From its iconic red barn to an elegant allée of maples, this lovely home is a testament to the celebrated poet's ideal of living mindfully on the land.
 
The serene vista of the Westfield River Valley served as a lifelong inspiration for William Cullen Bryant, who was editor and publisher of the New York Evening Post for many years, and whose meditative verse influenced the 19th-century land conservation movement that included Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Eliot, founder of The Trustees.

From 1865 until his death in 1878, Bryant summered here at what had been his childhood home, a two-story-farmhouse-turned-three-story Victorian cottage full of Colonial and Victorian pieces from the poet’s family, as well as exotic memorabilia from his extensive European and Asian travels. The Homestead’s pastoral landscape encompasses pastures, fields, woodlands, and a maple sugar bush that has been tapped for more than 200 years.

Wander the Rivulet Trail, where an old-growth forest of hemlock and a magnificent cherry tree hugs the Rivulet, a trickling stream immortalized by Bryant’s 1823 poem of the same name.

The Pine Loop features enormous pines that reach heights of 150 feet, among the tallest in the Northeast. When the Homestead is open, guided tours are available.

The AllTrails website has a description and map of a hike at William Cullen Bryant Homestead.