The popular White House Garden Tours happen twice a year, and this fall’s event is taking place on Saturday, October 14 and Sunday, October 15 from 10 AM to 4:30 PM. You can walk through the White House’s flora for free, but scoring tickets requires some advanced planning.
Starting at 8:30 AM, tickets are distributed from a tent outside the White House Visitor Center (1450 Pennsylvania Ave., NW) on the day of the tours. Expect people to line up early: Passes are issued on a first-come, first-serve basis, and last year’s event reportedly attracted around 30,000 people over two days. The tickets are limited to one per person, meaning everyone in your party must be present to get a ticket. Passes must be used during the assigned timeframe, and timed entries happen every 30 minutes.
Visitors will have access to the South Grounds, which includes the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, the Rose Garden, the Kitchen Garden established by Michelle Obama, and the Children’s Garden. Twenty three ornamental trees planted by former presidents also dot the landscape.
Access the tour through the South Lawn entry point, located on 15th Street NW between E Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW.
