Key takeaways
- $15 per adult aged 16 and over, valid 7 days on the same receipt — and it covers the star fort and outer battery only. What the fee actually buys.
- Under 16 pay nothing, and eight days in 2026 are fee-free for everyone. The eight dates, listed.
- The grounds open at 7:00 a.m.; the registers open at 9:00 a.m. — two hours when the seawall, the lawns and the water views are simply open. What is free.
- Last entry is 4:45 p.m. on weekdays and 5:45 p.m. at weekends, and the star fort, visitor center, gift shop and restrooms close 15 minutes before the park does. Hours and closures.
- $45 buys an annual pass covering the holder plus 3 adults for 12 months — less than four single adult tickets. Passes compared.
- None of the three activities on this page includes fort admission. Entry is bought from the Park Service at the gate. All three, honestly compared.
A lot of visitors only need the free half
What the $15 actually buys
The Park Service draws the fee line at a wooden fence. Here is what sits on each side of it.
Inside the fence — the $15
- The star fort, the walled work the whole site is named for
- The outer battery, the other half of the fee area
- Re-entry for 7 days on the same receipt
- Free for anyone under 16, whoever they arrive with
Outside the fence — no charge
- The visitor center and the film
- The rest of the 43-acre park: lawns, paths and the seawall
- The grounds from 7:00 a.m., two hours before the registers open
- Eight fee-free days in 2026, when the fence line stops mattering
What a visit actually looks like, in order
Nobody guides you round Fort McHenry. This is the sequence most people walk anyway, and the point at which anyone asks you for money.
You arrive at 2400 East Fort Avenue, drift out to the seawall because it is right there, cross the grounds, go into the visitor center for the film, and only then reach the wooden fence where the fee starts.
- The seawall — The path along the water, harbour on one side, park on the other. Free, and open from 7:00 a.m. — two hours before anyone is selling anything.
- The grounds — Lawns and paths across most of the 43 acres. Still free, still no register in sight.
- The visitor center and the film — Also free, which is the part people are most surprised by. See what costs nothing.
- The wooden fence — The fee line. From 9:00 a.m. the registers sell entry at $15 per adult aged 16+, valid 7 days; under 16 goes through free.
- The star fort and outer battery — Everything the fee covers. Last entry 4:45 p.m. on weekdays and 5:45 p.m. at weekends, and it shuts 15 minutes before the park.
Stop at the fence and you have still seen the water, the grounds and the film. That is why this site leads with what is free rather than with a booking. Note what is not on this route at any price: the original flag, which has been in Washington for generations.
How to actually do this
Work out if you need the fee at all
The visitor center, the film and most of the park cost nothing. Read what is free before you join a queue.
Check the date first
Eight days in 2026 are fee-free for everyone, from Presidents Day to Veterans Day. The list.
Pay the Park Service, not a website
Entry is $15 per adult aged 16+, bought at the gate from 9:00 a.m. and valid 7 days. No third party sells it. The full price picture.
Book a boat or a flight separately, if you want one
The three activities below pass the fort by water or by air, or are a food walk in another neighbourhood. None of them gets you inside.
The closest thing to a Fort McHenry tour that exists
A 45-minute Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise, on which Fort McHenry is a named sight seen from the water. It does not stop, it does not land, and it does not include National Park Service admission.
Three bookable activities, and what each one is not
This is the entire inventory. It is thin because there is nothing to sell — the ticket belongs to the Park Service. Here is what each one actually is.
| Closest to the fortBaltimore: Inner Harbor Sightseeing Cruise | Baltimore: Helicopter Tour Over Downtown & Landmarks | Discover Baltimore: Fells Point Culinary Food Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $34 | $78 | $109 |
| Rating | 4.8 · 251 reviews | 4.9 · only 25 reviews | 5.0 · 44 reviews |
| Relation to the fort | Passes it from the water | Flies over it | A different neighbourhood |
| Fort admission included? | No | No | No |
| Length | 45 minutes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Best for | Seeing the fort from outside | One aerial pass over Baltimore | A Baltimore evening, not a fort day |
| Book this → | View → | View → |
Photo Gallery
Fort McHenry, from the seawall to the star fort
Six views of the 43-acre park, inside the fence and out.
What you can actually book for a Fort McHenry day
Three activities. None includes admission to the fort. Prices, ratings and review counts are GetYourGuide’s live figures.
