New Paltz Forum: How long to tour the Mohonk Mountain House

I suggest a visit to Mohonk Mountain House to be a must while visiting New Paltz.

We stay there regularly each year for vacation and will be going this year in a couple of weeks for our 35 time since 1982 and still returning. There is nothing on earth like Mohonk. Pure Nature.

Of course you can see and experience alot more as a house guest than a day guest which restricts your movement around those areas for registered guests.

Without a pass with meal included, you have quite a walk/hike to the Mountain House itself from the Gatehouse below. You will have to leave your auto down there since the road to the Mountain House is only for vehicles that are staying.

You will need as a day guest to call and make reservations for your visit. They only allow a certain amount of people onto the mountain each day not to over crowd the grounds.

The Lemon Squeeze which is a hike through the rocks to Skytop itself takes about 3/4 to 1 hours depending on your experience thru them. They can be quite narrow. But once you reach the top, from the top of the tower, on a clear day you can see 5 states in your view.

The gardens are made up of two locations: the garden and also the greenhouse. June to Labor is the time to see the gardens.The greenhouse will teach you how and what they grown for the seasons and also for the Mountain House floral displays thru out the house. You can even buy plants in the greenhouse for your own home. When we are up there, we always take a half a dozen plants back home.

Yes, the lake is only for registered guests that have a house guest card given at check-in. If you get the opportunity to stay someday, the lake is a beautiful place to sit around or take a boat out into the water and sun yourself or read a good book. It is a natural formed lake that is 1/4 - 1/2 mile long.

Unfortunately, the house is only for house guests. The do discourage outsiders from entering. There are brochures available at the Gatehouse for visitors.

The restaurant for breakfast, lunch and dinner is abit expensive for outsiders. I find the food very nice for our taste. Breakfast and Lunch is a Buffet type meal. Dinner is only with prior reservations even for house guests also. The upper dining room is a buffet type of dinner with a menu also. The lower dining room is for Adult Menu dining only.

Also, in the last year, Mohonk has established a required dress code for dinner service.

Yes, there is a also the Granary for outside BBQ at lunch times. Sometimes during the summer months they will also have evening BBQ with seafood boil.

So, you can visit for the day or stay for several days and get a more extended time to enjoy the grounds more extensively.

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