With the summer tourism season officially underway, the National Park Service has extended visiting hours at the Washington Monument.
Guests can now take trips up to the top of the 500-foot-level observation area until 10 p.m. -- five more hours than you'll get during the winter. That makes 13 hours of trips every day -- the monument opens at 9 a.m.
You can get free tickets online or by calling (877) 444-6777. Allow for least two weeks for the tickets to be mailed to your home. And although the tickets are free, there is a small service fee. You can order tickets up to a year in advance.
You can also get free, same-day tickets at the National Park Service’s Monument Lodge, located on the 15th Street side of the Washington Monument grounds. These tickets are distributed beginning at 8:30 a.m. daily until the tickets for that day are gone.
The extended hours will be in effect until Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6
Let's go Around Town: Keep up with what's happening in the D.C. area anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Sign up for our e-mail newsletters and find out What You're Doing Tonight with texts delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text DCTONIGHT to 622339 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.) Don't forget our iPhone app!
