Gardens and Grounds

The Madison-period terraces of the Annie duPont Formal Garden

Today Montpelier has nearly 2,700 acres of rolling pastures, lawns, gardens, and woods in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The estate began as a working plantation, home to three generations of Madisons, including tobacco fields, a farm complex, slave quarters, a blacksmith shop, barns — everything a working farm would have needed. The landscape changed over the years through a variety of owners, and the latest private owners, the duPonts, added a formal garden and ornamental trees, and various outbuildings, including farm houses, a laundry, a greenhouse, and a bowling alley.

Today, visitors can stand in the Temple where James Madison contemplated the republic, view the site of the original Madison home, stroll the Annie duPont Formal Garden, hike the old-growth James Madison Landmark Forest, or walk to the Civil War trail—all within Montpelier grounds.