Bayard Cutting Arboretum

Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is a 691-acre arboretum and country estate on the Connetquot River at 440 Montauk Highway in Great River, a short drive north of Heckscher State Park. NYS Parks runs it. It is open Tuesday to Sunday (closed Mondays except holidays), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from April to October and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in winter, and parking is $8 a car in season. You can tour the furnished Manor House and gardens, walk the pinetum and rhododendron paths, and lunch at the Hidden Oak Café.

What It Is

In late 1936, as Olivia James was arranging the transfer of the estate then called "Westbrook" to the Long Island State Park Commission, she wrote down two purposes she and her mother had for it. The arboretum is named for her father, William Bayard Cutting. NYS Parks quotes the purposes: that Westbrook be "an oasis of beauty and of quiet," and that it teach the public the value of informal planting. Today it is an arboretum where most trees carry labels, so visitors can see how a species might look in their own garden.

Hours

NYS Parks posts these hours (the latest posted set):

• April to October: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday.
• November to early April: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday.
• Closed Mondays, except summer holidays.

The Manor House and office keep the same hours and close in February.

Fees

• Cars: $8. In 2026 NYS Parks collected it on weekends and holidays from April 4 to May 3, daily from May 5 to September 6, and on weekends and holidays from September 12 to November 15, by automated pay station 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday. An Empire Pass covers it.
• Manor House and garden tours: $15 adults, $7 children under 12. Register ahead at (631) 581-1002; walk-ups are first come, first served, with a limit of 15 people per tour.
• Posed photography (weddings, engagements, family photos): permit required, $250 for a 90-minute session in park hours, arranged with the park before the date.

The Manor House

The estate mansion is kept in its original style with period furnishings, and NYS Parks runs seasonal guided tours. Photo exhibits inside show that Westbrook was once a dairy farm that sold glass-bottled milk in local markets; one of the original barns still stands in the farm area.

Hidden Oak Café

The café on the mansion's first floor serves a light lunch with a view over the great lawn to the Connetquot River. Hours: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday from April to October, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. from November to March; closed in February. Formal teas can be booked by reservation.

The Grounds

Walk the pinetum and the rhododendron plantings, the great lawn on the river, and the farm area. NYS Parks publishes a trail map for the arboretum. The Bayard Cutting Horticultural Society runs educational programs.

Heckscher and Bayard Cutting in One Day

Spend the morning at Heckscher's beach or bike path (plan your visit), then drive north to the arboretum for lunch at the café and an afternoon in the gardens. Remember the arboretum is closed on Mondays; Heckscher is open every day.