Hampton National Historic Site

 Date of Visit: August 25, 2016

We arrived around 9 a.m., so had about an hour to wait for the first tour of the mansion at 10 a.m. We spent the time exploring the grounds around the Hampton Mansion. There really isn't much to explore that is accessible, though, so Mik did get a little impatient. At least there was a Pokemon Go gym to entertain him at the top of the falling gardens that just required going in the grass a little to get the the gravel path in the backyard that leads to it.

We attempted to go to the cemetery because it seemed close enough that we could go there and back before the tour, but the gravel turned out to be quite thick on this path. This is also the path that goes down to the farm area, which I think might also have its own parking area, but we wanted to also fit in Fort McHenry today. Also, Baltimore is an easy day trip for us, so we figured instead someday we'll come back and remember the freewheel to make exploring the grounds not a big deal.

As a historic home originally finished in 1790, Hampton House is not exactly accessible. However, the tour starts in the hyphen with a ramp up to the entrance. Once inside there is then a lift to get to the first floor. The tour does end up going down to the kitchen and up to the second floor (3 bedrooms and special exhibit room), which I did while Dad waited with Mik, but really they didn't miss out on too much and got to see the best parts. In particular, we liked that the tour guide adapted the tour to include them the most by making sure they could hear when she talked about the bells in the hall on the way down to the kitchen and most of the information on that area. She also did the whole first floor area before we did the second floor, so they could wait outside and explore the grounds rather than wait inside for us again.

After the tour we headed back down the road to the museum shop to get our National Park Passport stamps. This road is a little steep for Mik's liking and we probably would've just parked at the top by the mansion if it had been open to get the stamps when we first got there.

Destination Info:
Hampton National Historic Site
535 Hampton Lane
Towson, MD 21286