Discover the most magical spots to pitch your tent or park your rig on your next Booker T Washington National Monument adventure.
Visit the birthplace of Booker T. Washington, a former slave who rose to fame as a prominent civil rights activist and speaker in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The monument occupies part of the Blue Ridge tobacco farm where he was born in 1856. A highlight of your visit is the one-room kitchen cabin that was home to Washington, his mom and two half siblings.
Admission to the grounds and buildings is free. Start your tour at the visitor center with a 12-minute audio visual presentation about Washington's life and legacy. Learn more with an interactive exhibit "Born Here, Freed Here". If you'd like a free 30- to 60-minute guided walking tour through the grounds with a ranger, make your reservation is as far in advance as you can.
If you're happy to do your own thing, simply follow the Plantation Trail, a quarter-mile loop that takes you past reconstructed 19th century farm buildings that you can explore. Make friends with the farm animals and learn about historic breeds that would have been around in the 1850s. Visit the garden area to pick up some tips about subsistence gardening techniques used around this time.
A longer 1.5-mile Jack-O-Lantern Branch Trail takes you through forests and fields. Pack a picnic to eat at the wooded picnic area next to the parking lot where there's picnic tables, charcoal grills and a water fountain for visitors. Restrooms are back at the visitor centre.
The park is open daily from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. with closures on Thanksgiving Day, December 25 and January 1. It might also close in inclement weather. The visitor's center and restrooms are wheelchair accessible and there's one wheelchair on site available for public use. You'll find several handicapped parking spaces in front of the visitor center.