Lincoln Memorial opening hours
| What | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The memorial, steps and chamber | 24 hours, every day | Free, no ticket. The Park Service lists National Mall sites as open around the clock; the Washington Monument is the exception. |
| Rangers | 9:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. | On duty for questions and programmes |
| Undercroft museum, March–October | 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. | Timed ticket; last entry 8 p.m. |
| Undercroft museum, November–February | 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Timed ticket; last entry 7 p.m. |
| Walk-up undercroft tickets | From 8:45 a.m. | Korean War Veterans Memorial kiosk, first come first served |
Open 24 hours means open 24 hours
This is the fact people most often refuse to believe, and it is the best thing about the place. There is no fence and no gate. The memorial is lit at night, the chamber is lit, and you can walk up at two in the morning if that is when your flight lands. The Park Service says so plainly for National Mall sites in general. What changes after dark is not access but staffing: once the rangers go off duty at 10 p.m. there is nobody to answer a question, and once the undercroft closes there is nothing to see below.
The undercroft is the part with a closing time
Hold the two apart and the whole timetable becomes simple. Everything above ground: always open, free. Everything below ground: ticketed, seasonal hours, last entry an hour before closing, and a two-hour cap on how long you stay. In November the museum shuts an hour earlier than it does in June, which is the detail that catches winter visitors who checked the hours in summer. See the undercroft page for what is down there and the tickets page for how to get in.
If you are choosing one time of day, choose by what you want rather than by the clock. Rangers before 10 p.m., the museum before it closes, the statue any time at all. What is quiet and what is busy, nobody has published, and I am not going to invent it.
Seeing the monuments after the museum shuts
The memorial stays open and lit long after the undercroft closes, which is why the night-time tours are the ones with real review counts behind them. This one is the most reviewed activity in our whole catalogue.
More on the memorial after dark, on choosing a time to go, and on how long to allow.
Frequently asked questions
What time does the Lincoln Memorial open and close?
It does not close. The memorial is open 24 hours a day with no ticket and no fee. Rangers are on duty from 9:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The undercroft museum below is the part with a timetable: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. March to October, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. November to February.
Can you visit the Lincoln Memorial at night?
Yes, at any hour, and it is lit. That is the strongest argument for the evening tours, which are also the ones with the deepest review histories — see the memorial after dark.
What time is last entry to the undercroft?
One hour before it closes, so 8 p.m. from March to October and 7 p.m. from November to February, and you may stay a maximum of two hours. Tickets are timed — the routes to get one are on the tickets page.