Monique West We went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in January to celebrate Dr. King’s birthday. There was so much more to do and see than we thought. The trip turned out to be the perfect place to teach my kids all about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Interested in visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta? Below you’ll learn everything you need to know before visiting.
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Where is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park?
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is located in Atlanta, Georgia at 450 Auburn Avenue NE.
What is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park?
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is part of the National Park Service. It’s a place where you can learn more about the civil rights movement and Dr. King’s part in it.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is comprised of a few different sites that take visitors on a journey through Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, from where he was born and grew up to where he is buried.
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park includes the birth home of Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. King’s and Coretta Scott King’s burial site, the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King was co-pastor and where his funeral was held, the visitor center, the Behold Monument, the “I have a dream” World Peace Rose Garden, Fire Station No. 6, the King Center, and Freedom Hall.
Is the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park Free?
Yes! The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is free. There are no entry fees to visit any of the sites listed above that are part of the National Park Service. You’ll often find paid tickets for MLK tours but these are tours by private companies. If you choose to show up on your own, you can visit all of these places for free, and even get a free guided tour of MLK’s birth home.
Pro Tip: When you arrive, start at the visitor’s center and speak to a National Park Service ranger at the front desk. They’ll give you all the information about where to go, what to see, and what to do. Next thing you know, you’ll have a full itinerary.
Do You Need Tickets for the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park?
The only area of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park that we needed tickets for was the tour of MLK’s birth home. But again, these tickets are 100% free.
To claim your free tickets, go to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park visitor center and speak to a park ranger. Tours are offered every hour on the hour and have to be claimed at least a half hour before the tour, so make sure to get there early.
How Long Does it Take to Visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park?
If you want to do everything that is offered as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, I’d set aside 3 or 4 hours for your visit.
The Visitor Center, which is like a small museum, can take about an hour if you want to take your time at each exhibit, watch the videos, and see the movie that is played in the theater.
Pro Tip: I recommend starting your day early, and starting at the visitor’s center where you can sign up for a tour of MLK’s birth home and get help planning your visit. Tours of MLK’s birth home are limited and trust me, you don’t want to miss it! For the park’s hours and operations, click here.
MLK’s birth home is located on the next street from the visitor’s center. You’ll need to arrive 15 minutes early before your scheduled tour time. Plan another hour for this portion of your visit.
After the tour of MLK’s birth home, you can stop by Fire House No. 6 which is on the same street. Afterward, cross the street to visit The King Center and Dr. King’s and Coretta Scott King’s graves. I’d plan another hour for this portion of your visit.
Finally, although it was not open during our last visit. You can also tour the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King was the co-pastor and his father the pastor at the time of his death. The church is also where Dr. King’s mother was shot to death. This part of the tour will take you around 30 minutes.
Here are some sample itineraries based on how much time you have.
Pro Tip: If you’re in a hurry, you can easily visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in about 1.5 hours (less if you skip the tour of MLK’s birth home) but I recommend you visit when you have ample time to do so, to get the most out of this experience.
Visiting With Kids
The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park is 100% kid friendly. I visited with my kids who were 4 and 9 years old at the time.
My 9-year-old learned so much more about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement from this trip than he had from any book or lesson before. Seeing the pictures, watching the videos, and then walking the same streets in which these monumental events occurred, made the civil rights movement real to him.
My 4-year-old was a bit too young to understand much of what was going on but he still enjoyed walking around, and doing some of the interactive activities at the visitor’s center.
Pro Tip: Make sure to grab an activity book for your children at the visitor’s center from a park ranger. If your child completes the required number of pages for their age, they’ll be given a junior park ranger badge. Also, it was so helpful to have this activity book for the MLK birth home tour. If you have a young child who has a hard time standing still for more than 5 minutes at a time like mine, make sure you bring something to keep them busy during the tour. Halfway through we had to give my 4-year-old a phone playing Disney+ and a pair of headphones to keep him quiet and still.
When you’re done visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, check out some of these other activities to do with your children while in Atlanta.
If visiting major cities in the US is your thing, join our club for ideas on where to take your kids next. It’s always 100% free.
Thinking about Philadelphia, you’ll want to consider buying the Go City pass and spending at least 3 days there when visiting with kids. Read our 3-day itinerary for visiting Philadelphia with kids.
[…] If you happen to be in the Atlanta area and are interested in visiting an African American history landmark, make sure to check out the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. […]
I think it’d be interesting and moving to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. I remember learning about his “I have a dream” speech.