Wave Hill's Boston Ivy Turns Red Above the Hudson

Give the garden about ninety minutes. From the front gate, the Herb and Dry Gardens sit in the stone footings of Wave Hill's old glasshouses; the Conservatory is a short walk from them, followed by the Pergola Overlook and the narrow paths of the Wild Garden.

The Conservatory keeps shorter hours than the grounds: 10 AM to 4 PM, with a daily hour-long closure at noon. See it before noon — the Palm House bulbs and the Cactus and Succulent House — then take the Pergola in the middle of the day, when the light is on the river.

The Pergola is where November shows its hand. Boston ivy climbs the balusters and turns deep red before it drops, though how long the color holds depends on the weather and how quickly the leaves fall, so a late-November visit may find bare vines above the water. The view still runs across the Hudson to the Palisades.

November hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 AM to 4:30 PM — the winter schedule that begins when daylight saving ends — with last admission 30 minutes before closing and the grounds closed Monday. Adults pay $10 and Thursdays are free all day. The free shuttle runs Thursday through Sunday only, roughly hourly, from the Metro-North Riverdale station and the 1 train at Van Cortlandt Park–242nd Street; the last Metro-North return leaves the front gate at 4 PM.