This page gathers everything you need for visiting Alexandria National Cemetery in one place: hours, address, contact numbers, and how to reach the cemetery on foot from the King Street Metro station. Established in 1862, this Civil War cemetery is one of the thirteen burial grounds of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex and the final resting place of more than 4,230 people, most of them Union soldiers who died in Alexandria’s wartime hospitals.
Alexandria National Cemetery is a historic national cemetery in Virginia and one of the first fourteen national cemeteries created by Congress in 1862. Today it is a VA national cemetery, cared for by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration and administered from Quantico National Cemetery.
Alexandria National Cemetery Visitor Information at a Glance
Address:
1450 Wilkes Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Visiting hours:
Open daily from sunrise to sunset. There is no charge for visiting Alexandria National Cemetery.
Administrative office:
Alexandria National Cemetery has no office on site. It is administered by Quantico National Cemetery, P.O. Box 10, Triangle, VA 22172. The office is open Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and is closed on federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.
Phone:
703-221-2183
Burials:
The cemetery is closed to new interments. Only subsequent interments in an existing gravesite are accepted for eligible veterans and family members.
Getting to Alexandria National Cemetery
From the King Street Metro station, walk east on King Street, turn right on Daingerfield Road, cross Duke Street, and follow the bicycle and pedestrian path along Hooff’s Run. Turn left at Jamieson Avenue for the pedestrian gate, or continue to the main gate at the end of Wilkes Street. Either gate works for visiting Alexandria National Cemetery on foot.
Rules for Visiting Alexandria National Cemetery
Like every VA national cemetery, Alexandria follows federal rules meant to keep the grounds a place of quiet remembrance. Pets are not allowed on the cemetery grounds at any time. Picnicking, sports, and recreational activities of any kind are prohibited, as are soliciting, loud music, and boisterous behavior. Visitors may not litter, dig, cut, or otherwise damage the landscape, and may not alter a headstone in any way. Please do not park on the grass. Under federal regulations, firearms, explosives, and other weapons are not permitted, except for official purposes such as military funeral honors.
Natural cut flowers may be placed on graves at any time of year. Artificial flowers are permitted only from November 1 through March 31, and potted plants only for the ten days before and after Easter Sunday. Christmas wreaths and grave blankets may be placed from December 1 through January 20; blankets may be no larger than two by three feet. Nothing may be attached to a headstone, and glass or permanent vases, statues, pinwheels, balloons, vigil lights, and breakable objects are not allowed. Unauthorized decorations are removed and held by the cemetery for at least ten days. The complete rules, along with any closures or schedule changes, are posted on the National Cemetery Administration’s Alexandria National Cemetery page.
Before You Visit This Historic Military Cemetery
Gravestone Stories publishes a free self-guided walking guide to the cemetery, with a route map and the grave row for each of its eight stops. Download it and print it, or save it to your phone before visiting Alexandria National Cemetery.
To learn about the soldiers buried here, from the first burial in 1862 to the United States Colored Troops whose petition won them burial beside their white comrades, read the full history of Alexandria National Cemetery. It tells the stories behind the stones in this military cemetery, soldier by soldier.
Page last updated: October 27, 2026
