Your D.C. trip isn’t complete without Mount Vernon
George Washington's estate is a can’t-miss for history buffs, families, and visitors to D.C.
Start by getting your grounds pass, which grants you admission to the estate.
“Well maintained and managed by a private group, there is more to see than just the home. Guides were pleasant and knowledgeable.”
Experience Our Nation's Founding
Learn about the daily lives of the men women and children of the enslaved community who labored, and loved at Mount Vernon. This immersive tour offers an in-depth look at the experiences of two enslaved families—Boatswain & Myrtilla and Hercules & Alice—as they navigated love, resilience, and loss. Walk the same paths as these families and, learn about their daily lives.
Please budget 10-15 minutes to walk from the Ford Orientation Center to the Mansion Circle to meet your guide. The tour will begin promptly.
George Washington’s Mansion is currently undergoing preservation work. During this Mansion Revitalization Project, rooms will be taken off display for extended periods. Although you can't see some of the rooms in person, you can view them and the objects inside with an interpreter-led virtual tour.
Inside our Orientation Center theater, you'll get an in-depth look at the Mansion and have an opportunity to ask questions of our expert guides.
Look around, look around at Mount Vernon and discover Washington’s role in Hamilton The Musical, and his views on many of the themes that the musical addresses in our new tour.
Explore the lives and contributions of the enslaved community who built and operated Mount Vernon. In 1799, more than 300 slaves lived and worked on the five farms that made up Washington’s 8,000-acre plantation. Listen to their stories and learn more about their daily life. Visit the slave quarters and view reproduction clothing, tools, furniture, cookware, ceramics, toys, and personal accessories that represent their experiences.
During this 75-minute guided tour, discover more than 250 years of Mount Vernon history as you explore available rooms of the Mansion, and the surrounding outbuildings and gardens.
This tour provides behind-the-scenes access to buildings typically closed to the public, like the Old Tomb, and an in-depth experience of the estate.
See Mount Vernon from a different perspective during this 45-minute narrated excursion on the Potomac River. Learn about the river's history and discover how it contributed to Washington's business ventures. Be sure to look for the eagles and osprey that live along the shores.
This 60-minute specialty tour highlights the history of preservation at George Washington’s estate. Hear how a group of women, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, restored Mount Vernon in the 19th century and how their work continues today. Plus, learn about the discoveries that have transformed our understanding of Mount Vernon and those who lived at the estate.
Note: This tour does not enter the Mansion.
George Washington spent nearly sixteen years away from home during the Presidency and the War for Independence. Yet, he always had a desire to return home to Mount Vernon, for a peaceful retirement, to rest under the shade of his own Vine and Fig tree. Come take a walk through the General’s garden and see the founding flowers that recreate Washington’s 18th century landscape and gardens.
Bring your dog along for this 1.25-mile special walking tour and explore canine life at Mount Vernon, from the dogs of the first president to the dogs that live at the estate today. The tour stops at five historic locations, including Mount Vernon’s west gate, which was the primary entrance to Mount Vernon in Washington’s time and is not accessible to the general public.
Learn about George Washington’s love for dogs, the unusual names he chose for them, and his efforts to improve the quality of his hunting dogs through breeding.
This tour route includes uneven surfaces, including hilly terrain, grass, and gravel.
Explore how the people who lived at Mount Vernon in the 18th century dined on a tour that takes you to the gardens, salt house, smokehouse, slave quarters, greenhouse, and the Mansion’s kitchen.
Discover how food was grown, preserved, prepared, and served at Mount Vernon. You'll leave this specialty tour knowing the Washingtons’ favorite recipes, what hired and enslaved servants at Mount Vernon ate, and why Martha Washington wasn’t a fan of Vulcan, Washington’s French hound.
So Much More Than a Mansion
Explore the estate, on your own or as part of our tours, and experience what life was like for George Washington, his family, and the people who lived and worked at Mount Vernon.
See more than a dozen historic outbuildings, including the blacksmith shop, smokehouse, stable, and spinning house.
Visit the final resting place of George and Martha Washington. A brief wreath-laying ceremony is held daily at the tomb.
Experience the American Revolution as you walk through an 18th-century Continental Army encampment featuring soldiers' tents and an officer’s tent.
Stroll through four gardens, including a a formal garden created for the enjoyment of George Washington's guests.
The four-acre farm site explores George Washington’s role as a visionary farmer.
The Forest Trail meanders through a small woodland, giving visitors a feel for the natural setting of Mount Vernon when George Washington lived here.
View George Washington's sword, a bust said to be the most accurate likeness of George Washington, Washington's presidential chair, and more.
George Washington's Mansion is ten times the size of the average home in colonial Virginia.
Entry to the Mansion is by guided tour only and requires a Mansion tour ticket.
Mount Vernon remains open during preservation work, and there is still much to see and do on the estate.
Mount Vernon has embarked on a landmark preservation project to safeguard the Mansion for generations to come.
The New Room, servants’ hall, kitchen, and study are open. All other rooms are off-view.
The Education Center exhibit on George Washington’s life is closed for an extensive rebuild and will reopen in 2026.
The museum exhibit Mount Vernon: Story of An American Icon, located next to the Education Center, is open.
Mount Vernon remains open during preservation work, and there is still much to see and do on the estate.
Mount Vernon has embarked on a landmark preservation project to safeguard the Mansion for generations to come.
The New Room, servants’ hall, kitchen, and study are open. All other rooms are off-view.
The Education Center exhibit on George Washington’s life is closed for an extensive rebuild and will reopen in 2026.
The museum exhibit Mount Vernon: Story of An American Icon, located next to the Education Center, is open.
What’s Coming Up
