Hunting Hill Mansion

Hunting Hill Mansion is the stone manor house at the heart of Ridley Creek State Park. It holds the park office and is rented for weddings and events. The Jeffords family built it in 1915 around a Pennsylvania stone farmhouse from 1789, which still forms the core of the building. Around it are formal gardens, a 1-mile paved garden loop and a rare Franklin tree. The grounds are open to visitors sunrise to sunset, free of charge, at 1023 Sycamore Mills Road in Media.

The House

DCNR calls Hunting Hill a large English country manor; its printed guide describes the style as English Tudor. The 1789 farmhouse at its center now serves as the reception center. The gray stone of the mansion set the style for the whole park: DCNR notes that the stone facade is repeated on park buildings throughout Ridley Creek.

The original owners kept roughly 2,000 acres of lawn and forest here, with formal gardens, horse stables and trails. DCNR notes that the gardens, stables and trails of that estate can still be seen today. The park office is in the mansion; DCNR asks visitors to contact the office for its hours.

The Gardens and Mansion Gardens Trail

The formal gardens by the park office are, in DCNR's words, a popular attraction and wedding site. The easiest way to see them is the Mansion Gardens Trail, a 1-mile paved loop that starts at the mansion parking lot and circles the gardens and the house. It is rated "easiest," and there is a modern restroom near the start (All trails).

The Franklin Tree

Next to the mansion is what DCNR calls the rarest tree in the park: a large Franklin tree (*Franklinia alatamaha*). It has big glossy leaves that turn orange and red in the fall and white flowers in early autumn. John and William Bartram found the species growing in one spot in Georgia in 1765. William later planted seeds in Philadelphia, and by 1803 the tree was extinct in the wild. Every Franklin tree alive today descends from the Bartrams' plants (Wildlife & Trees).

Weddings and Events

The mansion holds up to 150 guests, with a bridal suite, first-floor ballroom, grand staircase and living room area. Weddings and private events here are handled only by Parque at Ridley Creek State Park (Weddings).

Visiting Tips

• Park in the mansion lot; it has a two-plug EV charging station. Move your car once it has charged.
• The grassy slope by the park office is the park's sledding hill in winter (Winter).
• The Yellow Trail starts from the office and mansion area.
• If a wedding is on, keep clear of the event spaces.