George Washington Carver National Monument
The young child known as the "Plant Doctor" tended his secret garden while observing the day-to-day operations of a 19th century farm. Nature and nurture ultimately influenced George on his quest for education to becoming a renowned agricultural scientist, educator, and humanitarian.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| George Washington Carver National Monument | Daily · 9:00AM - 5:00PM |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 9:00AM - 5:00PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Year's Day | Closed |
When to go
March draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- George Washington Carver National Monument ↗Passport stamp
The visitor center is a multilevel facility that houses a museum, theater, park store, interactive exhibits areas, classrooms, additional restrooms, library, museum collection facility, offices space, and a large multipurpose area that also serves as a tornado shelter.
Explore
Things to do
- A Contemplative Experience30-60 Minutes
Take in George Washington Carver’s words of wisdom while stopping to read the quote stones along the short, quarter mile Contemplative Loop Trail. Discover a sense of peace as GW Carver guides you through the woods.
Opens on the Park Service site - From Woodlands to Prairies30-90 Minutes
Take your furry friend for a walk along the one-mile picturesque Carver Trail through woodlands, across streams, and along tallgrass prairie.
Opens on the Park Service site - Report for Duty at the Park30-60 Minutes
Become a Junior Ranger by completing activities about George Washington Carver’s life and impact on our nation with the “The Plant Doctor” or “The Scientist” or “Carver Scholar” booklet.
Opens on the Park Service site - The Legacy of George Washington Carver30-120 Minutes
Explore the impactful life of Carver at the museum and discovery area. Tour exhibits of his art, examine artifacts from his scientific work, and watch the park film, “Struggle and Triumph: The Legacy of George Washington Carver”.
Opens on the Park Service site - Pack a Picnic30-120 Minutes
All picnic tables are accessible and located along concrete routes. Some of these picnic tables are shaded. There are accessible parking spots near the picnic area.
Opens on the Park Service site - Explore the Park Museum and Discovery Area20-75 Minutes
Located in the visitor center, the museum and discovery area offer visitors three floors of exhibits on George Washington Carver's life and times at a self-guided pace.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 12Hide
- Start at the Visitor Center15-20 Minutes
Many visitors like to start their park experience at the visitor center. Orientation services and basic visitor information are available at the information desk. This is the location of the passport cancellation stamp.
Opens on the Park Service site - Embrace your creativity at the Park30-60 Minutes
Find a special place in nature and pull out your pen and pencil. Connect with George Washington Carver in a new way through nature journaling, sketching or poetry writing.
Opens on the Park Service site - Capture a Moment30-60 Minutes
Bring your camera or cell phone into the woods, along the streams, or through the prairie to photograph a moment in nature. Pause and observe while you enjoy beautiful feelings of solitude while connecting to the environment around you.
Opens on the Park Service site - Tour the Carver Trail60-90 Minutes
Join a Park Ranger on a guided tour along the Carver Trail. As you walk in the steps of young Carver, you will leave with a greater understanding of his history, the place he grew up, and the legacy he left behind.
