Calendar of Events 2025
Spring Events
Kid's Day
April 1, 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
10:00 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.
Historic Garden Week Tours
April 27 & 28, 2025
Sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia
Berkeley, Shirley, and Westover Plantations celebrate Historic Garden Week with a special combination ticket which allows access to the extensive grounds, outbuildings, and interiors of all three historic sites. Tour proceeds fund the restoration and preservation of gardens throughout Virginia. For more information and to purchase combination tickets, visit www.vagardenweek.org.
Homeschool Days
May 1 through 7, 2025
During the first week in May, Berkeley will offer a special rate to homeschool students and their families. Enjoy a guided house tour and learn about eighteenth-century life on a plantation. Explore the museum of paintings and artifacts and walk the five terraces of restored gardens leading to the James River. Picnic area available or bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic by the river shore. The rate during this exclusive offer is $10.00 per adult / $6 per student (k-12).
Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more.
Summer 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
10:00 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.
Fall Events
Experience life as a Civil War Soldier --Tour Harrison’s Landing at Berkeley Plantation
September 6, 2025
During the summer of 1862, Berkeley was occupied by General George McClellan’s Union troops. Over 100,000 soldiers camped in the surrounding fields, and the entire U.S. Navy brought supplies and food between Hampton Roads and Harrison’s Landing. Berkeley’s manor house was used as a field hospital, bringing in the sick and wounded after the Seven Days Battles.
While camped at Harrison’s Landing, General Daniel Butterfield, with the help of his bugler, O.W. Norton, created “Taps” to honor his men. A special Civil War tour captures the stories of the soldiers while camped at Berkeley. An encampment, with reenactors portraying the troops, will be available throughout the day.
The Civil War tours will begin at 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. $19 per person. Reservations are recommended for this special tour. Gardens, exhibits, encampment, and house open 9:30-4:30.
Berkeley Homeschool Days
October 1 through 7, 2025
During the first week in October, Berkeley will offer a special rate to homeschool students and their families. Enjoy a guided house tour and learn about eighteenth- century life on a plantation. Explore the museum of paintings and artifacts, walk the five terraces of restored gardens leading to the James River and make your way through Berkeley’s corn maze. Picnic tables are available or bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic by the river shore.
The rate during this exclusive offer is $10.00 per adult and $6 per student (k-12).
Reservations are required for groups of 10 or more.
Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch
October 1 through November 30, 2025
Bring the family to Berkeley to explore the colorful autumn gardens, river shore, and exhibits. Pick a pumpkin and find your way through the corn maze. The corn maze is included in Berkeley’s regular tour admission, an additional fee is charged to take home a pumpkin. Children can take part in our scavenger & nature hunts. Picnic tables are available or bring a blanket and enjoy a picnic by the river shore.
Twilight Ghost Tours
October 10 & 24, 2025
Berkeley’s History and Hauntings will a “maze” you!
Hear the tales of Berkeley’s paranormal activities during a guided tour through the 1726 mansion, followed by a lantern-led walk through the gardens, grounds, and cemetery. You will then finish your ghostly experience with Berkeley’s challenging corn maze, with only the light of your lantern. $24.95 per person. Reservations required.
Virginia Thanksgiving Festival at Berkeley Plantation
November 3, 2025
Celebrating the First English Thanksgiving in the New World
Join us for a day dedicated to history, food, and fun with a living history program, tribal dancers, arts, crafts & jewelry vendors, choral music, Thanksgiving foods and a re-enactment of the Landing of Capt. Woodlief & his men.
Activities and entertainment 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Thanksgiving re-enactment and program 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
For more information, visit: virginiathanksgivingfestival.net
Christmas Events
Centuries of Christmas
December 6, 2025 through January 1, 2026
Berkeley’s elegant 1726 mansion will be beautifully decorated throughout the holiday season. Costumed guides will add a special touch with stories of Christmas at Berkeley through four centuries of history.
Christmas tours are conducted daily 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The last tour begins at 3:00 p.m.
Christmas Wreath Workshop
December 6, 2025
Join our staff to learn techniques for creating your own Christmas wreath. We have all the items needed to make a beautiful wreath made from fresh greenery cut from Berkeley’s gardens. Make wreath making a holiday tradition and join us for a festive workshop creating a beautiful wreath to decorate your home for the season. Workshops begin at 10:00 & 1:00.
$45 per person. Reservations are required.
Candlelight Christmas Tour
December 6, 13, 14, & 19, 2025
Break away from the hustle and bustle of the holidays and let your imagination travel back to a Colonial Christmas. Enjoy an exclusive after-hours candlelight tour of Berkeley’s 1726 Georgian mansion. Hear tales of Christmas celebrations of a bygone era, while enjoying traditional decorations of holly, pine, boxwood, and cedar. Following the tour, gather for Christmas caroling and wassail served in Berkeley’s mansion. Reservations are required. $24.95 per person.
2026
On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This historic milestone is an opportunity to stop and reflect on our nation’s past. It’s a time to educate future generations on the importance of our nation’s history and the contributions made for our independence.
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.