Board a 1797 Warship Free and Talk With Its Active Navy Crew
She is still a commissioned warship, so the people showing you around are serving sailors, not tour guides: free to board, five days a week.
⚓ Inside the Oldest Warship Afloat
Step aboard and you are on a working Navy ship, not a replica: sailors in uniform stand the deck as interpretive historians and field questions about the rigging, the guns and their own jobs. Steep ladder-like steps drop below decks, and wheelchair access stops at the top deck; strollers stay on the pier. Tours are free and first-come, first-served, Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The National Park Service lists a 6 p.m. close from May 1 through Labor Day. Adults 18 and over need a physical federal or state photo ID or passport, and digital IDs are refused. She closes on Patriots' Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and can shut early for weather or Navy orders. Ask the crew about 19 August 1812, when British shot glanced off the hull and she became Old Ironsides.
