NYS Writers Institute's Literary Tours, 2nd edition: Steepletop
- NYS Writers Institute
- Aug 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Aug 19
UPDATE: THE EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
We already have 20 on the waitlist and it is unlikely many spots will become available.
The Millay Society at Steepletop is holding "open days" in September (9/13 and 9/14) and October (10/11 and 10/12) for public tours - links provided below.
Just an FYI – the ticket prices of the public tours on those dates are higher than the price of our event, we were given a special private tour group rate for our event on the 12th.
September 13th: https://millay.org/events/steepletop-open-days-september13-2025/?occurrence=2025-09-13
September 14th: https://millay.org/events/steepletop-open-days-september14-2025/?occurrence=2025-09-14
Join us for an exclusive, private tour of the historic home and bucolic grounds of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and free-spirited bohemian feminist, Edna St. Vincent Millay.
The event will take place 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, September 12, at Steepletop in Austerlitz, Columbia County.
Edna St. Vincent Millay was a hugely popular poet in her time, a cultural rebel and rock star of the Roaring '20s. Her 19th-century farmhouse and sprawling estate in Austerlitz are designated a National Historic Landmark. Millay purchased the home and writing refuge in 1925 and named it Steepletop. [Visit the website]
The house still holds all her furniture, books, and personal possessions, many of which remain just as they were on the day she died, October 19, 1950. The 200-acre property includes Millay's writing shed, icehouse, tennis court, pool, gardens, Poetry Trail and Millay's gravesite.
Steepletop has been described as "magical" and "enthralling." The private tour will be led by docents who are very knowledgeable about Millay and her poetry.
This is a rare opportunity provided by the Writers Institute in collaboration with The Millay Society and Friends of Millay at a special group rate. The house and grounds are generally not open to the public, except for select weekends this summer and fall as part of the 100th Anniversary of Steepletop.
Event: 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, September 12, 2025
Tour group is limited to 20 people.
Two price options:
$55 - Roundtrip shuttle bus transportation from the University at Albany (approx. 45-minute drive each way) and Steepletop 2-hour tour
$20 - Transport self to Steepletop tour site (arrive there by 2pm) and join group for 2-hour tour
"We had a marvelous garden this summer, and haven’t bought a vegetable for goodness knows how long. Let me tell you, just for fun, what we had from our garden: Potatoes, cabbage , cauliflower, squash, peas, string beans, shell beans, lima beans cucumbers radishes, turnips, carrots, pumpkins, sweet corn, tomatoes, eggplants, fennel, parsley, garlic, and CANTELOUPES!" -- Edna St. Vincent Millay