Workers on the Stone House roof at Deering Estate are carefully removing the handmade Cuban barrel tiles. The tiles are being documented and preserved for a future museum display. The tiles arrived by steamship from Havana during the Florida land boom. They went onto the house in 1922 because South Florida had no clay suitable for making its own.
Restoration of the house began in June 2025. The work covers every interior and exterior architectural and structural element, along with re-roofing, door and window repair, and new electrical and HVAC work. The estate's project page, updated October 1, gives no completion date. For Palmetto Bay residents who treat the estate as a backyard landmark, that changes what this fall looks like. The programs that relied on the house have moved next door to Richmond Cottage. The rest has moved outside, onto the preserve after dark and onto the bay, and that outdoor side now holds most of the season.
What the restoration paused
The clearest loss is the Summer Cabaret series, the jazz, soul and world music concerts held in the Stone House ballroom. The estate's own events page says the concerts are not currently offered because of the restoration. It points visitors to guided nature tours and outdoor activities across the 444-acre preserve.
The Historic Ghost Tours are still running, but in a different building. This year's tours take place inside Richmond Cottage, "where many notable stories and sightings have been recorded," and the Stone House is off the route.
The big food weekend is also missing from the fall calendar. The 21st Annual Deering Seafood Festival, presented by the British Virgin Islands Tourist Board, is set for Sunday, April 11, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival page's body text still says 2026. The event header and the estate's signature-events calendar both list the festival as a spring event for 2027.
Richmond Cottage is carrying the house's stories
The estate calls its indoor workaround Stone House Next Door. It is a series of exhibitions inside Richmond Cottage meant to carry the spirit, architecture and memory of the closed house and the Deering family. Two are on view this month, and both are included with general admission:
- Family History is America's Story: Tracing the Deering Family through Time, in the Richmond Cottage Dining Room, through October 31.
- The Vessels of Memory We Carry, a Tori S. Scott exhibition in the Garden Room, through October 20.
The daily guided museum tour starts at 11:30 a.m. and costs nothing beyond admission. It now covers the Stone House from the outside and Richmond Cottage from the inside. The tour still includes the story of how the house's Mediterranean Revival style later influenced Phineas Paist's work designing Coral Gables.
Richmond Cottage will also be the centerpiece of the holidays. This year's décor theme, Tides & Tidings, was first announced in July as a maritime, coastal design for the cottage. It runs November 27 through January 6, and general admission covers it.
The preserve after dark
With the main house closed, most of the estate's new evening dates are outdoors.
The Ghost Tours run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on October 6, 8, 13, 15, 20, 22, 27 and 29. They cost $45 per person, are open to ages 9 and up, and are booked online. Bring your own flashlight, wear closed-toe shoes, and plan on mosquito repellent. Check-in is at the Main Gate 15 minutes before the start. Late arrivals count as no-shows and are not refunded.
Friday, October 23 is the busiest night of the month. Moon Viewing runs from 5 to 8 p.m. for $10, with tickets online or at the Main Gate, though the museums are closed during the event. Starting at 7 p.m. that same evening, the Moonlight Kayak Tour paddles out to Chicken Key and back by 10 p.m. It costs $50, has limited spots, and sells online only.
The Night Hike & Campfire repeats each month, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on October 14, November 18 and December 9, for $25 through Park Link. The Holiday House Tour & Campfire, from 5:30 to 9 p.m., appears on the event page for December 8. The estate's holiday calendar lists it on both December 8 and December 22. Neither listing has a price or booking details yet, so check the final dates before planning around them.
The bay and the second-Saturday mornings
Daytime programs follow the same outdoor pattern. Two kayak tours run 9 a.m. to noon at $50 each:
| Program | Remaining 2026 dates | Booking note |
|---|---|---|
| Wildlife Kayak Adventure | October 18, November 22, December 20 | Adults on Park Link; youth by phone |
| Historic Kayak Adventure | October 31, December 5 | Adults on Park Link; youth 9–17 by phone with a parent or guardian |
For anyone who would rather not paddle, the Holiday Bay Cruise on December 13 costs $65 and includes same-day general admission. The listing shows an 11 a.m. sailing and also mentions a 2 p.m. sailing, so confirm the time when you book on Park Link.
The second Saturday of each month has turned into a standing morning at the estate. Bird Walks run from 7:30 to 10 a.m. on October 10, November 14 and December 12 for $20. On those same three Saturdays, Community Action Days run from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers 15 and older work on the "Plant Ecosystem Climate Resilience" project after registering in advance. October 10 also brings Meet the Artists-in-Residence from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with workshops, talks and tours, and an online RSVP is requested. The next day, Sunday, October 11, the Conservation Workshop Series hosts "NABA Miami Blue: Pollinator Workshop" for $5, free for children 12 and under. The series continues November 8 and closes December 13 with a Diamondback Terrapin Update.
The daily Nature Preserve Tour may be the best value of the season. From October 1 through May 31, 2027, it leaves at 12:30 p.m. on every day the estate is open and costs nothing beyond admission. Sign up at the Main Gate, where spots go first come, first served.
The calendar anchors, in order
A few dates on the lawn and grounds round out the season:
- October 25, 6–7 p.m. The Hispanic Heritage Month Concert with Deering Artist-in-Residence Susana Behar. Tickets are $30 plus tax, sold online only through Eventbrite.
- November 15, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. The 14th Annual Vintage Auto Show. Tickets must be bought in advance online. Early prices of $14 for adults and $7 for children last through November 13, then rise to $18 and $10.
- November 29, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Museum Store Sunday. A $10 gift-shop purchase earns a free daytime admission pass good December 1–31. The pass does not cover special programs.
- December 5, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Tides & Tidings: Holiday by the Bay, with vendors, crafts and stories, free with admission. Story-Time & Photos with Santa runs that morning from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Santa photo packages cost extra on-site.
- December 11, 7:30–11 p.m. The Deering Estate Foundation's 21+ benefit, Mistletoe & Martinis: "Starfish Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses." Tickets range from $175 to $1,800.
- December 21–23 and December 28–30. Three-day Winter Camp sessions, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., at $45 per day.
Before you go
The estate is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last entry is at 4 p.m., and it is closed Thanksgiving and Christmas. General admission is $18 plus tax for ages 15 and up and $10 plus tax for ages 4 to 14. Seniors 62 and up, active-duty military and honorably discharged veterans pay $16 plus tax. Children 3 and under and Foundation members get in free, and parking is free.
Most tickets go through Miami-Dade County's Park Link system, so it helps to set up an account before a limited-capacity date like October 23. All sales are final, with no refunds, exchanges or rainchecks. Foundation members get 10 percent off Ghost Tours with a promo code from the Foundation office.
For more about the area around the estate, our Palmetto Bay neighborhood page covers the village beyond Old Cutler Road. Our look at where Palmetto Bay goes on Thursday nights covers the rest of the weekly calendar.
Living a short drive from places like Deering Estate is part of what makes a home in Palmetto Bay worth what it is. If you're weighing how that proximity figures into a move or a sale, Kelli Farrell has worked these streets for nearly three decades and is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
