Booker T. Washington National Monument — Attraction in Virginia

We visited on a Saturday afternoon in late May (Memorial Day weekend). There was plenty of parking available. The parking is located a bit away from the visitor center itself but there is a roundabout you can drop people off and then go park. There are also a number of picnic tables to have food right next to the parking lot. It's also very shaded and there is even a charcoal grill.

The visit center was very nice and look very well maintained. There are bathrooms facilities outside the main visitor center building.

There is a short film you can watch in the theater that is played on demand by the park ranger, which we highly recommend as it gives you a lot of the information very quickly. Our 8 year old was able to pay attention the whole time. The small exhibit area was also great and had a number of interactive elements which kept the kids attention. We also had a 13 and 11 year old with us. The NPS store is also just inside the main doors and the NPS Cancellation Stamps were sitting right in the center on a table.

There is also a Junior Ranger Program available here. Although we were told they didn't have very many copies so the ranger was excited that we had printed them out at home and brought them without just in case. A couple of the activities were a bit difficult but majority of them could be answered just inside the visitor center.

Just outside you can walk down to the historical building area to answer the other questions and then if you continue you go straight onto the Jack-o-lantern trail. It was a very nice easy hike by the creek. If you wanted to go for a nice stroll this was perfect. We did the entire loop and ended up returning through the plantation trail. We got to see the tobacco hut being completed still with scaffolding around it and also the pigs in the plantation. We spent about an hour and a half here with the short film, junior ranger and hiking the trails.

We were told the visitor center did close at 5PM and that around 4PM the visitor center portion would be temporarily closed as the single ranger on staff that day had to go and feed the animals etc. The bathrooms and water fountains outside were still open until 5PM. The ranger did end up coming back before 5PM so guests could quickly run in look at things or purchase merchandise from the NPS store.

It was great for a one time visit. We're not sure if we would visit again as we basically saw almost everything there was to see. Maybe just to do the nice hike in the woods if we were in the Smith Mountain...

After recently reading "Up From Slavery", I was excited to learn of this monument and made time to visit it. I found the experience of walking around the plantation to be contemplative and relaxing, though stimulating at the same time. At the Visitor Center, the ranger gave a good historical overview of the plantation, but we also had a great conversation about the legacy of the oft-misunderstood Booker T. Washington. I wish I had more time there to sit on a bench and ruminate about the peacefulness of the environment, its disturbing past, and the impact on young Booker. Several structures remain on the plantation, although the slave quarters and main house are gone. It's a pleasant and easy walk around the grounds, focused on the experience rather than the details. Sites are labeled, but there is not a lot of text to read (though there is plenty of information at the Visitor Center). You will see pigs in the pig pen, ducks in the duck lot, a horse by the horse barn, etc. The Visitor Center and rangers helped to provide the context and answered questions. As a bonus, the gift shop had a nice selection of commemorative items. Overall, it was a great experience that enriched the intellectual understanding I had...

Volunteer was extremely knowledgeable...as usual, I wish there was more of a ranger presence, instead of only seeing volunteers in public facing positions. I know it's not the fault of the individual parks, it's an issue with NPS funding in general. Still sucks when you can't find a flat hat wearing ranger anywhere.

Super grateful that they managed to be open on Mondays, though. I swear every other park is closed on Mondays and Tueadays these days, which sucks if you happen to be traveling by on those days.

Great little park though, lovely location and some original buildings, which is very cool. Much different, I think, then what people think of as southern plantations. Not quite as grand or glorious, which was an interesting contrast to houses of other rich southerners who kept enslaved people I've visited. Goes to show how prevalent slavery really was. Also, this site obviously focused on the enslaved family of Booker T Washington, which made for a different and welcome view of plantation...