Five Ways to Explore Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens in Washington D.C.

On a recent trip to Washington DC, we had the opportunity to visit a new-to-us spot, Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens, located in the northwest section of DC, just one mile from the National Zoo and five miles from the Washington Mall. The 25 acre estate includes the main mansion, purchased by Majorie Merriweather Post in 1955 as her spring and fall seasonal home, 13 acres of formal gardens, and another dozen acres of natural woodlands. 

One of the wealthiest women of the 20th century, Majorie Merriweather Post was heir to the Postum Cereal Company, which later became General Foods. Post was well respected as one of the first woman to serve on the board of the company, acquiring companies such as Hellman’s mayonnaise, Log Cabin syrup, Birds Eye foods, and even Jell-O to join the Post brand.  Post’s philanthropic efforts focused on funding medical supplies to troops during WWI and supporting many DC area soup kitchens during the Great Depression. 

Marjorie Merriweather Post spent years renovating Hillwood and then gifting the estate and her collections of Russian imperial art and 18th century French art, and many other curated art, jewelry, and clothing collections to the city to be shared with the public. In 1977 Hillwood opened as a museum and has welcomed millions of visitors to the estate to learn about Post’s ongoing legacy and to see her collections, beautiful mansion, and stunning gardens. 

Travel Tips:

Five Ways to Explore Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens:

1. Play “I Spy” while touring the main mansion. Visitors may take self guided or docent led tours of both floors of the mansion, including the French Drawing Room, Russian Porcelain Room, Pavilion, Icon Room, Library, Dining Room, Kitchen, and French Porcelain Room on the first floor and several bedrooms, bathrooms, and library on the second floor. Have kids look for:
   1. Glass fruit hanging from chandeliers in the main Entry Hall.
   2. The miniature canopy dog bed, used by Post’s schnauzer Scampi, in the first floor Library
   3. The collection of Russian liturgical objects like chalices, jewelry and two imperial Fabergé eggs commissioned by Russia’s last emperor, Nicholas II, for his mother, a tradition started by Nicholas’s father, Alexander III for his wife in the Icon Room.
   4. Count the number of drinking glasses set at each setting on the Dining Room table set for twelve people (the table does extend to fit 30 people but is extremely heavy and would break through the floor if fully opened). When Post entertained, there was a footman behind every guest!
   5. The 18th century Russian colored glass chandelier hanging in the Breakfast Room. Post entertained guests for small dinners in this room. 
   6. Guess the missing appliance in the 1950s Kitchen. (hint: it helps with cleaning dishes). Staff had to be silent while washing dishes so they could concentrate on the delicate china.
   7. Count the horse figurines in the second floor Library.
   8. Check out the unique “do not disturb” sign on the doors of several bedrooms.
   9. Check out the size of the jewelry safe in Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Dressing Room.
   10. Touch the velvet covered banister on the Entry Hall  staircase.

2. See a replica of the windjammer Sea Cloud built by Marjorie Merriweather Post and her husband, E.F. Hutton in the early 1900s. The Setting Sail exhibit, housed in the dacha which was built in 1926 behind the main mansion, celebrates the yacht that was once the world’ largest yacht, which was later part of the US Coast Guard fleet, and now is a luxury cruise liner. The exhibit includes a timeline of the ship’s history, photographs, paintings and other memorabilia. Note: the rotating exhibit runs through June 2025.
3. Warm up in the Greenhouse, renovated in 1996, with hundreds of tropical plants from around the world and a large collection of orchids, Post’s favorite flower.
4. Walk through the gardens. The grounds include a Rose Garden, a Friendship Walk, Putting Green (Post was a fan of golf!), Lunar Lawn, Japanese-style Garden, Dog Cemetery, Cutting Garden, and Native Garden. While a majority of the gardens thrive during the warmer months, there is something to see year round. Note: When we visited during the cold month of February, it was raining heavily and we could not explore as much of the grounds as we had hoped.
5. Be sure kids grab various scavenger hunts in the Visitor Center (there are Garden Art, French Art, Russian Art, and Majorie Merriweather Post themed activities). Each hunt includes historical and architectural elements of the mansion and specific exhibits.

Looking for other family friendly museums and attractions around Washington DC? See our full index here. And follow along on our adventures on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.