Most people who live in Moultonborough have driven past the sign on Old Mountain Road so many times it barely registers. Castle in the Clouds is a tourist thing: the parking lot fills with out-of-state plates in July, the trolley runs up to the mansion, and by Labor Day it quiets back down. That mental file has been accurate for years. It is less accurate now.
In December 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the Lucknow Estate a National Historic Landmark — the highest federal recognition a property can receive for historical, architectural, or archaeological significance. Fewer than 2,600 properties in the country hold that status. The 5,300-acre estate in your backyard is one of them. The 2026 season, which opened May 23, is the first full season under that designation, and several things are running differently than before.
What's Actually New This Year
The 2026 season marks the 20th anniversary of the Castle Preservation Society, the nonprofit that has managed the estate since 2006. To mark it, Castle in the Clouds debuted a new exhibition: From Private Estate to Public Treasure: Lucknow after Thomas and Olive Plant. The exhibit documents the estate's full ownership history through photographs, personal items, and firsthand accounts from the families who held the property between Thomas Plant's era and the founding of CPS. For anyone who's done the mansion tour before, this is the reason to go back — the exhibit occupies territory the standard tour doesn't cover.
The historic entrance driveway was also repaved at the end of 2025. It's a small operational detail that matters more than it sounds: the approach from the Historic Entrance is the same road Thomas and Olive Plant traveled in the early 1900s, and after years of deferred maintenance, it now reads the way it was meant to. First-time visitors won't notice the difference. Anyone who's made the drive before will.
The season runs through October 25. The property is open daily, with the Gift Shop, Carriage House, and Exhibit Gallery opening at 10:00 a.m. and trolley service to the mansion beginning at 10:15 a.m.
The Carriage House Has Become a Dinner Reservation
Lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant has always been first-come, first-served — no reservations, 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with views of Lake Winnipesaukee that Yankee Magazine once called the best mountain-view dining in New Hampshire. That format hasn't changed.
What has changed is the Music Night dinner series. This season, it expanded to three nights weekly. These evenings are reservation-only and sell out. If you've thought of the Carriage House as a lunch stop after a hike, the dinner series represents a different kind of evening — full service, live music, sunset over the lake from the terrace. It's worth checking the schedule at castleintheclouds.org before assuming there's no table available on a Tuesday in August.
Café in the Clouds, the estate's more casual option, is also open during regular season hours for lighter bites and ice cream.
Trail Conditions Before You Go
The Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area covers 5,246 acres in the Ossipee Mountains, with 28 to 30 miles of trails maintained by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. Not all of it is open right now.
Current closures to know before heading up:
- Shannon Brook Trail — the section between the Turtleback Mountain Trail and the Connector Trail is closed
- Brook Walk — the section between the Turtleback Mountain Trail and Brook Walk is also closed
- Pond Trail — a recent reroute is in place, but a water crossing exists along the current route that is not advisable during high water
The Falls of Song waterfall remains one of the most-visited destinations on the property and is accessible via other routes. The Brook Walk, when fully open, leads to viewpoints for seven waterfalls, much of it following historic carriage roads that date back more than a century.
Trail maps are available through LRCT's office in Center Harbor and through their online store. The waterproof map covers both the Castle in the Clouds Conservation Area and the Red Hill Conservation Area in Moultonborough on the reverse side — useful if you're planning a longer day.
A practical note: you cannot hike to the mansion itself. Tickets are required to access the Lucknow Estate grounds, and the trailhead system is separate from the ticketed attraction.
The Rest of the Evening
A full afternoon on the estate grounds — whether that means a mansion tour, a hike to the falls, or lunch on the Carriage House terrace — tends to run long. Two dinner options in town are worth having on the short list.
The New Woodshed at 128 Lee Road is the closest thing Moultonborough has to a proper fine-dining restaurant. Dinner service starts at 4:30 p.m. The menu runs to the kind of New England cooking that earns repeat visits, and the room is small enough that a reservation on a summer weekend is worth the call.
Buckey's on Governor Wentworth Highway is the other anchor — a tavern format with live music, a wide beer selection, and a crowd that skews local. If the Castle's evening programs or a long hike on the trails puts you in the mood for something louder and less structured, Buckey's is the right call.
Why This Season Is Different for Locals
The National Historic Landmark designation doesn't change the view from the terrace or the length of the trails. What it changes is the institution's standing — and, quietly, its programming ambition. This season, Castle in the Clouds is running more than 200 public program sessions, including workshops, a Lucknow Garden Tour, a presentation on the history of Ossipee Park, and a production of Romeo and Juliet from Advice to the Players. Charles Clark, CPS's executive director, has described 2026 as a year of transition as the organization concludes its current strategic plan and maps the estate's next chapter.
That context matters for residents who think of the property as static. It isn't. The exhibition is new. The dinner series is expanded. The driveway is restored. The milestone is real. And for the second year running, the Lucknow Estate carries a designation that puts it in the same federal category as properties most people plan trips to see.
Moultonborough residents don't need to plan a trip. They just need to drive up the mountain.
If you have questions about life in Moultonborough — what the market looks like, what to expect from different parts of town, or how waterfront and off-water properties compare — Mulligan Property Group has worked this area for decades and is glad to talk. Schedule a private consultation any time.
