Visiting New Skete
Visiting, Retreats, Seminars, and Tours
Should you ever find yourself near our back door to New England, you are most welcome to visit and pray with us or simply to have some quiet time for reflection. The Nuns are located about 2 miles east of the village of Cambridge, New York, the Monks are about 4 miles further east. New Skete is located approximately 45 miles northeast of Albany, NY, and approximately 20 miles northwest of Bennington, VT in the gentle and lovely Taconic Mountains, which geologically sideswipe the Green Mountains of Vermont, just north of the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
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Liturgical Services
Our worship services are open to all.
Click here for schedule of church services.
When visiting New Skete Monastery we ask that you leave your dog at home.
Except for service animals or approved support animals for persons with disabilities, no pets are allowed at New Skete Monastery. To make an appointment to visit with your service animal or approved support animal email nscom@newskete.org.
Other exceptions include: attending the Blessing of the Animals with your pet, arriving with your pet for your scheduled appointment with New Skete Dog Training, and attendance at The Art of Training Your Dog Workshop by registered guests.
Day Visits
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Visitors are welcome to explore our churches, gardens, and hiking trails.
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Visitors are welcome to explore our churches and hike our trails.
Individual Retreats/Guesthouse
Hiking Trails & Self-guided Tours
Individual Retreats/Guesthouse
We are pleased to share the quiet and solitude of our daily life with you.
Program Retreats and Seminars
Program Retreats and Seminars
Individual Retreats/Guesthouse
New Skete is host to several conferences and workshops each year.
Group Tours
Program Retreats and Seminars
Group Conferences
School groups, senior groups, and other organizations can schedule a tour.
No tours from November 1st to May 1st.
Group Conferences
Program Retreats and Seminars
Group Conferences
Church and Parish groups are welcome to use our facilities.
The view from the top of the hiking trail at New Skete
Hiking Trail at New Skete Monastery
A lush trail, worth taking you time to enjoy. Stonewalls, spring runnel, various grades.
Distance And Terrain:
Approximate 9 miles, flat to mildly steep grade.
Pets
Please leave your pets at home.
Highlights And Key Points Along The Route Geology:
Visible from the village, and the subject of Grandma Moses paintings, “Two Tops” are part of the Taconic Mountains, a massive overturned klippe composed of folded slates, quartzites, and phyllites, with a moderate degree of metamorphism. The complex mountain building has a 500 million year history. Much of the rock outcrops you see on the trail display the sedimentary layers and sever folding at the heart of this process.
Wildlife:
White tail deer are abundant. Black bear and coyote, red and grey fox are in the area but they shy from people and are not likely to be seen in the daytime. Porcupine, skunk, opossum, raccoon, cottontail rabbit, weasel, chipmunk, as well as the grey, red and flying squirrel all live here. A wide variety of birds inhabit the woods: ruffled grouse and wild turkey, the barred and the great horned owl. Red tail hawks can be seen enjoying the air currents near the mountaintops. For additional information on hiking in areas with bear sightings, visit the National Park Service's website.
Flora:
Many times more diverse than the rest of New York and New England; you might notice jack-in-the-pulpit, trillium, and the varieties of violet, starflower, woodland orchids, bottle gentian and asters, to cite but a few. Many unusual lichen and mosses, as well as ferns, fungi and ground pine or club moss abound. Be aware of the large variety of hard and soft wood trees: oak, aspen, hickory, beech, maple, birch, hemlock, white pine, hophornbeam and the lovely flowering shadblow.
History:
Before colonial times this area was inhabited by the Hoosacs, a tribe of Abenaki or Mahican nation. They had settlement, Pompanuk, a few miles south of the trail. The Dutch acquired land in the 1600’s, subsequently taken over and expanded by they English. New Skete sits mainly on the Embury Patent issued in 1765. A crucial skirmish in the Revolutionary War in 1777 was fought on nearby Wallomsac Heights; it is known as The Battle of Bennington. Scots-Irish sheep farmers settled here on Two Tops, cleared the land of trees, building stonewalls that crisscross the fields. The forest did not begin to grow back till the early 1900’s. The monks acquired this property in 1968 in what is now Ash Grove in the Town of White Creek.
The approximate nine miles of trails at New Skete Monastery are available for quiet hikes in our woods. The view from the top, as seen in the photo above, is eye-catching and photo worthy.
Please print out the trail map below.
Hike at your own risk!
