leo.

Greenhouse

Marjorie Post upheld a beautiful greenhouse while she lived in Hillwood Estate. The curator would use the fresh orchids from the greenhouse to decorate the bedrooms of the mansion.

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