Tours & Events

Crown Hill isn’t just a cemetery. It’s an Indiana landmark, an attraction people can appreciate all year round. The spring blooms are magical, the fall colors breathtaking, the winter landscape a wonder to behold. For many years, the Crown Hill Heritage Foundation has provided tours, educational programs, and special events for thousands of students, families, and tourists who visit Crown Hill.

Public Tours begin on Saturday, May 7 with our “Tombstones and Spring Trees Tour” and will continue through the beautiful fall foliage in October!

Private Group Tours are available from mid-March through October. Please note that they must be arranged at least two weeks in advance.

Please visit our Self-Guided Tour page to download our new Tree Map/Tour, the Bicentennial Tour, and our Racing Legends Tour. You can also download our new Tour App! Also available are our Visitor’s Guide/Map and Exercise Maps.

The cemetery grounds are open daily and we welcome your visit!

38th St. Gate Hours (700 W. 38th Street – enter off of Clarendon Road)

• 8:00 am – 8:00 pm daily, April through September
• 8:00 am – 6:00 pm daily, October through March

34th St. Gate Hours (3400 Boulevard Place)

• 8:00 am – 5:00 pm daily, year-round
• This gate will be unlocked for public and private tours scheduled after 5:00 pm

Events

• Crown Hill National Arbor Day Celebration

  Join us on Friday, April 29th, as we celebrate the 150th Anniversary of National Arbor Day! Led by our new arborist, Carrie Tauscher, we will be planting 25 native trees at 10 am, and, at noon, she will lead a cemetery walkabout to explore the beautiful trees of Crown Hill.

  Friday, April 29

  • Free
  
  
  • 10:00 am
• 24th Annual “Spirit of Freedom” Civil War Program

  Join us for the 24th Annual “Spirit of Freedom,” a celebration of the many thousands of African Americans who fought during the Civil War. These U.S.C.T. (United States Colored Troops) represented one-tenth of the Union Army, a little-known fact of our Civil War history. Of the 1,537 members of the U.S.C.T. who fought for Indiana, 225 are buried within the Crown Hill National Cemetery.

  During this highly educational event, up to 1,500 fifth grade Indianapolis Public School students will rotate between three stages in a large meadow as Civil War reenactors share first-person accounts from their character’s experiences and stories of other important African Americans who had a major impact upon the outcome of the Civil War. 

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  Tuesday, May 10

  • Free
  
  
  • 10:30am - 1:00pm
• Memorial Day 2022

  Memorial Day is a big day for Crown Hill — a celebration of patriotism, pride, and freedom. A Hoosier fixture for more than 150 years, it is the longest-running Memorial Day ceremony in Indiana. We’re pleased to invite the public to join us once again to our Memorial Day Band Concert and Ceremony as we celebrate and honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

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  Monday, May 30

  • Free
  
  
  • Band Concert, 1:30 pm; Memorial Day Ceremony, 2:00 pm; Tours at 10 am, 11 am, Noon, & 3 pm (after the ceremony)
• Celebration of Racing & Automotive Legends

  Join us as we once again as the Crown Hill Heritage Foundation celebrates the Racing & Automotive Legends at Crown Hill with IRMA (Indiana Racing Memorial Association)! This event will include individual metal TOUR MARKERS installed & the introduction of our mobile-friendly RACING LEGENDS TOUR APP! The highlight of the tour app are twenty audio recordings made by IMS Historian Donald Davidson and former IMS Announcer Bob Jenkins!

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  Sunday, Jun 26

  • Free
  
  
  • 2:00 p.m.