Wear appropriate shoes and clothing, use tick repellent spray and carry a hiking stick for safety.
Sign in at the Bell Tower.
We are pleased to share the quiet, solitude and beauty of our surroundings with you. Retreats differ in focus. A retreat can simply be a time of rest and renewal from your daily life, or you may desire to have a more directed retreat in the context of our liturgical life. The structure of your time with us can be worked out once you arrive, or you may communicate your interest ahead of time. We welcome guests throughout the year, with the exception of our own retreat times, mid-August through mid-September, and our mid-winter retreat, usually in February. Our guest rooms are usually booked several weeks in advance, so we recommend making your reservation early. Please check the group retreats page for thematic retreats planned throughout the year.
Retreats may be scheduled for two or more nights, starting at noon on Tuesday and ending with the mid-day meal on Sunday. All meals are provided. Animals cannot be accommodated unless you require a service dog. People of all faiths are welcome and are encouraged to join us for the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, as well as Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days. In addition, there is ample time for private prayer and reflection, as well as conversations with other guests and monastics. The grounds of the communities are open to guests with the exception of areas designated as private.
Retreats with the Monks of New Skete
Each two-chambered guestroom consists of a parlor, a bedroom, and a private bath. A sliding door in the parlor leads to a quiet patio area and the beautiful gardens of Emmaus House.
The common area of Emmaus Guest House is a spacious gathering room with high vaulted ceilings and natural light from the gardens. There is a library with spiritual and secular books.
We suggest that guests worship with the community twice a day for matins and vespers, as well as Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days.
Our guests share meals with us and have access to the beautiful grounds that comprise our property. We have well-marked hiking trails and a trail map that guests are welcome to use.
Spiritual direction with one of the brothers may be possible during your stay.
Donations are gratefully accepted.
To make a donation for your stay click here.
If you must cancel your retreat, please let us know as soon as possible.
No pets allowed.
Questions? Call Brother Gregory 518-677-3928 ext 226.
or email brgregory@newskete.org
The guesthouse is closed during monastic retreats.
Mid August to mid September and Febraury.
Retreats with the Nuns of New Skete
Our guest accommodations include a bedroom with two twin beds, sitting chairs and private bath and shower, as well as a guest living room with a small balcony and a kitchenette where guests have breakfast. Lunch and dinner are usually taken with us in our dining room. Our Lady of the Sign chapel is in the guest wing and available to you during your time with us.
We suggest that guests worship with the community twice a day for matins and vespers, as well as Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days. Matins is held in the small chapel of our monastery, Tuesday through Friday. Vespers, Divine Liturgy and feast day services are held in the Holy Wisdom Temple at the Monks' monastery.
We encourage you to join us in our daily schedule of work, prayer and study to give you a deeper sense of our expression of Orthodox monastic life, or to simply enjoy the lovely quiet the monastery offers.
Spiritual companioning with one of the nuns may possible during your stay.
Donations are gratefully accepted.
If you must cancel your retreat, please let us know as soon as possible.
Questions? Call Sister Rebecca 518-677-3810
The guestroom is closed during monastic retreats.
August 15 to September 17, 2024.
February 2025.
Group Tours
The breathtaking churches, the extensive gardens and waterfall feature and the peace and solitude of New Skete welcome you to learn about its history, art and culture.
A typical visit to New Skete includes a tour of the churches, with one of the brothers giving a lecture on their history and the icons depicted on the walls, a question-and-answer session, a visit to the Meditation Garden, a visit to the monks’ gift shop and a stop at the nuns’ monastery to purchase cheesecake for home. You may even catch a glimpse of the famed New Skete German Shepherd dog.
Donations are gratefully accepted.
There is ample parking and buses can be accommodated.
New Skete tours are wheelchair accessible.
Tours are not available on Sundays and Mondays. Tours are not available November 1st to May 1st.
Groups tours are for groups of 10 or more people and are by appointment only.
To schedule a tour, please submit a group tour request form.
Retreats and Seminars
Nourish your spirit and refocus on what is most important in the peace, solitude and beauty of the surroundings of New Skete. Read, rest, and relax. Hike and enjoy the grounds.
Program retreats include presentations by the monks and nuns, including guided meditation.
Seminars and workshops are multi-day conferences that include presentations by the monks and/or a famed professional.
For notifications on upcoming events and retreats. Click here to sign up for e-newsletters and updates.