Hancock Shaker Village in
Pittsfield (MA)

It's a calm, serene place. We only had time to visit the Mercantile that day, and it was wonderful! The store was full of items to see and many beautiful displays to explore! Handmade wood crafts, woolens, kitchen items, fresh herbs and teas in tins, games, books, too many things to mention. We really enjoyed ourselves. And, we had a delicious lunch just across the walkway before we went shopping.

Beautiful place and very friendly staff! They all seemed very knowledgeable and happy to share that knowledge with us and our kids. Easy to spend 2-3 hours there!

One of the few places I hadn’t visited in The Berkshires and I was glad I finally did. Something for everyone of all ages here. Every aspect of the museum was perfectly curated, from the blending of contemporary art installations throughout the historical buildings to the gift store.

Very knowledgeable staff that provides engaging presentations of Shaker beliefs, culture and crafts, and can answer questions with comprehensive historical detail. The grounds are beautiful, too, and each building features different exhibits as well as opportunities to interact with Shaker life from animal husbandry, to textiles, to the watery powered machinery, to Shaker songs and ceremonies.

It was a rainy day in August and a great time to visit this historic gem in Pittsfield! The staff and docents were so kind and informed! Loved loved seeing and hearing the farm animals talk to each other! The blacksmith was very cool and showed us how to make a blade. Children can milk a big plastic cow replica, so fun!!! Adults will love the vintage REO car on display. Kids will love making crafts and everybody of any age will find it fun and educational! And the shop has lots of local honey and spices and much more for sale! A must see when vacationing in The Bershires!!

A lovely and educational way to spend an afternoon. I had only two hours and was able to see a lot, but would recommend to budget 3-4 hours for a more complete experience. There are guides for some exhibits. While I wasn't part of their groups I did listen and they were engaged and informed. They also did a nice job of catering to a variety of ages from children through seniors. The grounds are so pretty--particularly for out of towners like myself who don't get to see this type of country terrain. I was particularly impressed with the round barn after tagging onto a tour to learn the details of the construction and its history. The tour of that building includes cows, goats and sheep. There are numerous other demonstrations and docents to give life to the exhibits--blacksmith, basket making, etc. Check the schedule before you go if you are interested in something specific to be sure you time your visit correctly.

With or without kids this is a great place to visit. Nice to walk around and very informative. Worth a detour if you are ever close by

While the site itself undoubtedly warrants a visit, my experience was marred by a most frustrating and wholly avoidable disappointment. I arrived punctually at the ticket office at 4:45 PM, fully expecting — as clearly indicated — that it would remain open until 5:00 PM. To my dismay, I found the doors already closed. Upon inquiring as to the reason, I was tersely informed that, contrary to what is publicly advertised, they in fact close at 4:45. Such disregard for the stated hours of operation is deeply inconsiderate to visitors who make the effort to arrive in good time, and leaves a distinctly sour impression. It is simply unacceptable that the official schedule should be misleading, forcing guests to settle for a few perfunctory photographs taken from outside the gates, rather than the full experience one has every right to expect. One sincerely hopes that management will see fit to correct this discrepancy without delay and accord their patrons the respect of clear, accurate, and honored operating hours.

This was an amazing experience for my husband and I. We were able to create our own individual basket. The basket weaving instructor was very knowledgeable and was very attentive to each persons needs. Highly recommended.

Our family visited the Hancock Shaker Village this week. We were on vacation visiting from Pennsylvania. We learned all about the Shakers and it was very educational. We had a great time walking around into the various buildings and barn, and we enjoyed seeing the cows, goats, chickens, and pigs. We saw live woodworking and blacksmith demonstrations as well. I recommend visiting this place.

Great experience even on a rainy/chilly day! Lots to see and do here, they offer demonstrations and have tour guides in some buildings that tell you about the history, lots of knowledgeable people work here and can answer just about any question! Definitely worth the visit!

Honestly very cool and the charming baby animals and barn cat (Pepper) were worth the trip on their own. Plenty of historic buildings don't feel like real people ever lived there, but this one felt like it remembered and honored the lives it held. I'm feeling inspired to do some research and learn more about the history now that I've seen it. Based on my own experience, I would budget at least 3 hours if you want to see (and read) everything.

So cute and a MUST for young kids (And older ones!?) took my 4 children ages 3,7,8, and 12 and they all had a blast. So much to look at and nice, simple historical info that they could comprehend and engage in! Face painting was amazing and the baby animals were wonderful. Warning from my 8 year old son: stay clear of the roosters, they bite

We were gliding sublimely on the periphery of Hancock village which is equally pastoral. The feeling of constantly discovering something new, with every step offering fresh sights, colors, and details. There's a sense of movement and change, as if the journey itself is filled with endless exploration. Each view invites you to pause and take in the richness of the surroundings. I am excited to explore the Village proper soon.

This is a Shaker village museum. You get into the territory where people lived and organized their life. Each place is described on the map, where the staff will tell and show you the secrets of the craft, there are animals on the territory. In addition, the view is stunning.

On a driving tour f New England, we stopped at Hancock Shaker Village primarily to see the round stone building. It was beyond belief beautiful. The whole village was interesting and very informative. I probably will go again the next time we are in that area.

