11 Ways to Explore the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum on Long Island

One of the only remaining “Gilded Age Gold Coast” mansions on Long Island in New York, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum is the former estate of William K. Vanderbilt and his third wife, Rosamond. The great-great grandson of shipping and railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, William purchased the 43 acre property in Centerport on Long Island in 1908 and began with a  small “English Cottage”. Over the next two decades, he expanded the property and grew the “cottage” into a 24 room Spanish Revival mansion named “Eagle’s Nest” along with several museum buildings. Vanderbilt chose the Northport Bay location because it is the deepest port closest to Manhattan where Vanderbilt could moor his boats. William and Rosemond lived on the property from May through October, although they also commuted into their home in Manhattan. 

Vanderbilt was a world traveler, hunter, and fisherman, exploring everywhere from Asia and the Pacific to Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. He served in the Navy during World War I and sailed around the world twice collecting specimens for his personal collections. It was his desire that his estate and collections be shared with the public, so he donated his estate, including monetary funds, to Suffolk County to turn it into a museum open to the public after his death in 1944. 

Today, visitors can spend an entire day exploring the lush gardens and trails, touring Eagle’s Nest, viewing many of Vanderbilt’s vast collections in the museum exhibits, seeing a show in the planetarium, and learning about Vanderbilt’s influence on Long Island and throughout the world.

Travel Tips:

11 Things to Do on the Estate:

1. Watch a show in the Reichert Planetarium: The 60 foot dome video with surround sound and 150 oversized seats offers a wide variety of shows on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sunday- more info on scheduling here (additional fees apply). On Friday nights, the Observatory (located inside the Planetarium Building) is open to the public to explore the skyline using the 16-inch Meade telescope starting at 9pm- more info here. 
2. Use all five senses in the Sensory Garden: Located outside the entrance to the Reichert Planetarium, the sensory garden (one of 10 gardens on the estate), has more than 10 herbs, fruits, and plants that evoke all of the senses, including sage, mint, and strawberries.
3. Go for a walk on one of the hiking trails: William K. Vanderbilt was credited with creating some of the first official hiking trails on Long Island on his property. The Solar System Hiking Trail, recently created, is one mile long (note: with a LOT of elevation changes and steep inclines!) and includes placards with scale models of the planets. The 43 acre property includes trails and plenty of designated paths between buildings on the property. 

4. Picnic on the property: There are picnic tables located on the main path near the Planetarium Building, plenty of space on the front lawn and down closer to the water, and on the fields in front of the Building. 
5. Walk down to the Boathouse: While currently under construction in 2025, it’s still a pretty walk around the main mansion and down to the boathouse. Check out views of the Northport Bay, Long Island, and even Connecticut in the distance. Then, if you’re ready for a quick, steady hike up the stairs, follow the rock stairs to the front lawn.
6. Search for Wendy Klemperer’s sculptures on display throughout the property through the end of 2026: There are wrought taxidermies, made from scraps, resembling exotic, endangered and familiar (to the property) animals spread throughout the property, including being suspended from the trees and hidden in the gardens.
7. Attempt to count the preserved fishes in the Hall of Fishes, the only marine museum on Long Island: The two floor exhibit, located in the Marine Museum, showcases the personal collection of Vanderbilt. He commissioned the building in the 1920s to display his collection of thousands of real, taxidermied fishes, cataloged and organized by regions in the world. In the 1930s, Vanderbilt added a second floor for his collection of specimens and shells, also cataloged and displayed with precision. Vanderbilt opened this museum, without charge, to the public every Sunday, and then extended the free admission to several days a week.

8. See a mummy that William K. Vanderbilt purchased in Cairo, Egypt in 1931 in the Nursery Wing of the mansion: The 1920s former guest space also features a large water feature in a Moroccan-style courtyard, and the personal library of Vanderbilt, the largest room in the entire mansion. (tour tickets are not needed)
9. Stand under the largest whale shark taxidermied in a private collection in the Habitat Wing of the main mansion: Built in 1929, the wing included several dioramas of places the Vanderbilt visited, all displaying animals that William K. Vanderbilt hunted. A 32 foot long whale shark hangs from the ceiling, the largest fish taxidermy in the world. There are also two more rooms of taxidermied animals and fish in the adjacent Stoll Wing donated by trustee Charles H. Stoll. (tour tickets are not needed)
10. Peek inside the car exhibit on the lower level of the Memorial Wing of the main mansion: See Vanderbilt’s 1928 Lincoln Town Sedan and 1909 Reo Gentleman’s Roadster. The Memorial Wing, built in 1936, also includes two floors or exhibits of taxidermy fish, birds, and invertebrates from Vanderbilt’s personal collection, and cultural items from Vanderbilt’s travels around the world.(tour tickets are not needed)
11. Take a self guided or docent led tour of the Main House, named Eagle’s Nest: We recommend taking a docent led tour, which will include access to more rooms than self guided tours. Guided tours are offered each hour when the estate is open, last about an hour, and are appropriate for kids elementary age and older. An additional ticket fee applies- see more information here.  The mansion is filled with authentic furnishings and personal possessions of the Vanderbilts and displayed as they would have lived there during the 19th century. Check our this post for our version of “I Spy” while touring the property.

Looking for other fun on Long Island? Check out our features of Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, the Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site, the Long Island Aquarium, the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium, and our full City Guide to Sag Harbor.

Disclosure: Our family was given a media pass to explore the estate; all opinions expressed are our own.