What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley June 6-7 Features More Than Twenty Free, Expert-Led Tours of Parks, Gardens, & Open Spaces
Media Contact: Nord Wennerstrom | T: 202.483.0553 | M: 202.255.7076 | E: nord@tclf.org
Part of a nationwide program that reveals the stories of places that are part of our daily lives
Washington, D.C. (April 28, 2026) – The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) announces What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley June 6-7, 2026, featuring more than twenty free, expert-led tours of parks, gardens, and open spaces in New York State’s Upper Hudson Valley. These tours enable people to discover the design history of places they may pass every day but don’t necessarily know about. Expert guides provide rich stories, personal anecdotes, and keen observations about each site, landscape architecture, city shaping, and garden design (all tours are free, but attendance is limited and registration is required). The tour sites include Olana State Historic Site, Underground Railroad Education Center, Mountain Top Arboretum, Thomas Cole National Historic Site, and Art Omi Pavilions.
In addition to the tours, TCLF will produce a printed What’s Out There Upper Hudson Valley guidebook that includes all of the tour sites (available for purchase and free as a downloadable PDF), and a more expansive and ever-growing digital What’s Out There Mid- and Upper Hudson Valley (which TCLF maintains in perpetuity). The digital Guide includes an illustrated history of the region’s cultural landscape heritage, with 85 individual site entries, and biographies of more than 65 designers who collectively shaped the landscapes that people in Mid- and Upper Hudson move through every day.
Research gathered for the tours will have a long-lasting legacy, becoming part of TCLF’s permanent What’s Out There database of more than 2,800 sites across North America, 1,400 designer profiles, and 14,000 images. The GPS-enabled database is a go-to resource for everyone from schoolchildren to scholars seeking trustworthy online information.
TOUR SCHEDULE – All tours are free, but attendance is limited and registration is required.
Saturday, June 6
• Oakwood Cemetery | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Heidi Klinowski (Friends of Oakwood Cemetery)
• University at Albany, Uptown Campus / State University of New York | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Ray Bromley, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus (University at Albany / SUNY); Jason Kersch (University at Albany / SUNY)
• Washington Park | 10:00 am – 11:30 am | Led by Tom Pfeiffer (Washington Park Advisory Committee)
• Graceland Cemetery | 10:00 am – 11:00 am | Led by Steve Reilly (Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation)
• Olana State Historic Site - The Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape | 10:30 am – 11:30 am | Led by Thomas L. Woltz, FASLA, CLARB (Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects); Adam Yarinsky, FAIA (Architecture Research Office)
• Steepletop | 11:30 am – 1:00pm | Led by Mark O’Berski (The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society Board of Trustees)
• Ten Broeck Mansion | 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm | Led by Representatives of Albany County Historical Association—Ten Broeck Mansion
• Clermont State Historic Site |1:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Led by Leslie Reed (NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation)
• Olana State Historic Site | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Led by Thomas L. Woltz, FASLA, CLARB (Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects)
• Underground Railroad Education Center | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Led by Mary Liz Stewart (Underground Railroad Education Center)
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by John Kolb (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Robert Carney (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); Andrew White (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
• Swinburne Park and Bleecker Stadium | 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by Tony Opalka (City of Albany)
• Art Omi | 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Led by Jeremy Adams (Art Omi)
• Mountain Top Arboretum | 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Led by Jamie Purinton (Jamie Purinton Landscape Architect); Sammy Winderman (Mountain Top Arboretum)
• Promenade Hill Park | 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm | Led by Gail Wittwer-Laird, FAAR (Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners)
• Public Square / 7th Street Park | 4:45 pm – 5:15 pm | Led by Gail Wittwer-Laird, FAAR (Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners)
Sunday, June 7
• Prospect Park | 10:00 am – 12:00 pm | Led by Kathy T. Sheehan (Rensselaer County & City of Troy; Hart Cluett Museum)
• Thomas Cole National Historic Site | 10:30 am – 11:30 am | Led by Beth Wynne (Thomas Cole National Historic Site)
• Art Omi Pavilions | 11:30 am – 12:30 pm | Led by Francis Greenburger (Art Omi)
• Albany Rural Cemetery | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Led by Michael Radlick, Ph.D. (Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery); Lynn Radlick, Ph.D. (Friends of the Albany Rural Cemetery)
• Lincoln Park | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Led by Tony Opalka (City of Albany)
• Empire State Plaza and New York State Capitol Grounds | 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm | Led by Allan Greller (The Cultural Landscape Foundation)
• Martin Van Buren National Historic Site | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Led by Megan O’Malley (National Park Service, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site); Jared Muehlbauer (National Park Service, Martin Van Buren National Historic Site)
• Persons of Color Cemetery at Kinderhook | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm | Led by Kate Johnson (Historians of Columbia County New York, Village of Kinderhook); Warren Applegate (Persons of Color Cemetery at Kinderhook); Hollis Seamon, Ph.D. (Retired, The College of Saint Rose); and Representatives from the African American Archive of Columbia County
“By making the people and stories behind these landscapes visible and bringing to life their unique value and civic contributions for all, we can better understand where we’ve come from as a community and where we are going,” said Charles A. Birnbaum, TCLF’s President and CEO.
“The Hudson Valley’s profoundly layered history contributes to the wealth of its cultural landscapes. What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley invites fresh recognition for these landscapes, which hold stories at the confluence of art, ecology, and cultural memory. Having had the privilege of stewarding and renewing historic sites in this region, including Frederic Church's Olana, my colleagues and I are thrilled for people to enjoy free tours and rediscover the deeper meaning of these landscapes,” said Thomas Woltz, Senior Principal, Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, and C0-Chair, TCLF Board of Directors.
“Olana is one of the most significant and intact artist-designed landscapes in the country, and we are thrilled to participate in TCLF’s What’s Out there Weekend to bring more attention and new audiences to experience Frederic Church’s masterwork,” Sean Sawyer, the Washburn and Susan Oberwager President, The Olana Partnership
What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley dovetails with TCLF’s web based What’s Out There, the nation’s most comprehensive searchable database of historic designed landscapes. The database currently features more than 2,800 sites, 14,000 images, and 1,400 designer profiles. What’s Out There is optimized for iPhones and similar handheld devices, and includes What’s Nearby, a GPS-enabled feature that locates all landscapes within a given distance, customizable by mileage or walking time.
What’s Out There Weekend Upper Hudson Valley is made possible by Lead Sponsors Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation; Presenting Sponsor Vermont Quarries Corp.; Education Partners ASLA New York Upstate and The Olana Partnership; along with many Supporting Sponsors and Friends.
About The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 1998 with a mission of “connecting people to places.” TCLF educates and engages the public to make our shared landscape heritage more visible, identify its value, and empower its stewards. Through its website, publishing, lectures, and other events, TCLF broadens support and understanding for cultural landscapes. TCLF is also home to the Cornelia Hahn Oberlander International Landscape Architecture Prize.
EDITORS – CLICK HERE FOR HI-RES IMAGES.
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