Battlefield and Military Park · NPS · VA
Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park
Photo: NPS Photo/Linda Williams, Cannon at Sunset Yorktown Battlefield
Alerts and conditions
Park Closure Rehabilitation of Colonial Parkway continues with additional Parkway closures
Beginning Tuesday, April 9, 2024, construction will close the Colonial Parkway to all travel in either direction between Yorktown and VA Route 199. Follow all detour signs. See additional closure information in the link below.
Overview
Discover what it took for the United States to be independent as you explore the site of the last major battle of the Revolutionary War. Here at Yorktown, in the fall of 1781, General George Washington, with allied American and French forces, besieged General Charles Lord Cornwallis’s British army. On October 19, Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the war and ensuring independence.
From the National Park Service
History
The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.
What to see and do
Activities
- Biking
- Road Biking
- Guided Tours
- Self-Guided Tours - Walking
- Self-Guided Tours - Auto
- Hiking
- Front-Country Hiking
- Horse Trekking
- Horseback Riding
- Living History
- Reenactments
- Historic Weapons Demonstration
- First Person Interpretation
- Junior Ranger Program
- Wildlife Watching
- Birdwatching
- Park Film
- Museum Exhibits
- Shopping
- Bookstore and Park Store
- Gift Shop and Souvenirs
Plan your visit
Hours
Visitor Center Hours of Operation: The Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center and the Eastern National Store is open 9:00 am to 5:00PM Daily. . The Moore House, The Cemetery Lodge and the Poor Potter are closed but their grounds are open for visitation. The Nelson House is open as staffing permits. The Battlefield Tour Roads are open till Sunset.
Fees and passes
- Entrance - Per Person — $15.00
- Annual Entrance - Park — $45.00
The America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees at federal recreation lands across all four agencies.
Getting there
For an internet map search or GPS, use the following: Yorktown Battlefield Visitor Center, 1000 Colonial Parkway, Yorktown, Virginia 23690. Eastbound from the Richmond area via I-64, exit 242B for Yorktown, to the Colonial Parkway. Follow the parkway to its end. West bound Interstate 64 from the Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Hampton area for Yorktown should take Route 105 East (Fort Eustis Boulevard east), exit 250B to Route 17. Turn left onto Route 17. Follow the signs to Yorktown Battlefield.
Visitor centers
Weather
Yorktown, VA climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 80's and cold during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 30's. The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 89.00 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is January with an average minimum temperature of 28.10 degrees Fahrenheit. For closures in due to inclement weather at Colonial National Historical Park please phone this 24 hour phone number (757) 856-1240.
Phone: 7578982410
Whose lands these are
These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.
Photos
Pair it with
- Colonial National Historical Park NPS · 7 miles
- Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 11 miles
- Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park NPS · 14 miles
- Fort Monroe National Monument NPS · 17 miles
- Nansemond National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 28 miles
- Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 30 miles