How to bring the Elderly with Impaired Mobility to Colonial Williamsburg

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After returning from an awesome visit to Colonial Williamsburg with my 91 year old mom, many people have approached me with the same question.

How do you visit Colonial Williamsburg with an elderly parent who has impaired mobility?  

• 1. With a little planning ahead, you can know exactly which places you can go into, and which will only be seen from outside or the bottom floor.

• 2. the GREAT news is that the entry tickets for persons with mobility impairments are discounted by 50%, so you don’t have to feel that the ticket price doesn’t reflect the fact that you won’t see and do absolutely everything.

On my recent trip with my family, it seemed at first that it was going to be really tricky to navigate this historical site with a wheelchair, my elderly mom, a toddler and a pre-teenager. Although many of the Colonial houses remain inaccessible to wheelchairs, there are plenty of accessible activities and houses available to keep you all very busy! I highly recommend it, and offer some suggestions for you.

Which Activities to Choose For your Elderly Guest with Mobility Impairment

First, you can browse through the lists of activities at Colonial Williamsburg online beforehand right here on their official tourist website. You will see a wheelchair icon on the buildings and activities that are accessible, and you can also buy all your tickets that same website here as well. So this will focus you in on what activities you will choose from when planning your day.

This information can also be viewed on Colonial Williamsburg’s free Mobile App on your phone while you’re visiting. The app will have the day’s list of activities with their times and location, a map, and other useful pages, so be sure to download it.

Most activities do require a ticket to access, and are SO  very worth the purchase if you are staying a full day, especially for guests with mobility impairments who get half price!

The most important thing to do when you first arrive is to go to the Visitor’s Center and ask for their free printed Accessibility Guide!

It will show you ALL the places and activities you can roll into on the map! Unfortunately, they no longer have their handy online PDF version to see before you get there. Instead, they have added wheelchair icons to their website. It’s a bit unsatisfactory, but happily, you can still receive the printed version at the Visitor’s Center. It will have a large map with all the accessible locations clearly marked, as well as accessible bathrooms marked.

Do keep in mind that there will be A LOT of walking and rolling! Even if you have the option of strolling with crutches, or walking with a cane, consider bringing the wheelchair anyway as the historical district is spread out and requires lengthy walks between events. 

Williamsburg has made great strides in improving wheelchair access. The first time we came here, for example, there was a lot of sand on the sides of the roads and trails which made it really tough to push a wheelchair through! This time we noticed that a lot of that sand is no longer here, and the roads are much easier to maneuver.

You will notice that the sidewalks are brick and therefore, very bouncy and uneven. Be cautious when navigating the sidewalks!

The road itself is a much smoother option. The only vehicles allowed on it besides pedestrians are horse-drawn carriages, and occasionally, Lafayette will be riding by on his horse!

We carefully maneuvered the sidewalks so we could enjoy close up views of the yards and beautiful gardens that Williamsburg is famous for. I personally love the gardens so much that I bought this large book on the Gardens of Williamsburg for our coffee table many years ago, and love it to this day! Seeing the gardens here never gets old to me and mom.

Some activities that take place on the grass-covered areas could prove more difficult. But Williamsburg is continuously improving its grounds for persons with disabilities.

Free Activities in Colonial Williamsburg for All Ages

A different option, if you are not spending a full day here, is to simply find the free activities available in the historic district. This is what mom and I did on our recent visit, while the more active members of our party chose some of the individually paid activities. 

The most enjoyable activity for us was to simply wander the streets, enjoying the costumes and atmosphere of this historical living museum. There are many shops along the wide pedestrian roads that are free to enter for souvenirs and snacks. I sent in my 11 year old to buy some quick beverages and kept rolling.

When we arrived at the Market Square area, we rolled in for some great souvenir shopping!

The Market Square is the busy center of the colonial area where you find many colonial reproductions for sale: toys, clothing, hats, games… this area played a central role in colonial times, and still does now. The fifes and Drums come piping through here in the late afternoons, various speeches and action scenes may take place here and at the courthouse that you can watch for free from the street, and you may hear muskets being fired next door near the Armory.

