George Washington's Mount Vernon Gardens & Grounds Admission

This is the quintissential tour for any red-blooded American. So well preserved and shown with informative guides at each stop in the mansion and throughout the property. What a memorable way to honor the father of our country and experience history! Provides an even-handed treatment of slavery and its evils, too.

My wife and I wanted to see Mt Vernon since it was near the Amtrack Autotrain station. She had been there years ago but I had never seen it. The house is showing its age when viewed up close. The guided tour helped us understand the history. What I didn't expect was the new excellent museum and the large grounds to explore. We were also able to see George Washingtons final tomb. The museum is well done but there are multiple paths so you have to make a concerted effort to see everything. And they have his original teeth there to view which are NOT wood. His 16 sided construction to mill grain was just one of George Washington's inventive side.

We enjoyed our visit to Mount Vernon house, grounds and museum. Our guide provided an informative timed tour of the house and it was fascinating to look around many of the rooms of the family residence lived in by the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. The original house was built in about 1734 and has been given a few upgrades and expansions in later years. We were allowed to take photos in the house. We were surprised to learn from our guide that despite being such a prominent figure in US history, following Washington's death in 1799, the estate progressively declined under the ownership of several successive generations of the Washington family who did not look after the residence, suffering from financial difficulties. Luckily in 1858 it was purchased by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and is still owned and maintained in trust, it is designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the gardens there is the family burial chamber and also a memorial to the slaves who worked on the land and plantation, also enjoyable walks down to the lakeside and pier. Staff are friendly and keen to share their knowledge and information. Allow plenty of time for your visit there is so much to see.

We had a wonderful day exploring Mount Vernon. We could not have asked for better weather. We didn’t spend much time in the museum, but we plan to go again another time to explore all that the museum has to offer. The grounds were beautiful. We especially liked the barn area. We loved our lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn.

This was my 3rd time touring Mount Vernon. There is always something new to see such as the sundial in front of the house the George Washington used. The museum part does such an amazing job showcasing his life from birth to death. Walk the grounds and see the farm life and unusual barn plus pay respects to him and Martha.

A full day experience if you do it right! The museum and short films were lovely, and the options between an audio tour, private small group tour OR just the Mt. Vernon tour give the visitor a personalized experience.

Mount Vernon and surrounding estate are much larger than we anticipated. Give yourself four to six hours to relax and enjoy the property. The house is the main attraction, with a thirty minute wait in line. Be prepared to do a lot of walking up and down the hill—with an available shuttle if needed. Great views! Beautiful setting!

Know when you get there you will need to get in line for a ticket. Since it was bought from third party.

Well worth seeing. View over Potomac is breathtaking. If you are a plant enthusiast you will love the grounds. All guides well informed and courteous

Wow, what an amazing place to see. We still had to go through the ticket line, happy it wasnt very long. I thought buying the tour in advance kept us out of the ticket line, but it did not. Once inside we had to go to the Information booth to receive our map and details about the mansion tour. Even with all that, we all ( grandparents, adult children and young adult grandsons) loved it.

Worst experience ever. Never once did they mention George Washington as a General or as the First American President. The entire group of tour guides in each room gave us a history lesson about slavery and how George Washington was a slave owner. This is not what I paid for!! I paid to show my wife and Daughter a piece of Proud American history, instead received a lecture on how awful he was because he had slaves. Every civilization known to man has owned slaves. If they want to push a narrative they should do it on their own time.

A fantastic slice of American history, covering George Washington's estate and his entire life in general. Learned so much about the first of our founding fathers. They really should include a trip to this museum for all schools able to reach it. It's so informative.

Your guides are amazing and all the repairs and upgrades of Mount Vernon really are restoring its beauty !

The Mount Vernon Gardens & Grounds Self-Guided tour is a free audio tour offered onsite. While very informative and scripted very well it was difficult to navigate the tour in the beginning due to no directional information. After several missteps we found a correlation between the numbers on the guide map and the numbers on the audio tour. Hey it's free and did help interpret the various buildings.

Beautiful place. Good food at the GW Inn restaurant.