Well maintained with knowledgeable staff. Great little speakers throughout the day and the property, who explain many aspects of the history of the Shakers. (I especially appreciated the ironic quote “I don’t want to be remembered as a piece of furniture.”) There was an exhibit on in the small gallery - located in the former hen house - of women artists; I especially enjoyed discovering the exquisite cyano print work of Julia Whitney Barnes, whose book ‘Planting Utopia’ is available the gift shop. We stopped into the cafe by the gate on our way out for a sandwich which was excellent. Lovely afternoon.

Great experience and super glad we stopped. Take the opportunity to step back into the early 1900s and see how these ingenious people lived. First, if you are coming, the campus is large so plan on spending about 4 hours to see most of the place and wear some good sneakers to walk around in. Most of the trails will be old wooden boardwalk, gravel paths and dirt or grass. Take the opportunity to go to the schedule talks and demonstrations by the staff/volunteers. They are knowledgeable and good to talk to afterwards. The herbalism and the woodshop with the water turbine driven (via belts) were some of my favorite stops. Music guy was great also. Would have been nice to get there earlier to see some of the others also. Make sure to stop in the cafe for some icecream. The Purple Cow flavored was excellent. Black Raspberry with chocolate and white chocolate pieces. One note. From the parkinglot, just follow the signs to the buildings. There is a bus stop along the way that you just continue past and follow the walking trail. Really could use another sign there to just say continue this way as you can't really see anything there yet.

A very wonderful experience and a must do in the spring time. The baby animal exhibit is so amazing for folks of all ages. You can get right in with the critters and give them all the pets your heart desires. The animals are all very happy and content. There is also a lot of history to be learned here, however I cannot lie, my number one reason to come was the animals.

There are 20 buildings spread out on both sides of Rt 20 and many have steps so there is a lot of walking involved. It was very quiet when we went which was nice. I suggest going in the fall as it was beautiful with the leaves changing along with the view of the mountains. Each building was posted with signs that explained their use. It is like walking back through time. I missed the animals because we didn't directly walk by them somehow. We spent about 3 hours here.

What a lovely, lovely place. I'd been here for a few special events but this was my first opportunity to take a good long time to wander the grounds. I learned so much and the folks working or volunteering here or there were more than willing to share or show what they know. Yep, it was a Christian religious site and that is emphasized in part of the presentations. Go here knowing that for the Shakers this was a religious vision that included art, inclusion, ecology, equity, and service. A few more things to think about as a visitor... The grounds are bigger than I thought they were and go on both sides of the road. I spent about 90 minutes there and probably saw about half the property. Either plan ahead to see what you want to see or plan more time than I did to see the whole thing. Although the visitor's center is accessible, there are board walks throughout the property, and there is an accessible trail, know that there are still a few places that can only be accessed by stairs or walking across uneven grass. Considering the emphasis here is the history of the place, they've done a tremendous job with making the facility as accessible as possible while maintaining historical integrity. Finally, know that a good bit of your time will be spent in between places outdoors and in some buildings without heat or cooling. Dress more like you would for a day hike than a trip to a museum. This is a special place here in the Berkshires. In the middle of so much hopeless, divisive, and discouraging news it's good to come to a place where people sought - and for a while found - a vision for a more hopeful future.

There is a lot of history and interesting expositions there. Kids will have fun watching animals and get a lot of activities. Very nice shop with great choices of souvenirs and organic products. It is a pretty good hamburger cafe there, too.

This place has alot of very interesting history. If you enjoy learning this is a great place for all ages. While visiting, we learned about basket making, the round stone building, pet some of the animals, viewed the bees in their hive, and weaved with the "machine". This gift shop and food offering were reasonable and very nice. Well worth the 20.00 admission.

Hancock Shaker Village has officially been added to my list of favorite venues in the Berkshires. The surroundings of the village make perfect backdrops for photos, the texture of the various buildings and the history beaming off the place makes you feel transformed to another place and time. We were able to access the property ahead of the guests in order to take photos before cocktail hour started and ended the night in the spacious tent next to the welcome center. A member of the staff drove me, along with the bride and groom to the cows further out in the pasture so we could take golden hour photos with them, too. The whole experience was wonderful and I hope to be back!

It was very interesting to see all the houses and how the shakers lived in those times. And all that they built. And the farm animals were cool to check out. I especially loved the look of the round barn. In the cafe they have miniature replicas of the rooms. The cafe had lots of great choices for food and drinks. There is also a cute shop on the property.

A lot of historical information. The grounds are beautiful and I loved that I had the opportunity to explore on my own but have the choice to join informational tours if I chose. Definitely recommend this place for a visit and recommend exploring the buildings across the street (although I didn't get there). Would also recommend about 2 hours to explore. I bought a great little sandwich and cherry chocolate scone at the little cafe on site. Very fresh and delicious. Great for all ages.

This was the best Shaker Village I have been to! Very well maintained, friendly and knowledge staff, and beautiful scenery. The cafe also has some delicious sandwiches. We did the hike there as well and it was an easy mile through the forest. Our kids enjoyed all the animals and farming there. Great family day trip!