| Mount Vernon is the most popular historic estate in America. Visitors are invited to tour the Mansion house and more than a dozen outbuildings including the slave quarters, kitchen, stables, and greenhouse. Stroll four different gardens, hike the Forest Trail, and explore the George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site, a four-acre working farm that includes a re-creation of Washington's 16-sided treading barn. George and Martha Washington rest in peace in the tomb where wreathlaying ceremonies are held daily, and the Slave Memorial and Burial Ground is nearby. |
 | | Christine B., Co-op Member | | Perhaps surprisingly to some, Mount Vernon was our favorite place to visit in the entire DC metro area. The beautiful and carefully planned symmetry of the grounds and the overlook of the Potomac River give it a sense of peace rare to anything in this busy area. The kids love all the space to explore - the animal pastures, the lawns, the forest, the gardens and orchards - all are available for a leisurely tour. Because it is a working farm, there is something new with each season, so we highly recommend annual passes. And there is an active Scouting program which gets your Scouts free admission anytime during Nov-Feb. If you are visiting for a limited time, plan your trip for sometime during April-October and expect to spend two days there to do it all. Our family favorite "must see/do" list includes: the baby animals and blooming orchards in the spring, the horses threshing grain in the 16-sided barn in mid-summer, a thorough tour of the mansion twice (once during the summer and once with the authentic decorations of the mansion for a 1700's Christmas celebration), the slave quarters, the National Treasure Tour (costs extra but worth it) that takes you under the mansion into the basement and out to the old storage sheds, the movies (WOW!), the "Meet Martha Washington" specials, the Washington family tomb (ask questions of the guides - the answers are sometimes surprising), and the very thorough Reynolds Education Center and Fords Orientation Center. Finally, include a visit to the Gristmill and Distillery just a short drive up the road. It is extra admission but is well worth it especially if you go on the first Saturday of each month (Apr-Oct) when the gristmill is in actual operation. And make sure you check out the displays on the second floor of the distillery. George Washington was truly a great man and left us a legacy of business, trade, agriculture, science, history, culture, and so on. It is all at Mount Vernon! |
|
| | Laura Dawson, Co-op Member | Located on the Potomac River, Mount Vernon is definitely one of our favorite places to visit. Frankly, it is beautiful! It is inspiring to walk through the house knowing the George Washington himself walked the same halls, the same stairs. And then to see the actual bed he died in, it sends chills through my body. My daughter loves Mount Vernon so much, she wants to be a docent there.
The grounds are expansive. There are gardens, fields, slaves quarters, a slaves cemetery, and a family cemetery where President Washington is buried.
One of the newest additions to Mount Vernon is the Museum and Education Center that houses fabulous films and many hands-on activities for all ages to enjoy. We loved exploring the education center. There is almost too much to see and do in one visit.
If you plan on eating at Mount Vernon, I recommend eating at the Mount Vernon Inn Restaurant. The food is wonderful and the setting is quaint. |
|
| | laurie c, Co-op Member | | My daughter in particular cannot get enough of this place. We ended up getting a yearly membership for the family. Some tips - during the Christmas season the top floor of the house is open for tours and the traffic overall is much less. We had a tour with maybe 4 other people and really got some additional information and were able to look longer at the rooms than on a usual day where they sort of roll you through. There is a kids program where the children can get a map with questions and if they answer all of the questions and "break the code" they can bring it to the gift shop and get a prize. The food is great - they have regular tastings of syrup, chocolate, etc. The gardens are beautiful and it is so neat to see how they cultivated the foods they needed to feed that huge number of people and guests. The museums are wonderful - leave plenty of time and know that you need several days to really see everything. We have seen something new every time so far. |
|
| | Brittany B., Co-op Member | One of our favorite parts of our trip through DC! They had an interactive hunt for history for the kids and we were able to walk around the grounds more fully than I expected!
Bittersweet to see his view and his land and imagine how he looked forward to the retirement that was so short lived. |
|
|
|