My husband, small Pomeranian are traveling in our RV and wanted to visit Mt Vernon. Before arriving we called to see if we could bring our small pet in a puppy stroller amd was told they are very dog friendly. We arrived on 7/22 and we all showed up to get our tickets and again was told that they are dog friendly but dogs aren’t allowed in the mansion so it was offered that we take the tour separately in which we did. While my husband was on the mansion tour my pup and I were sitting out back of the mansion when a volunteer approached me. She said “excuse me, opossums are not allowed on the property”. My dog is a 16 year old small Pomeranian who has lost his hair and I was very upset about this comment. We continued our tour but the last exhibit we went into was where I have a very bad taste in my mouth. It’s a very big exhibit where you could spend a lot of time learning about George, Martha, Estate, Family, Revolutionary War, etc. When we entered we talked with a volunteer at great lengths about what we would see and she saw our small pet who was sleeping in his stroller and NEVER said we could bring him in. She even recommended that we hurry to catch the film on the Revolutionary War. We arrive and another volunteer said that I wasn’t allowed in because pets aren’t allowed but said we could go in separately which was fine. I walked around looking at the exhibit and another volunteer approached me and we had at least a 10-15 min conversation and at no time did she mention that my pet couldn’t be in the exhibit. As I continued looking I spoke with another volunteer who also never said anything about him not being able to be in the exhibit. As we came back around by the Theater the same volunteer who initially said my pet wasn’t allowed in the theater then proceeded to tell me that No Dogs are allowed in the entire exhibit. I explained that no one had said he couldn’t be there including her initially but was told to go around the backside of exhibit and exit. I was very upset because there was 3 volunteers that clearly knew he was in the stroller and never said we couldn’t be there so unfortunately our trip ended. To be honest this is really a good portion of your ticket price and the exhibit provided so much history but we were unable to see it because of this No Dog Policy in which no other volunteers were aware of nor the ticket admissions employees. So be aware if your going.

Mount Vernon itself was a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the way that the scheduled tour times of the home was handled was unnecessarily painful. There is a visitor center that is air conditioned and a short walk to line up for the home tour. They could have easily announced the times that are lining up to be admitted to the home while you enjoy the visitor center. Instead the guests were waiting to line up in 105 degree unshaded heat outside for an hour past their scheduled tour time before then being allowed to line up to wait again to get in the home. All this so not to miss their tour time. The Mount Vernon estate not considering the brutal heat at the time was inconsiderate to the guests and put a damper on enjoying the rest of the grounds after being subjected to that. It just seemed there was an easy way to adjust the home tour admission for the heatwave going through the area that week. I hope more thought is put into making adjustments for weather conditions in the future. Waiting an hour past a scheduled tour time seems unreasonable on its own also.

Nice grounds for exploring. There is nice museum with some artifacts including George’s original dentures! The gift shop is nice and there is a very cute looking restaurant that I would have liked to try had we the time. I would also have liked to take one of their 60 minute tours around the grounds. Maybe next time. The house itself was a bIt of a disappointment. They pack you in and tell very little information about what you are seeing. You will not learn a thing about Washington just by touring the house. It appears that little of the furnishings are original. I have been to many historic homes and have had some wonderful house tours. This is not one of them. Go, but temper your expectations.

Beautiful, historical well maintained. Only drawback was having to take our trip advisor receipt to ticket box to get their tickets 😎

The museum is great. The rest is not as good. Way over priced. Home isn’t being maintained properly. Maybe one day they will let the state take over and revitalize it.

The grounds and buildings were interesting to see but every tour guide, informational board and pamphlet focused on slavery more than George Washington. It was essentially a slavery museum instead of a celebration of the important work Washington did. The museum does have more information on Washington but the house and grounds were lacking. It is very hilly and the shuttles only fit about 8 people so when it's crowded they are difficult to get. Get there early if you want a longer Mansion tour. They rush you through regardless but as it gets more crowded the tour is faster. There is definitely room for improvement.

The boat trip was great and the slave tour was interesting. The gardens, tomb, cemetery and out-buildings were interesting. The Mansion House tour was crowded, about 60-80 people (despite the timed entry) They split the large group into groups of about 20-25. A private group was allowed ahead of our timed tour, which meant we started 10 minutes late. Each room in the mansion had a person speak for 5 minutes or more. Rather than allow people to wander at their own pace, people were forced to stay together, cramped in each room, and listen to a white-noise commentary. The shuttle vehicles were treated as a scenic tour by some people. When I walked up the hill after the boat trip, my injured husband waited for a shuttle to arrive. Shuttles arrived, but able-bodied people didn't get off. He eventually had to walk up the track, using his walking stick. Quite a shambles.

Did grounds and mansion tour. We used our phones for the audio tour. We walked the entire plantation but there are shuttle's to take up up and down the hilly property. Only water fountains on the property and you are limited to taking bags. You can purchase good and drinks at the restaurants and food court..

It was under renovations so we could see only a few rooms. We did see the gardens and took Potomac boat tour. I would recommend guided tour for gardens. It was not as big as I thought but may be I did not understand. Worth seeing the mansion though ! Seeing first presidents mansion is an experience worth taking !

