Arlington National Cemetery (ARLING)

Directions to Cemetery

Cemetery Access Points

• We encourage volunteers to use all four of our entrances to access Arlington National Cemetery on December 17. The main Memorial Avenue entrance, Ord & Weitzel Gate, Service Complex Gate and Old Post Chapel Gates will all open to the public at 8 a.m. Old Post Chapel Gate is accessible to Department of Defense ID cardholders only. 

• ANC's main entrance is located at the end of Memorial Avenue, just west of Arlington Memorial Bridge and Potomac Park. It is a 5-minute walk from the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop.

• Ord & Weitzel Gate is located on the north side of the cemetery near the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial (Iwo Jima). It is a 15-minute walk from the Rosslyn Metro stop; walk south on N. Meade St., across Arlington Blvd., and through the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial Park.

Parking Instructions

To register click the VOLUNTEER button.  

Arlington National Cemetery will require registration of each volunteer for National Wreaths Across America Day. 

REGISTRATIONS are only valid for the specific gates and times indicated. Each hour has a maximum number of entries. Once an hour nears capacity the next hour will be released for registration.

To ensure a timely entry into the cemetery, please have your registration readily available. We ask that each member in your party have their own registration. Once registration is shown, you will proceed through security screening for entry into the cemetery.

All visitors 16 years of age and older (pedestrians, drivers, and passengers) must present valid photo identification upon entering the cemetery. Original documentation is required. Paper copies or cell phone photos of identification are not accepted.

PARKING INSTRUCTIONS

Metro

• We encourage volunteers to use Metro transportation. To avoid congestion at the Arlington National Cemetery stop, we recommend exiting via the Rosslyn or Pentagon stations and walking to the cemetery. From these locations, it is a short 15-minute walk to one of the cemetery entrances. 

• The best option is to take the Metro stop closest to the gate for which you registered: Pentagon Metro for Service Complex Gate, Arlington Cemetery Metro for the main entrance, and Rosslyn Metro for Ord & Weitzel Gate.

• If exiting at Rosslyn, you must enter the cemetery via the Ord & Weitzel Gate by walking along the North Meade Street sidewalks. If exiting at the Pentagon, you must enter through the cemetery’s Service Complex Gate entrance by walking along North Rotary Road. 

• Metro will have shuttles running from the Rosslyn station to the Marine Corps Memorial, and from the Pentagon station to the Service Complex Gate.   

• Volunteers traveling to the event by Metro are encouraged to purchase fare ahead of time. The best option, to avoid lines, is SmarTrip mobile pay.

• Please refer to WMATA for metro service information and route planning.

Driving/Parking

• To ensure a safe and secure environment for our visitors and employees, there will be NO vehicular traffic permitted inside the cemetery for the duration of the event on December 17.

• Limited general public parking will be available at the Pentagon North and South parking lots, as well as the Hayes parking lot in Pentagon City (1100 Hayes Street). Wreaths Across America volunteers and signage will be positioned in the parking lots guiding visitors to walk to the nearest cemetery entrances.

• WAA will provide bus transportation from Pentagon North to drop-off locations east of the Service Complex Gate.

• For those parking in the Pentagon South lot, we recommend walking to the cemetery’s Service Complex entrance for screening and entry to the grounds. For those parking in the Pentagon North lot, we recommend walking to the cemetery’s main entrance on Memorial Avenue by using the Route 27 pedestrian walkway.

ADA Accessibility

• The ANC Welcome Center parking garage will be available for handicapped volunteers only from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. After 7 a.m., drivers will be directed to other parking options. No more vehicles will be allowed to park in the parking garage. 

• Those with handicapped plates/placards will need to go to the Pentagon North parking lot, where their pass will be verified. They will then be directed to the ANC Welcome Center parking garage ?. 

• If the ANC parking garage is full, ADA-accessible volunteers should park in either the Pentagon North parking Lot or the Pentagon South parking lot. There will be WAA shuttles from Pentagon North Parking Lot to the Service Complex Gate entrance area. If you choose to follow this option, please register for the volunteer entry at the Service Complex.

BUSES

There will be no bus parking available at ANC or Pentagon Parking. Volunteers arriving by bus will need to be dropped off at a predetermined access point and park off-site.

Ride Share

For those volunteers who plan to arrive via a ride share (i.e., Uber, Lyft), the drop-off location is the Hayes lot in Pentagon City (1100 Hayes Street). From this point, volunteers will need to walk to the cemetery’s Service Complex Gate entrance.

Ceremony and Volunteer Information

To register click the VOLUNTEER button.  

Arlington National Cemetery will require registration of each volunteer for National Wreaths Across America Day. 

REGISTRATIONS are only valid for the specific gates and times indicated. Each hour has a maximum number of entries. Once an hour nears capacity the next hour will be released for registration.

To ensure a timely entry into the cemetery, please have your registration readily available. We ask that each member in your party have their own registration. Once registration is shown, you will proceed through security screening for entry into the cemetery.

All visitors 16 years of age and older (pedestrians, drivers, and passengers) must present valid photo identification upon entering the cemetery. Original documentation is required. Paper copies or cell phone photos of identification are not accepted.

REMINDER: Sunday, Dec. 11 is Family Pass Holder Day at Arlington. This is limited to Family Pass Holders only. NO registration is required for Family Pass Holder Day.

Arlington National Cemetery is the only participating cemetery where a Family Pass Holder Day is held in conjunction with WAA.

Family Pass Holders are people who have an immediate next of kin laid to rest at Arlington. If you have questions about criteria or how to become a FPH, please contact Arlington National Cemetery directly.

Several people have asked if other National Cemeteries offer Family Passes or a Family Pass Holder Day. Arlington National Cemetery is not part of the National Cemetery Administration, it is run by the Department of the Army. It is the only WAA participating cemetery where this week before placement happens.

DoD ID Cardholders

• Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will be accessible to DoD ID cardholders only. However, parking will be limited to the Tri Services parking lot located across from the Spates Community Center and Henderson Hall. Due to ongoing construction, the sole entry point to the cemetery from Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will be the Old Post Chapel Gate. 

• This year, all other entrances to the cemetery (Memorial Avenue, Ord & Weitzel Gate and Service Complex Gate) will have designated DoD ID card holder lanes for security screening.