Sees the fort from the waterBaltimore: Inner Harbor Sightseeing Cruise
Flies over the fortBaltimore: Helicopter Tour Over Downtown & Landmarks
Baltimore — not the fortDiscover Baltimore: Fells Point Culinary Food Tour
What people wrote about the three activities
Copied unedited from GetYourGuide. Read the helicopter’s 4.9 with its review count attached: it rests on 25 reviews, against 251 for the cruise.
Very pleasant and educational boat cruise. The staff were superb!!! I will do it again.
Jim was a fantastic captain! I also learned a lot about the history of Baltimore on this cruise!
it was a interesting ride and informative information
Great energy staff was helpful wish it was longer but still a great experience
We loved every moment of it!
Really enjoyed this tour with our guide, Tommy. We learned A LOT about the city of Baltimore and the Fells Point neighborhood, tasted some great food, and just had a very pleasant afternoon/evening.
Ratings and reviews are the operators’ live GetYourGuide figures. Read our full tour reviews ›
Quick answers before you drive over
The questions I was asked most often on the grounds, answered before you spend a morning finding out.
Is Fort McHenry free?
Most of it. The fee area is the star fort and outer battery, marked off by a wooden fence; the rest of the 43-acre park, the visitor center and the film cost nothing. Inside the fence it is $15 per adult aged 16+, valid 7 days, free under 16. Detail on what is free.
Can I see the Star-Spangled Banner there?
No. The original flag is at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, where admission is free and no ticket is required. Where the flag actually is.
Is the Fort McHenry Tunnel the same thing?
No. That is the I-95 crossing under the harbour, run by the Maryland Transportation Authority. A two-axle car pays $3.00 with E-ZPass Maryland, $4.00 cash, $6.00 by video toll. The tunnel, separated out.
Can I book a tour that includes entry?
No. Nothing on GetYourGuide includes Fort McHenry admission — entry is bought from the Park Service at the gate. The three activities here pass the fort by boat or by air, or are a food walk in another neighbourhood. All three, compared.
What time should I arrive?
The grounds open at 7:00 a.m. and the registers selling star fort entry open at 9:00 a.m. Last entry is 4:45 p.m. on weekdays and 5:45 p.m. at weekends, and the fort, visitor center, gift shop and restrooms close 15 minutes before the park. Hours and closures.
What about winter?
Our figures cover the Memorial Day to Labor Day season: 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at weekends. Outside that the grounds hours vary and I am not going to guess at them — the park is closed on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1, and otherwise open year-round. Check the Park Service page for the current season.
Can’t make these dates?
Browse more available Baltimore cruises and sightseeing tours and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.
My guide to Fort McHenry: what to pay for, and what to skip
I grew up in Locust Point, ten minutes from the gate, and spent five summers here as a seasonal interpreter. In all that time one question came up more than all the others put together, and the answer never got easier to give: no, the flag is not here.
The fence is the whole story
Fort McHenry is a 43-acre park at 2400 East Fort Avenue, about three miles from the Inner Harbor. Somewhere in the middle of it there is a wooden fence, and the Park Service is precise about what that fence means: the fee area is the star fort and the outer battery, and that is all it is. Everything on the other side — the lawns, the paths, the seawall, the visitor center and the film — costs nothing. That is not a loophole. It is how the park is set up, and it is the single most useful thing I can tell you.
Inside the fence it is $15 for each adult aged 16 or over. Keep the receipt: it is good for seven days, so a Saturday ticket still works on the Wednesday. Nobody under 16 pays at all. An annual pass is $45 and covers the holder plus three adults for twelve months, less than four single adult tickets, so if there are four adults in the car, buy the pass on the way in. The America the Beautiful pass runs from $80 for residents to $250 for non-residents; if you are doing a summer of national parks you already know whether you want one. Either way you buy at the gate. More under tickets and prices.
The two hours nobody writes about
The grounds open at 7:00 a.m. The registers that sell star fort entry open at 9:00 a.m. For those two hours the seawall, the grass and the water views are simply open, and in a Baltimore July that is the only civilised time to be out there anyway. I have never seen this gap mentioned in a guidebook, and it is the best free thing in the park.