Opens on the Park Service site - Explore with Young Carver30-90 Minutes
Take a self-guided tour and search for wildlife in the woodlands that inspired by the adventurous young Carver. Maybe you will catch sight of a blue heron in the pond, hear songbirds in the prairies or witness deer visiting the monument grounds in…
Opens on the Park Service site - Take a Guided Tour on the Carver Trail1-2 Hours
Guided tours of the Carver Trail are offered daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. throughout the year. The ranger-led guided tour of the Carver Trail interprets the childhood and life of George Washington Carver.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- The Jesup Wagon10/1701:00 PM · runs through Oct 18 · free
- Cemetery Secrets10/2401:00 PM · runs through Oct 25 · free
- Planting Inspiration11/0701:00 PM · runs through Nov 8 · free
- Film: "The Tuskegee Airmen"11/1401:00 PM · runs through Nov 15 · free
- Separate & Unequal11/2101:00 PM · runs through Nov 22 · free
- Peanut Provisions11/2801:00 PM · runs through Nov 29 · free
Show all 9Hide
- Inspiring Success: Mariah Watkins12/0501:00 PM · runs through Dec 6 · free
- Holiday Open House12/1201:00 PM · free
- Film: "Christmas in Yellowstone" (52 minutes)12/1901:00 PM · runs through Dec 20 · free
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Neosho Colored SchoolBuilding · Neosho · 7.7 mi
- Second Baptist ChurchBuilding · Neosho · 7.8 mi
- Neosho Wholesale Grocery CompanyBuilding · Neosho · 7.9 mi
- Neosho High SchoolBuilding · Neosho · 8 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Missouri guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthRed Fox 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 182 birds, 42 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAMERICAN KESTREL · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Great Horned Owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Blue Goose · Blue-winged Teal · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT · Great Blue Heron · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green-Winged Teal · Green-backed Heron · Little Blue Heron · PINTAIL · Pied-billed Grebe · Ring-necked Duck · Wood Duck · Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Woodcock · Common Snipe · Franklin's Gull · GREATER YELLOWLEGS · Killdeer · Lesser Yellowlegs · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Upland Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed 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 · BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Bobolink · Brewer's Blackbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bruant de LeConte · CERULEAN WARBLER · CLAY-COLORED SPARROW · CLIFF SWALLOW · Canada Warbler · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Chuck-will's-widow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood-pewee · European Starling · Field Sparrow · Fish Crow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Great-tailed Grackle · HORNED LARK · Harris' Sparrow · Henslow's Sparrow · Hermit Thrush · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Kentucky Warbler · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Louisiana Waterthrush · Mallard · Marsh Wren · NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW · NORTHERN SHOVELER · Nashville Warbler · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Oriole · Northern Parula · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · PROTHONOTARY WARBLER · Painted Bunting · Palm Warbler · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Siskin · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-sided Towhee · Rusty Blackbird · Sand Martin · Savannah Sparrow · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Sedge Wren · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted Towhee · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tree Swallow · Tufted Titmouse · VEERY · Vesper Sparrow · WHITE-THROATED SPARROW · WILLOW FLYCATCHER · Warbling Vireo · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER · YELLOW-THROATED VIREO · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Brown Rat · Common Muskrat · Deer Mouse · EASTERN COTTONTAIL RABBIT · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern Mole · Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew · FULVOUS HARVEST MOUSE · HOUSE MOUSE · Hispid Cotton Rat · LEAST SHREW · Meadow Jumping Mouse · Prairie Vole · Southern Flying Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse · White-footed Deermouse
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Mink · Bobcat · COYOTE · Common Gray Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · RACCOON · RED FOX · Striped Skunk
Hoofed mammalsWHITE-TAILED DEER
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Evening Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Northern Bat
Also on the checklistCOMMON DOG/DOMESTIC DOG · HOUSECAT/ DOMESTIC CAT · OPOSSUM · WOODCHUCK · long-nosed armadillo
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks
Weather & climate
George Washington Carver National Monument is located in southwestern Missouri just outside of Diamond and about 10 miles from Joplin. Summer temperatures generally range from 75-100 degrees with high humidity. Winter temperatures generally range from 0-50 degrees with periods of intermittent freezing.
Questions people ask
Does George Washington Carver charge an entrance fee?
No. George Washington Carver is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at George Washington Carver?
Standard hours are 9:00AM - 5:00PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
How busy is George Washington Carver?
31,062 recreation visits in 2025, number 300 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at George Washington Carver?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was George Washington Carver established?
1943. It covers about 0.4 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at George Washington Carver?
George Washington Carver National Monument is located in southwestern Missouri just outside of Diamond and about 10 miles from Joplin. Summer temperatures generally range from 75-100 degrees with high humidity.
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.
More in Missouri
