James Madison's Montpelier: Tickets, Hours and Route

Buy the right access layer

The Property Pass does not include House entry. The Highlights tour includes the pass and is the only way to enter the House, so start with the interior decision before planning the grounds.

Protect the date band

Through November 6, the schedule is Tuesday through Sunday and holiday Mondays; starting November 8, it changes to Wednesday through Sunday. November 7 has Hunt Races restrictions, Thanksgiving and Christmas are closed, December 26 through 31 is open daily, and January 1 through March 2, 2027 is annual restoration.

Start at the Visitor Center

Park at the David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center, collect the ticket and use the exhibits to establish the site history before the walk to the Mansion.

Use the short interpretation route

The 1910 Train Depot preserves a Jim Crow era station, while Mere Distinction of Colour uses the House cellars, South Yard and descendant voices to examine slavery and its legacy. The Annie duPont Formal Garden shows the landscape's shift from a Madison era working garden maintained partly by enslaved gardeners to formal terraces and ornamental beds.

Budget the House walk

The Visitor Center to Mansion route is a two thirds mile round trip with an incline. Arrive early and use first come wheelchairs or staff guidance when the walk changes the plan.

Pair the Old Library with the Drawing Room

The Old Library was Madison's study, where his reading about republics and anthropology prepared the research and writing behind the Constitution. The Drawing Room's portraits, busts and art made it a public setting for historic and classical ideas, showing a different use of the house from Madison's private study.

Name the people who sustained Montpelier

More than 100 enslaved African Americans supported Montpelier through agricultural labor, skilled craftsmanship and domestic service. Paul Jennings, born enslaved here in 1799, later gained his freedom and wrote the first White House memoir.

Add the named memorial stops

The Madison Family Cemetery centers the presidential family, while the Montpelier Burial Ground for the Enslaved is believed to hold more than 250 people and is stewarded through descendant authority. Landmark Forest preserves old growth landscape, and Mr Madison's Temple makes the estate's classical language of liberty visible beside that history.

Use the correct road

The operator GPS is 11350 Constitution Highway, Montpelier Station, Virginia 22957. Do not take Chicken Mountain Road and do not navigate to Montpelier, Virginia.

Protect the closing gate

Last property entry and gate closure are at 4pm, and visitors should leave by 4:30pm. Taxis and rideshares must enter before 4pm, and the operator says many services take about 45 minutes to arrive, so request the return ride well before the route ends.

Respect the photography rule

Casual nonflash personal photos may be allowed at staff discretion. Audio and video recording is not allowed in House or Gallery spaces, and drones require authorization.

Close with the route choice

Choose the guided House plan for Madison’s home, the Property Pass for exhibits and gardens, or the full plan for the cemeteries, forest and trails.