Hillwood Museum & Gardens
4155 Linnean Ave NW
Washington, DC 20008
Adults: $18, Kids 6-18: $5, Under 6: free!
Last month my friend invited us to go to Hillwood Museum and Gardens in DC. I had never been before (or even heard of it) but we’re always up for a new adventure so obviously we were in! Advanced reservations are required and we had tickets for 10:30 am. We did not tour the mansion, just explored the gardens and grounds. It was absolutely magical! So different from our usual scenery and the girls were amazed with all the tiny pathways, fountains, ponds and flowers. There were several azaleas still in bloom and the roses in the rose garden were just reaching their peak.
This was a 45 minute drive for us and we did hit quite a bit of traffic – I don’t often drive to the city so it was a little stressful for me getting there but TOTALLY worth it once we arrived. When we got there, there was a guard at the parking lot who takes your name and checked for reservations. Once we parked (free parking lot!), we checked in at the visitor center where we were greeted by a guide on a webcam! So cool – they were super helpful and directed us to the maps as well as a paper scavenger hunt for the gardens for the kids. The scavenger hunt included several pictures for the kids to search for in the garden. We spent about 3 hours exploring the grounds and could have stayed longer. Our favorite part was the Japanese style garden with fun stepping stones across a pond and several waterfalls. We enjoyed lunch from their cafe (a southwest turkey wrap for me!) and a picnic on one of their lawns. There were more people here than I expected for a weekday morning, but there is plenty of room to spread out. We also didn’t see anyone else with kids there the entire time!
I’ll include the link to Hillwood’s Website in my link tree so you can read about the history of the estate and gardens and explore everything they have to offer!
🚽 Bathrooms 🚽: Super clean bathrooms in the visitor center
👩👧👦Solo w/ kids?👩👧👦: This would have been a little tough on my own with all 3 kiddos, but doable. I’d recommend going with a friend if you have more than 2 kids.
🛒 Stroller friendly?🛒: yes, a little tricky in some parts but I was able to ditch it and come back to it when needed.
😷Covid😷: great protocols – timed entry, lots of hand washing stations, masked required indoors but you can remove outside if fully vaccinated
🅿️Parking🅿️: free parking lot!
⏰ Timing ⏰: 2 + hours
🧺 Picnic Tables: covered pavilion near cafe, lots of grassy spots to picnic as well
Dog friendly – no
Maryland Kid Adventures 