Just get the times beforehand from the schedule so you don’t miss what goes on here!  During holiday seasons, the marketplace is bustling with seasonal gifts and wares for upcoming holidays. Williamsburg is always a very festive place during major holidays.

We contented ourselves with the fife and drum players piping through the town, and an army brigade late in the afternoon, as well as taking the time to grab some colonial-style root beer and some not-so-colonial-style ice cream! 

Another place to look for free activities is right next door to the Colonial District, called Merchant’s Square. They have many free concerts, outdoor movies, and festivities all throughout the year. Not to mention fantastic restaurants and shops. You can check their website  here for menus, descriptions, and evening events.

Most everything in the Merchant Square area is 21st century, so wheelchair access is standard for these stores and restaurants. You can just walk and roll right to them by continuing along Duke of Gloucester Street in the opposite direction of the Capitol Building.

Where Should I Park for a Person with Mobility Impairment?

Most people start their visit by parking at the free parking lot by the Williamsburg Visitor’s Center. Inside there are gift shops, a bookstore, restaurants, a theater, and accessible bathrooms. Most importantly, this is where you pick up your free copy of the printed Accessibility Guide!

From here you can take the free shuttle bus, which is completely wheelchair-friendly, to the nearby historical district. 

We decided to park closer to the actual pedestrian streets and avoid the need for a shuttle. By parking at the end of the Duke of Gloucester Street, in Merchant Square, you are within walking and rolling distance from the historical district. 

 It can be a confusing area to find by GPS, but if you put in the Trellis Restaurant, or the Cheese Shop, you will be directed right to this shopping and dining area at the edge of Colonial Williamsburg.

There is free parking behind the shops, and even in the middle of July we were able to find a spot easily with our parking permit for disabilities. This area is also right next to the entrance of the College of William and Mary which is worthy of a stroll and roll if you have extra time!  

Where to Eat in Colonial Williamsburg for Persons with Mobility Impairment

There are a many restaurants and taverns to choose from that are completely wheelchair friendly! 

Besides the obvious questions of what type of food and what price range, the first decision to make is whether you want to remain in the historical atmosphere and mood for your dining, or whether you want to return to the modern world to eat. 

For colonial dining experiences, these restaurants and taverns are accessible to the mobility impaired visitor:

• Chowning’s Tavern
• King’s Armor
• Raleigh’s Tavern
• Shields Tavern

The menus and descriptions can be found by scrolling down on the official website for Williamsburg, here, as well as the phone number for making reservations, which is also a good way to get the low down on how you’ll be entering their building.

Afterall, These are still colonial-era buildings and some have added back entrances, others ramps. The King’s Armor has a separate dining area in the building behind the main house that is accessible, while the main building is not. Christiana’s Tavern is not wheelchair accessible.

If you are returning to the 21st century for dining, there are some fabulous restaurants right at the end of the pedestrian streets in Merchant’s Square. For a list of their restaurants with phone numbers, you can look here.

I am sure you will find plenty of accessible choices for dining here in the more modern buildings of Merchant’s Square, but all the cafes and restaurants at the Visitor’s Center, the Williamsburg Inn and Spa are also accessible.

 We really enjoyed the food and atmosphere of The Trellis Bar and Grill. And coffee and snacks at Aromas Café was super as well!

Related Questions:

Can I Rent a Scooter in Williamsburg?

If you don’t bring your own wheelchair, or decide that the walking will be too much in Colonial Williamsburg, there are several companies that will rent wheelchairs as well as motorized scooters. They even deliver them right to your hotel! One is Williamsburg Mobility, and another is Williamsburg Scooter Rentals which promises delivery to you within 45 minutes.

Is there a Virtual Tour of Colonial Williamsburg?

I was excited to stumble on these 3D tours after our visit. It’s an ongoing project by the Williamsburg Foundation, and there are plenty of resources you can look through, all available online. I also found some great multimedia items on this nonprofit history website here to enjoy before and after our visit.