National Historic Site · Pennsylvania · est. 1789

Friendship Hill National Historic Site

Albert Gallatin is best remembered for his thirteen year tenure as Secretary of the Treasury during the Jefferson and Madison administrations. In that time he reduced the national debt, purchased the Louisiana Territory and funded the Lewis & Clark exploration. Gallatin's accomplishments and contributions are highlighted at Friendship Hill, his restored country estate.

About 1 hours from Pittsburgh by car.

Photos: National Park Service

Alerts

  • Caution
    Photo Season

    Just a reminder as the weather is starting to get nice, and people are thinking about where to take graduation, wedding, prom or formal, pregnancy, birthday, and any other type of photography or filming! We do have rules and regulations on what is or is not allowed and whether or not you need a permit. Violations may be ticketed.

    NPS ↗
  • Information
    Hours Changing

    The Visitor Center at Friendship Hill National Historic Site is now open seven days a week from 9 AM to 5 PM! The grounds and trails remain open sunrise to sunset. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 724-329-2501 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/frhi

Fees & passes

Free. No entrance fee here.

Hours

Friendship Hill Grounds and TrailsDaily · Sunrise to Sunset

August draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.

Visits by month with average temperature, precipitation, snowfall, Friendship Hill06001.2k1.8k2.4kJanuary: 496 visits on average, 29.6°FJanFebruary: 694 visits on average, 31.8°FFebMarch: 1,080 visits on average, 39.4°FMarApril: 1,320 visits on average, 50.6°FAprMay: 2,144 visits on average, 60.6°FMayJune: 1,872 visits on average, 68.6°FJunJuly: 2,016 visits on average, 73.1°FJulAugust: 2,320 visits on average, 71.8°FAugSeptember: 2,195 visits on average, 65.3°FSepOctober: 1,755 visits on average, 53.4°FOctNovember: 1,296 visits on average, 42.1°FNovDecember: 762 visits on average, 33.9°FDecJanuary: 29.6°F averageFebruary: 31.8°F averageMarch: 39.4°F averageApril: 50.6°F averageMay: 60.6°F averageJune: 68.6°F averageJuly: 73.1°F averageAugust: 71.8°F averageSeptember: 65.3°F averageOctober: 53.4°F averageNovember: 42.1°F averageDecember: 33.9°F average20°F30°F40°F50°F60°F70°F80°FVisitsRain and snow, inches0.0 in4.0 in8.0 inJanuary: 3.25 in precipitationFebruary: 2.56 in precipitationMarch: 3.63 in precipitationApril: 3.77 in precipitationMay: 4.09 in precipitationJune: 4.33 in precipitationJuly: 4.22 in precipitationAugust: 3.65 in precipitationSeptember: 3.44 in precipitationOctober: 3.00 in precipitationNovember: 2.98 in precipitationDecember: 3.23 in precipitationJanuary: 6.1 in snowFebruary: 5.9 in snowMarch: 1.9 in snowApril: 0.1 in snowMay: 0.0 in snowJune: 0.0 in snowJuly: 0.0 in snowAugust: 0.0 in snowSeptember: 0.0 in snowOctober: 0.0 in snowNovember: 0.3 in snowDecember: 4.1 in snow
Bars are the average recreation visits in each month over 2021 to 2025. The line is the average temperature at Grays Landing, 1 mile from the park's reference point at 800 feet, station USC00363451 in the NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals. The lower panel is monthly rain and snow from the same station, also 1991 to 2020 averages.

See every month and year since 1979.

Visitor centers

  • Gallatin House ↗Passport stamp

    The Gallatin House was the home of Albert Gallatin, the fourth Secretary of Treasury. The house contains exhibits on Gallatin's family life and public career.

Limited data for this unit

No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.

Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.

Explore

Things to do

  • Friendship Hill Junior Ranger1-3 Hours

    The Friendship Hill Junior Ranger program is completed on-site and includes different levels of activities for children age 6-12

    Opens on the Park Service site
  • Friendship Hill Senior Ranger2-4 Hours

    The Friendship Hill Senior Ranger Program is completed on-site and includes different levels of activities for visitors ages 13 and up, including adults!

    Opens on the Park Service site
  • Hiking at Friendship Hill30-300 Minutes

    Friendship Hill National Historic Site has ten miles of hiking trails to explore. You can walk to Gallatin House on the knoll and back in 15 minutes, or hike for hours through woods and meadows.

    Opens on the Park Service site
  • Tour the Gallatin House and Historic Knoll15-75 Minutes

    The rooms of the home from the Gallatin era contain exhibits and some furnishings relating to the period of Gallatin's life when each addition was built.

    Opens on the Park Service site

Films

Home Overview (Park Film) · 5.6 min · on NPS.gov ↗
Gallatin Biography (Park Film) · 5 min · on NPS.gov ↗

National Park Service productions, public domain.

News

  • Wildflower Presentation and Walk ↗2026-04-16

    Saturday, April 25th, join us at Friendship Hill to learn about Spring Wildflowers of Eastern Woodlands: Photos, Facts and Folklore with author Jack Gates and then participate in a two mile walk around the grounds to…

Map

Interactive map by the National Park Service

Guidebooks for the Mid-Atlantic

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Best Hikes of the Appalachian Trail
    Matt Willen, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Rail-trails mid-Atlantic
    Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Scenic Routes and Byways Middle Atlantic
    Randi Minetor and Nic Minetor, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.