The other end of the day catches more people out. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day the park runs 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at weekends. Last entry is 4:45 p.m. on weekdays and 5:45 p.m. at weekends, and the star fort, visitor center, gift shop and restrooms all close fifteen minutes before the park itself. Arrive at ten to five on a Tuesday and you have paid for a walk to the fence. Outside that season the hours change, our sources do not state them, and I will not invent them — check the Park Service page. The park is closed on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1, and open the rest of the year.
Eight days in 2026 cost nothing for anyone: Presidents Day on February 16, Memorial Day on May 25, Flag Day on June 14, the Independence Day weekend of July 3 to 5, the Park Service birthday on August 25, Constitution Day on September 17, Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday on October 27, and Veterans Day on November 11. They are listed on the fee-free days page.
The flag question
So, the flag. The original Star-Spangled Banner is not at Fort McHenry and has not been for a very long time. It is in Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where admission is free and you do not need a ticket. If that flag is why you were driving to Baltimore, drive to Washington instead and come to the fort another day for its own sake. I would rather tell you now than watch you work it out at the register. The longer version is on where the flag actually is.
The tunnel with the same name
A good share of people searching for Fort McHenry are not looking for the monument. They want the Fort McHenry Tunnel, which carries I-95 under the harbour and is run by the Maryland Transportation Authority. A two-axle car pays $3.00 with a Maryland E-ZPass, $4.00 cash, or $6.00 by video toll. It is a road. It shares a name with the fort and nothing else; it has its own page.
What you can actually book
Nothing on GetYourGuide gets you inside the fort. I would rather say that flatly than dress it up, and it is why this site has three listings instead of thirty. What you can book is a view of the outside. The 45-minute Inner Harbor sightseeing cruise, from $34, names the fort as a sight and passes it from the water: no stop, no landing. The helicopter tour, from $78, flies over it; its 4.9 is the highest rating here, but it rests on 25 reviews against 251 for the cruise. The Fells Point food tour, from $109, is a good evening in a different neighbourhood and has nothing to do with the fort. Three products, labelled for what they are, and compared properly here.
How I would spend the money
If you have never been: get there before nine, walk the seawall while it is quiet, watch the film, then stand at the fence and decide whether you want the inside too. Plenty of people say yes and are glad. A fair number look at the star fort from the grass, decide they have what they came for, and keep the $15 for lunch. Both are reasonable, which is why I would rather you had the numbers before you arrive than after. Start with what is free and pay for the rest only if you want it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to get into Fort McHenry?
Entry is $15.00 per adult aged 16 and over, and the receipt is valid for 7 days. Under-16s are free. An annual pass is $45.00 and covers the holder plus 3 adults for 12 months. The fee applies only to the star fort and outer battery — see tickets and prices.
Is Fort McHenry free?
The majority of the 43-acre park is, including the visitor center and the film. The Park Service defines the fee area as the star fort and outer battery, designated by a wooden fence; everything outside that fence costs nothing. The grounds open at 7:00 a.m., two hours before the registers that sell entry. More on what is free at Fort McHenry.
Where is the Star-Spangled Banner flag now?
In Washington, DC, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Admission there is free and no tickets are required. It is not at Fort McHenry, which surprises a large share of visitors every year — the full answer.
Which days is Fort McHenry free in 2026?
Eight: Presidents Day (February 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Flag Day (June 14), the Independence Day weekend (July 3–5), the National Park Service birthday (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17), Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (October 27) and Veterans Day (November 11). See fee-free days.
How much is the Fort McHenry Tunnel toll?
For a two-axle car, $3.00 with E-ZPass Maryland, $4.00 cash or standard rate, and $6.00 by video toll. The tunnel carries I-95 under the harbour and is operated by the Maryland Transportation Authority; it has nothing to do with visiting the monument. More on the tunnel.
Can I book a tour that includes Fort McHenry admission?
No. Nothing sold on GetYourGuide includes entry to the fort — admission is a National Park Service ticket bought at the gate. The bookable options pass the fort from the water or from the air. All three, compared.
What are Fort McHenry’s opening hours?
From Memorial Day to Labor Day the grounds run 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at weekends, with last entry at 4:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. respectively. The star fort, visitor center, gift shop and restrooms close 15 minutes before the park. It is closed on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1. Hours and closures.
Is Fort McHenry worth it?
The free part is worth an hour of anyone’s morning, particularly before 9:00 a.m. Whether the $15 for the inside of the star fort is worth it depends on how much you want to stand on the walls rather than look at them. The honest verdict, and how long you actually need.
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