The tour is very worthwhile doing. Beautiful home and grounds. You learn a lot about life during Washington's life. Very informative. One thing, someone need to clean up the area down by the wharf. The small beach area has a lot of trash washed ashore.

An excellent experience all the way around. (The house tour was a bit rushed, truth be told; felt like people were being pushed on through...). Take time to walk the grounds and absorb the information presented.

George Washington's Mount Vernon was excellent. I highly recommend taking a couple of the tours that they offer. We went on "The Enslaved People" tour, which was 60 minutes long and free of charge. We also went on the "In-Depth" tour, which was 75 minutes long, cost $60, and had very limited number of tickets. The "In-Depth" tour includes the Mansion interior, out buildings, gardens, & Washington's tomb. Both tours were excellent, as were the tour guides. We were there for 4.5 hours, which was a good amount of time to tour the grounds & mansion and go on two tours. There were many Mount Vernon people there to assist you with directions, and everyone was very friendly.

We visited on a cold windy day in April. It was not comfortable to walk around because we were not dressed appropriately but we still headed all the way down to the wharf. There is a golf cart that can bring you back up to the house. There is a ton of construction everywhere; inside the museum, the food court is closed-they have outdoor tented pavilion and a food truck available, there is construction in front of the house and back of the house. The tour inside the house is not quite what I expected. They have staff stationed inside rooms or stairwells giving you bits and pieces of history. The problem is that you are literally walking through those rooms with the crowd and you can only hear maybe the beginning or the end of their story. I have been to Monticello and this is no where even close to that experience. I think one day it may be similar as it looks like they are expanding and renovating, but I was slightly disappointed by the visit overall. I also expected there to be more personal items in the museum which was not very large. Hindsight is that I think we could have skipped the 45 min ride down from our DC hotel and come back in 5 years or so when things are more completed. I will say that the George Washington Parkway and drive through Alexandria was beautiful.

Grounds are beautiful. Historical information is excellent. The audio tour was really good!!! Loved the gardens and out buildings. First class historical recreation of one of the country’s most important sites. Only downside was the mansion tour. 12:05 reservation. In line til 12:30. By the time we got inside we barely learned anything about the structure because they were is such a hurry to get us through quickly to reduce the line. So we lost twice. Got to wait a long time for a poorly curated experience. If you’re selling tickets on a reservation schedule there’s really no reason to be over-sold. That’s kind of the point of taking reservations, guys. Ps we missed our 1:30 farm tour as a result too.

So much to do here! The house is only a small part of all the interesting things going on. Including a working blacksmith, a restaurant and an offsite distillery. Plan to spend an entire day!

Mt. Vernon is too expensive. When most other museums in the DC area are free, or have a small fee of 15 dollars, paying $30 for access to a historic, American site feels like a scam. Students cannot visit due to no student ticket price, making our youth lose access to key parts of American history. Do better. I don’t recommend visiting.

We arrived at 1:40 and was informed that the museum was closing at 2 pm for a private event that day. We also had 2 p.m. mansion tour tickets, so we basically got 10 min to rush through the museum, where they were already starting to close off sections. Was pretty disappointed and would have chosen another day to visit had we known. The mansion tour was also disappointing. I've been on a number of historic home tours and typically you get put in a group and taken around to each area by a tour guide. With this one they basically just send giant groups through the house and there is a perpetual line of people snaking through at glacial speed. They have guides standing in various places sharing information, but you kind of walk up on them talking and only catch bits and pieces of information. There are so many people you really just don't get a good look at anything. We enjoyed wandering the grounds some, but overall without getting to see the museum or have a proper house tour I left without really learning much.

Was in DC for the Army 10 miler. Visited Mount Vernon because of my ardent love of history. The grounds and house were beautiful but the smothering talk of slaves instead of Washington left a sour taste in our mouth. The guides clearly went out of their way to emphasize only this point!!

I was there with my wife and two children. Bob made the experience at Washington’s tomb a memorable experience. His knowledge, professionalism and clear patriotism will be etched in our minds for a long time. Thank you Bob for taking the time to chat with us after the ceremony!

Enjoyed the informative guided tour of the house and exploration of the grounds and museum. It exceeded our expectations! Thanks to all who had and have a hand in restoring President Washington’s home.

Had a wonderful day at Mount Vernon. Our guide, Eric, throughly answered all questions, about both the estate and Washington's life. I particularly liked how much attention was given to the enslaved. The whole complex - the museum, on-site restaurant, gift shop - was all first-rate. And the staff was incredibly friendly!

