One of the tallest attractions in DC, the Washington Monument towers the city at 555 feet, and you can actually ride an elevator to the top! The best part – it’s FREE!
If you’ve ever wanted to visit the Washington Monument, I am sharing everything you need to know plus how you can snag your tickets before you go. Keep reading because tickets go fast, and you have to reserve them ahead of time.
Why You Need to Visit the Washington Monument While in DC
We’ve visited Washington DC quite a few times but it wasn’t until last year that we realized that you can go up the Washington Monument for free. When I found that out, I put the monument on my bucket list and knew the next time we went to DC we had to go up the monument.
The Washington Monument is the tallest freestanding building in DC, and it’s probably one of the most noticeable buildings in DC. But with that said, the building is old, and in 2011 it fell victim to an earthquake. Repairs were made, and the building is safe now, but I am sure there will come a day when the monument stops taking visitors to the top, so if you get the chance, visit it while you can. It’s a unique piece of history, and you can see so much from the top!
Parking for the Washington Monument
Just like any city, the Washington Monument does not have free parking or a free parking lot. You can park in one of the numerous parking garages in DC or, if you are lucky find 2-hour street parking near by.
How to Get Tickets to Go Inside the Washington Monument
Anyone can visit the outside of the Washington Monument, but if you want to get tickets you need to plan ahead. Tickets can be reserved online for $1 processing fee per ticket, and I actually recommend paying the $1 per ticket and using this method because the free ticket option may not work.
To reserve your tickets, head over to recreation.gov the morning before your visit or a month before your visit. At 10am tickets are released and you can reserve up to 6 tickets through this app. I will warn you, tickets go extremely fast. I was waiting for ticket release the morning before our visit at 930am, and at 10am, when tickets were released, they were somehow already sold out! Not sure if it was a glitch in the system on that particular day, but we were bummed we didn’t get any tickets. Thankfully, I kept checking periodically throughout the day, and we lucked out with 5 tickets for 12pm.
If you don’t get your tickets before visiting DC, you can sometimes luck out by visiting the Washington Monument, as they sometimes have extra tickets that are available on a first come, first serve basis. But if you are traveling with more than 2 people, I highly suggest planning ahead and trying to get them on the app before your visit.
Going Inside the Washington Monument
Whenever you reserve your tickets to the Washington Monument, you want to be sure to arrive at the monument 15-20 minutes before your reserve time as you will have to line up and go through a small security check. During this time, you will wait inside the basement of the monument, and are able to ask any questions to your park tour guide.
While the monument does have steps that take you to the top, the steps are officially closed to visitors, at this time. Guest visiting the Washington Monument get to ride an elevator 500 stories to the top. From there, you are free to enjoy the views at the top of the monument. You can even walk down a few steps and see some of the photos of the state blocks that line the inside of the monument.
Whenever you are ready to go back down, guest can take a less fuller ride down to the bottom of the monument and get a special treat.
Going down, the elevator stops multiple times to let visitors get a sneak peak of the actual state blocks lining the monument. It’s fairly fast, so if you blink, you’ll miss it, but it’s a really unique experience.
Visiting the Washington Monument in DC is a must for tourist, families, and anyone who is visiting! Your turn, have you ever been to the Washington Monument? I would love to hear about your experience in the comments below.
Last Updated on 2 years ago by Crystal Carder