cemetery

Office and Mailing Address: 3 Mill Road, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. Office Hours: Mondays 9:00 am to 11:00 am
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Entrance to Historic Cemetery: 16 Mill Road, Rhinebeck, NY 
Entrance to Grasmere Cemetery and Natural Burial Ground: 55 MIll Road, Rhinebeck, NY 
The Town Cemetery is open to the public year-round during daylight hours. The Town Board makes final decisions concerning the Cemetery based on advice and recommendations on operational and maintenance matters from the Cemetery Committee. The cemetery is also supported by the Friends of Rhinebeck Cemetery, Inc., a not for profit organization working to promote and optimize the history, design and ecology of the cemeteries under the Town of Rhinebeck’s jurisdiction.

Conventional and Natural burial plots are available for purchase according to the most current fee schedule. For burial or plot purchase, please contact Suzanne Kelly at cemetery@rhinebeckny.gov or (845) 876-3961. Please see below for more information on our Natural Burial Ground, including directions.

Here are the Cemetery rules and regulations.

Suzanne Kelly, Administrator
Garry Slater, Caretaker

Rhinebeck's natural burial ground

About natural burial
The Natural Burial Ground at the Town of Rhinebeck Cemetery was opened in 2014 and is only the second municipal natural burial ground in New York State. It is nestled back from historic Mill Road, adjacent to the Grasmere section of the cemetery, and is set in a young hardwood forest on land that once served as pasture to the Grasmere Estate. 
​Directions to the Natural Burial Ground
The Natural Burial Ground is located on Mill Road, ¼ mile from the Route 9 intersection.  Turn onto the paved loop road of the Grasmere cemetery. A sign at the rear of the loop road marks the entrance to the Natural Burial Ground. Parking is anywhere along the loop road. No vehicles permitted within the Natural Burial Ground.
Natural Burial Brochure
For more information, plot purchase, general questions regarding the natural burial ground, or to schedule a tour please contact Suzanne Kelly. cemetery@rhinebeckny.gov or (845) 876-3961
Rhinebeck's Natural Burial Ground in the news
Yes! Magazine
The Observer
The Journal News
Natural, or green, burial is a way of caring for the dead that promotes the natural decomposition of the body with minimal environmental impact. Its ecological aims are to conserve natural resources, reduce carbon emissions, protect worker health and restore and preserve habitat. The Natural Burial Ground is certified by the Green Burial Council. 

NATURAL BURIAL GROUND 
​GRAVE MARKER REQUIREMENTS 

  • ​Grave markers are not required. 
  • Engraved natural fieldstone or quarried stone, no more than 200 square inches, 3 inches thick and indigenous to the Hudson valley may be used a marker. In cases where a grave marker is used for two or more adjoining plots, grave markers may be larger, but may not exceed 250 square inches. 
  • Stones may not be machine cut or polished. Machine cut stones hand chiseled to look “natural” are not acceptable. 
  • Stones may be machine engraved.
  • All stones must be approved and placed at the grave by the cemetery caretaker. 
  • The cemetery reserves the right to remove any marker that does not meet these requirements.