Reference

Wildlife

158
Bird species
29
Mammal species
3
Species seen this month

Seen this monthBald Eagle 2× · Bobcat 1× · Osprey 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist

Full checklist: 158 birds, 29 mammals
Birds

Raptors & owlsAmerican kestrel · Bald eagle · Barred owl · Black vulture · Broad-winged hawk · Coopers hawk · Eastern screech-owl · Great horned owl · Osprey · Red-shouldered hawk · Red-tailed hawk · Rough-legged hawk · Sharp-shinned hawk · Turkey vulture

Waterfowl & wadersCanada goose · Great blue heron · Green-backed heron · Wood duck

Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican woodcock · Killdeer · spotted sandpiper

Gamebirds & dovesDomestic dove · Mourning dove · Northern bobwhite · Ruffed grouse · Turkey

WoodpeckersCommon flicker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Pileated woodpecker · Red-bellied woodpecker · Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney swift · Ruby-throated hummingbird

Also on the checklistAcadian flycatcher · Alder flycatcher · American crow · American goldfinch · American pipit · American redstart · American robin · American tree sparrow · Baltimore oriole · Bank swallow · Barn swallow · Bay breasted warbler · Belted kingfisher · Black billed cuckoo · Black-and-white warbler · Black-capped chickadee · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue jay · Blue-gray gnatcatcher · Blue-headed vireo · Blue-winged Warbler · Bobolink · Brown creeper · Brown thrasher · Brown-headed cowbird · Canada warbler · Cape May warbler · Cardinal · Carolina chickadee · Carolina wren · Catbird · Cedar waxwing · Cerulean Warbler · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping sparrow · Cliff swallow · Common grackle · Common nighthawk · Common raven · Common yellowthroat · Connecticut warbler · Dark-eyed junco · Eastern bluebird · Eastern kingbird · Eastern meadowlark · Eastern phoebe · Eastern wood pewee · European starling · Evening grosbeak · Field sparrow · Fish crow · Fox sparrow · Golden-crowned kinglet · Grasshopper sparrow · Gray-cheeked thrush · Great crested flycatcher · Hermit thrush · Hooded Warbler · Horned lark · House finch · House sparrow · House wren · Indigo bunting · Kentucky Warbler · Least flycatcher · Lincoln's sparrow · Louisiana Waterthrush · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Mockingbird · Mourning warbler · Nashville warbler · Northern Parula · Northern waterthrush · Olive-sided flycatcher · Orange-crowned warbler · Orchard oriole · Palm warbler · Philadelphia vireo · Pine Warbler · Pine siskin · Prairie warbler · Purple finch · Purple martin · Red-breasted nuthatch · Red-eyed vireo · Red-winged blackbird · Rose-breasted grosbeak · Rough-winged swallow · Ruby-crowned kinglet · Rufous-sided towhee · Rusty blackbird · Scarlet tanager · Song sparrow · Summer tanager · Swainson's thrush · Swamp sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Traill's flycatcher · Tree swallow · Tufted titmouse · Veery · Vesper sparrow · Warbling vireo · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted nuthatch · White-crowned sparrow · White-eyed vireo · White-throated sparrow · Wilson's warbler · Winter wren · Wood thrush · Worm-eating warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-bellied flycatcher · Yellow-billed cuckoo · Yellow-breasted chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Warbler · Yellow-throated vireo · ovenbird

Mammals

Small mammalsBeaver · Deer mouse · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern cottontail · Eastern flying squirrel · Fox squirrel · Gray squirrel · Hairy-tailed mole · Masked shrew · Meadow vole · Muskrat · Red squirrel · Short-tailed shrew · White-footed mouse · Woodland jumping mouse

PredatorsCommon raccoon · Coyote · Gray fox · Red fox · Striped skunk

Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed deer

BatsBig brown bat · North American Hoary Bat · little brown bat · northern long-eared bat · red bat · tricolored bat

Also on the checklistVirginia opossum · Woodchuck

Weather & climate

Weather varies considerably within each season. Be prepared with layered clothing. Precipitation is common throughout the year. Spring: Temperatures usually range from 25°F to 70°F. On average, May is the wettest month. Summer: Temperatures usually range from 50°F to 80°F. July is the warmest month. Fall: Temperatures usually range from 30°F to 70°F. Fall foliage is at its peak around mid-October. Winter: Temperatures range from 15°F to 40°F. January is the coldest month.

Questions people ask

Does Friendship Hill charge an entrance fee?

No. Friendship Hill is free to enter.

Source: National Park Service

What are the hours at Friendship Hill?

Standard hours are Sunrise to Sunset, every day.

Source: National Park Service

Is anything closed at Friendship Hill right now?

2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Hours Changing; Photo Season.

Source: Alerts

How busy is Friendship Hill?

18,080 recreation visits in 2025, number 331 of 387 units that report visitation.

Source: Most visited parks

Is there cell service at Friendship Hill?

At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show AT&T 5G. No reported coverage for Verizon and T-Mobile. Coverage inside the park varies by location.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

When was Friendship Hill established?

1789.

Source: Wikipedia

What is the weather like at Friendship Hill?

Weather varies considerably within each season. Be prepared with layered clothing.

Source: Weather & climate

Follow this park

Alerts feed (RSS)
Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.