Gift Shop & Ticket Sales
Explore Berkeley’s gardens, grounds, exhibits, river shore, and museum at your own pace
Grounds are open until 5:00 p.m. for all ticketed guests.
2025 Events
Children's Nature Hunt
June, July, & August 2025
During the summer months, bring the family to Berkeley and learn its amazing history, while searching for treasures along the river shore, gardens, and grounds. Children’s brochures and picnic area available. Nature hunt included with regular admission tickets.
Summer Fun Kid's Day
June 17 & 28, 2025
Berkeley invites families to experience eighteenth-century history, explore the gardens and grounds, see our ninth president’s birthplace, and walk the same floors as our founding fathers. Colonial games and children’s activities are available from
11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.
Admission is free for one child (age 16 and under) with one paying adult.
Admission tickets are purchased upon arrival.
The Making of America: Freedom for some -- Exploring the lives and contributions of Berkeley’s enslaved
June 4 & 20, 2025
This all-inclusive tour takes you on a journey across 400 years of enslaver and enslaved history. This 75-minute guided tour
begins at Berkeley’s Enslaved Quarters and continues through the main floor of the 1726 manor house. Hear stories of
individuals who lived and labored at Berkeley to living as free men and women. Following the guided tour, explore the colonial kitchen, museum, and grounds.
The tour begins at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. $24.95 per person. Reservations required.
Annual Wreath Laying Ceremony
July 4, 2025
Annual commemoration honoring Benjamin Harrison V, one of seven Virginia signers of the Declaration of Independence and eighteenth-century owner of Berkeley Plantation.
Ceremony included with regular admission tickets. Hosted by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The ceremony begins at noon. Gardens, grounds, exhibits, and house open 9:30-4:30
The Making of America: Freedom for some -- Exploring the lives and contributions of Berkeley’s enslaved
July 1 & 19, 2025
This all-inclusive tour takes you on a journey across 400 years of enslaver and enslaved history. This 75-minute guided tour
begins at Berkeley’s Enslaved Quarters and continues through the main floor of the 1726 manor house. Hear stories of
individuals who lived and labored at Berkeley to living as free men and women. Following the guided tour, explore the colonial kitchen, museum, and grounds.
The tour begins at 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. $24.95 per person. Reservations required.
Friday Hauntings at Berkeley
July 11 & 25, 2025
Stories of Berkeley’s paranormal activities is a fun and entertaining historical tour for the entire family. Includes a guided tour through the 1726 mansion followed by a self-guided tour of Berkeley’s gardens and grounds. The tour begins at 7:00 p.m.
$19 per adult / $8.00 per child (ages 6-16) Reservations required.
Welcome to Berkeley Plantation
Step back in time to a bygone era and experience a genteel eighteenth-century lifestyle. Nowhere can you find a more unspoiled and tranquil environment. Our history begins in 1619 when settlers observed the first official Thanksgiving in America. Berkeley’s 1726 Georgian mansion is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence and three times governor of Virginia. The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third president. During the Civil War, Berkeley was occupied by General George McClellan’s Union troops. While at Berkeley, General Daniel Butterfield composed the familiar tune “Taps,” first played by his bugler, O.W. Norton.
Berkeley’s mansion is furnished with a rare collection of eighteenth-century antiques, Chinese porcelain, and English silver. Costumed guides tell stories of the first Thanksgiving, the Harrisons, Civil War, and the present owners of Berkeley. Native American, Colonial, and Civil War artifacts, along with historical paintings and exhibits, can be explored in the eighteenth- century basement museum. The original kitchen dependency and reconstructed slave quarters tell the story of the enslaved workers that lived and worked at Berkeley. Grounds tours are at your own pace and include five terraces leading to the banks of the James River with benches along the way to sit and enjoy the views.
During the autumn season, pick a pumpkin and explore Berkeley’s corn maze. On the first Sunday in November, Berkeley celebrates the historic 1619 landing. In December, the plantation is decorated with traditional holiday decorations of fresh greenery from Berkeley’s gardens. Tours, gift shop, museum, exhibits, special events, and children’s activities make visiting Berkeley an educational and fun experience for the entire family.
A Virginia and National Historic Landmark
Photography:
Gary Smith Images
Historical Firsts Await
America’s First Thanksgiving (1619)
The Creation and First Playing of “Taps” (1862)