The visit fills you with grandeur of our nation and the work this man did for our nation. The place is right on the Potomac and a tour over the boat is very nice ! We hear about oceans and Great Lakes a lot but our rivers are magnificent ! Also the history of United States is a naval history. Absolute gem to take your kids ! And don’t forget to view the shop - very nice and well stocked! I found gardens a bit meh but that may be my own ignorance. Go after the current updates are done. Also take a walk through patriots way to see how the soldiers lived !

It was quite surreal and amazing to see how well history is preserved. There was a tour guide that took us in and gave a brief tour for like 20 minutes. It was really cool to know that the floor in the living room, the chimney and some paintings on the wall, as well as a side cupboard was still the original and not a replica. Most of the quarters on the estate are a replica to depict how it looked like back then . Also the museum has lots of original items too. I took a slave tour and it was so touching to listen to the life they lived on the plantation and what they had to endure but it was quite informative and educative to know.

Our family spent most of the day at Washington's Mount Vernon and enjoyed every minute. A lot of walking was included, but was well worth while because of so much history to see & experience and we didn't want to miss anything. The mansion mostly was closed for renovation, but the guides accommodated visitors to at least see a few downstairs rooms. All guides, displayers & demonstrators were great - knowledgeable, informative and responsive to all questions. One of the highlights was the tour of gristmill & distillery. We highly recommend this tour.

While the house is under renovation, Mount Vernon are currently charging the same price for the greatly reduced tour as they did for the full one. We found it rather disappointing for the price point as there is not much to see.

Nice trip. Be sure to visit the Grist Mill down the road. It is included, with your ticket. Since part of the main house was closed, it was nice they had a virtual house tour.

There was so much more here than I expected. The plantation is well run with people availble to answer any question, they have shuttles to help you get around the property along with food options. We also did the mansion tour, which was under renovation so we only saw a portion of the mansion. The property is so impressive, it should be on everyones bucket list. They offer an optional audio tour or you can download it on your phone. We did not do the audio but there was information found everywhere! The view of the Potomac was fantastic and they had chairs on the grounds so you could sit and enjoy the same view that Washington had! There is so much to see - you have to spend at least 3 hours! To start you can enter the auditorium to see a short film, then you will follow the various paths and trails to stables, barns, living quarters, working quarters, gardens, graveyards, the dock on the water, an army camp, etc. While visiting you get a very good sense on what life would be like during Washington's time. They have a resturant and a food court, we went to the food court with surprising good food and good prices. The restrooms located throughout the property were very clean and maintained. The museum shop had a large selection of items and was also reasonably priced. Hats off the the Mount Vernon Ladies Association that runs (and owns) this property!

Mount Vernon has so much history. Grounds beautiful. They are working on the home at present time so if you want to see all the rooms wait till they are completed. Museum interesting. Tomb beautiful. Lots of outbuildings to tour.

Worth visiting the estate of GW and his family! The actual estate is under a major renovation. We took the abbreviated house tour (great views from the back of the Potomac River!) Lots to see on the extensive property including a working farm, live demonstrations and characters sharing perspectives from our Colonial Days. We spent about 3 and a half hours visiting everything on the property.

Visiting Mount Vernon was such a fun and memorable experience! Even though the mansion was under construction and only certain rooms were open, it was still fascinating to tour and step back in time. The grounds were beautifully maintained, and the staff was wonderful—friendly, welcoming, and very knowledgeable. There was certainly a lot of information to take in, which made the visit all the more enriching. We also enjoyed the nice gift shop and the on-site restaurant, which added to the experience. Overall, a fantastic visit that I’d highly recommend!

House was closed for huge renovations. We saw only two rooms on the ground floor and both front/back facades were covered with screens and scaffolding. No reduction offered in cost. Grounds and outbuildings were accessible but not enough for the cost of the ticket. Very disappointed.

Beautiful grounds, fascinating museum but the home itself is under a major renovation and the tour left much to be desired. Wish we would have known sooner, website makes mention of of renovations. Only a few rooms available to see and not worth the money. I would highly recommend touring once all renovations are completed and perhaps lower the price of admission while work is going on.

Mount Vernon was beautiful! We were able to take the Hamilton tour. I don’t remember the tour guide name, but he was very knowledgeable a true historian! And all honesty everyone there or historians young and old they knew their stuff it’s amazing how so many people in so much history is connected with Mount Vernon!

Amazing to be able to walk thru the home of our 1st President! It's currently in renovation, so the house tour is very restricted, but you can see construction details that are normally not visible. The grounds are beautiful and seeing Washington's tomb is a good place to reflect. We have much to be grateful for in the USA!