Washington Monument tickets

Going up the Washington Monument is free. It is the only thing on the Mall that needs a ticket, and the ticket itself costs nothing — booking one online in advance adds a small non-refundable service charge per ticket. Timed tickets are released daily at 10:00 a.m. for dates 30 days ahead, more are released one day before the visit date, and the walk-up window at the Washington Monument Lodge opens at 8:45 a.m. for same-day tickets while supplies last. The elevator runs nonstop to the observation deck at 500 feet.

AdmissionFree

Online service charge$1 per ticket

Release time10:00 a.m. daily

Released ahead30 days

Walk-up window opens8:45 a.m.

Observation deck500 feet

Free, with a booking charge

Let me be precise, because plenty of pages are not: admission to the Washington Monument is free. The $1.00 non-refundable service charge applies per advance ticket booked online, and it is a booking fee rather than a price of entry. If you get a same-day ticket at the window, you pay nothing at all. This site sells nothing and we are not the Park Service — book through the NPS ticket page.

The 10 a.m. release, and how it actually goes

Tickets go live at 10:00 a.m. daily, 30 days ahead of the visit date. That is the real friction here, not money. The 30-day window for a popular date can move quickly, and the people who miss it are usually the ones who looked a week out. Two things save you:

The day-before release. More tickets are released one day before the visit date. This is the realistic fallback if the 30-day window has gone, and it is the one I tell people to set an alarm for.
The walk-up window. The Washington Monument Lodge window opens at 8:45 a.m. and hands out free same-day timed tickets, first come first served, while supplies last. On a busy morning that means queueing before it opens.

When it is shut

The Monument closes one day in the first week of every month for maintenance, plus Independence Day and Christmas Day. It also closes for high wind and thunderstorms, which in a DC summer is not a rare event. Check the day before you go rather than the week before, and have a second plan: the free museums are ten minutes away and none of them charge either.

Insider tip

The view from 500 feet is the only place you can see the whole 1.9 miles laid out in one glance, which is why I send people up before they walk it rather than after. It makes the rest of the day make sense.

The tour that includes the ticket

One product on this site includes the timed ticket to the top, and that is the entire reason to book it: a three-hour small-group tour at $55 with a licensed guide, of which about two and a half hours is the guided walk. It visits the Lincoln, Vietnam Veterans, Korean War, MLK and WWII memorials with a photo stop at the White House South Lawn, meets at 10 Henry Bacon Dr NW outside the Lincoln Memorial Gifts & Cafe, includes gratuities, and runs a scavenger hunt for children. Being straight with you: it rates 4.9, but from only 25 reviews, so read that as encouraging rather than proven. Helen from Ireland wrote that her guide Vicky was excellent and the tour suited all ages; Heather noted that her party had a wheelchair and the guide was understanding. My full verdict is in the Washington Monument tour review.

The honest calculation: you are paying for the guided walk and for someone else to have solved the 10 a.m. release problem. If you already hold a ticket, you do not need it, and the prices page shows the cheaper rungs.

Check dates for the Monument tour

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure on most tours — book now, decide later.

Monument and memorial tours

Goes up the obeliskMonument ticket included

Everything else out here is free and open 24 hours. If the Monument is shut on your date, the rest of the Mall is not.

Frequently asked questions

How much do Washington Monument tickets cost?

Admission is free. An advance timed ticket booked online carries a $1.00 non-refundable service charge per ticket, and a same-day ticket from the walk-up window costs nothing. Anyone quoting you a ticket price for the Monument is describing a tour, not the Monument.

What time are Washington Monument tickets released?

At 10:00 a.m. daily, for visit dates 30 days ahead. More tickets are released one day before the visit date, which is the realistic fallback if the 30-day window has gone. Book through the NPS site rather than a reseller.

What if the Washington Monument tickets are sold out?

Try the release one day before your visit date, or queue at the Washington Monument Lodge walk-up window, which opens at 8:45 a.m. and gives out free same-day timed tickets while supplies last. Failing both, one guided tour includes the timed ticket — see the tour review.

Is the Washington Monument ever closed?

Yes. It closes one day in the first week of every month for maintenance, plus Independence Day and Christmas Day, and it shuts for high wind and thunderstorms. The Mall around it stays open 24 hours regardless — see what else is free out here.