Fort McHenry tickets and prices: the fee only applies inside a wooden fence
Most of what people expect to pay for at Fort McHenry is free, and the part that is not free is smaller than almost anyone assumes. The National Park Service is precise about it: the fee area is the star fort and the outer battery, marked off by a wooden fence. Everything on the other side of that fence — the lawns, the paths, the seawall, the visitor center and the film — is open to everyone at no charge. Here is the whole cost picture, including the passes, the free days and the two hours in the morning when the question does not arise.
Every price in one table
Buy at the gate, from the Park Service. Nothing sold anywhere else includes this.
| What you pay for | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, aged 16 and over | $15.00 | The star fort and outer battery, valid 7 days on the same receipt |
| Anyone under 16 | Free | The same area, at no charge |
| Fort McHenry annual pass | $45.00 | The holder plus 3 adults, for 12 months |
| America the Beautiful pass, resident | $80.00 | The national parks pass, at the resident rate |
| America the Beautiful pass, non-resident | $250.00 | The same pass, at the non-resident rate |
| The rest of the park, the visitor center, the film | $0 | Everything outside the wooden fence, on any open day |
| The eight fee-free days in 2026 | $0 | The star fort included, for everyone, on those dates |
What the $15 actually buys
The park covers 43 acres. The fee area is the star fort and the outer battery, and the Park Service marks the boundary with a wooden fence rather than leaving it to guesswork. Pay the $15 and you cross that fence, and everything inside it is what you have bought. Do not pay it and you keep the rest, which is the majority of the park, plus the visitor center and the film that runs there. Both of those are free, which surprises people who have already reached for a wallet at the door.
Keep the receipt. The $15 is good for seven days, so a Saturday ticket still works on the following Wednesday — useful if the weather turns or you run out of afternoon. Anyone under 16 pays nothing at all, anywhere, which changes the arithmetic for most families to one or two adult tickets rather than five.
When the $45 annual pass beats single tickets
The Fort McHenry annual pass is $45 and covers the holder plus three adults for twelve months. Four adults buying singles pay $60, so the pass is cheaper on the first visit and free for the next twelve months after that. Two adults would need to come back twice before it pays. The America the Beautiful pass runs from $80 for residents to $250 for non-residents and only makes sense if national parks are the shape of your year, not your afternoon.
Eight days in 2026 when nobody pays
On these dates the star fort costs nothing for everyone:
- Presidents Day — February 16
- Memorial Day — May 25
- Flag Day — June 14
- Independence Day weekend — July 3–5
- National Park Service birthday — August 25
- Constitution Day — September 17
- Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday — October 27
- Veterans Day — November 11
Flag Day and the July weekend are the busy ones, for obvious reasons. The quieter dates on that list are the better bargain. All eight are set out on the fee-free days page.
The two hours before the registers open
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 lawns and the water views are simply open, and in a Baltimore July that is the only civilised time to be outside anyway. I spent five summers here and I have still never seen that gap mentioned in a guidebook.
At the other end of the day the timing matters more than the money. 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. Turn up at ten to five on a Tuesday and your $15 buys a short walk. Outside that season the hours change and our sources do not state them, so check the Park Service page rather than trusting a number I have not verified. The park is closed on Thanksgiving, December 25 and January 1, and open the rest of the year. More on hours and closures.
Four adults in one car: buy the $45 annual pass rather than four $15 tickets. It is $15 cheaper on the day and it covers the holder plus three adults for a year. Any fewer than four and the singles win unless you know you are coming back.
Nothing bookable online includes this fee
This is the part that gets people. There are three activities you can book for a Baltimore day, and not one of them includes admission to the star fort. The cruise passes the fort from the water, the helicopter flies over it, and the Fells Point food tour is in another neighbourhood. If you want inside the fence, you pay the Park Service at the gate.
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
Ratings and review counts belong together, so: 4.8 from 251 reviews for the cruise, 4.9 from 25 reviews for the helicopter, 5.0 from 44 reviews for the food tour. The three are compared properly here. And if the $15 is the thing you are weighing up, read what costs nothing first, then what going inside the fort is actually like.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to get into Fort McHenry?
$15.00 per adult aged 16 and over, valid 7 days on the same receipt. Under-16s are free. That fee covers the star fort and the outer battery only — the area inside a wooden fence. The majority of the 43-acre park, the visitor center and the film cost nothing.
Is any part of Fort McHenry free?
Most of it. The grounds, the seawall, the paths, the visitor center and the film are free to everyone, and the grounds open at 7:00 a.m., two hours before the registers that sell star fort entry. Under-16s pay nothing anywhere, and eight days in 2026 are free for everyone.
How long is a Fort McHenry ticket valid?
Seven days, on the same receipt, so long as you keep it. A ticket bought on a Saturday still works on the following Wednesday. There is no need to buy again if you want a second look inside the star fort within that week.
Is the $45 annual pass worth it?
If there are four adults, yes: the pass covers the holder plus three adults for 12 months at $45, against $60 for four single tickets. With two adults you would need to return twice before it pays for itself. The America the Beautiful pass runs from $80 for residents to $250 for non-residents.
Where do you buy Fort McHenry tickets?
At the gate, from the National Park Service, at registers that open at 9:00 a.m. No tour or activity sold online includes this admission — the three bookable Baltimore activities on this site pass the fort by boat, fly over it, or take place in another neighbourhood.