Historic Bethabara Park offers tours for walk-in visitors, large groups, and schools. Guided tours are available to walk-in visitors during the Visitor Center’s open hours. Please call ahead of time to make a reservation if your group size exceeds 10 people. If you are a teacher wanting to book a field trip, please visit our “Plan a Field Trip” page.
Timeline Tour
Our new timeline tour will introduce visitors to Bethabara and its people between 1753 and 1834, highlighting stories of those who built and lived in town, the conflicts that shaped the town’s development, and highlight the historic structures and archeological foundations and what they teach us about Bethabara’s history.
The tour ends in our 1834 Log House and includes a half mile of walking across varied terrain.
Mobility assistance is available upon request.
Tour Length: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Admission Fee: $5 for adults; $1 for students and children over 3 years of age
Garden Tour
Reservations are required for this tour. Please contact in advance for availability.
Step into our 1759 Upland and 1761 Medicinal Gardens to learn about the food and medicine that Moravians grew, what the plants from these gardens were used for, and how these gardens shaped the North Carolina Backcountry in the 18th century.
Group Tours
Reservations are required for all group tours exceeding 20 people. It is preferable for reservations to be made at least one month in advance. Please contact Education Coordinator Jacob Crews with any questions and to schedule your group tour: 336-924-8191, or jacobcr@cityofws.org. If your group is smaller than 10 people, you are welcome to do a walk-in tour during the Visitor Center’s open hours.
Hands on History Trades Demos
Reservations are required for all group tours exceeding 10 people. Hear the blacksmith’s hammer striking the anvil, or the sound of the draw knife as the woodworker shapes a table leg. Watch our potter turn a lump of clay into a mug or plate. Learn what treatments you might expect if you visited the doctor in the 18th century. Get a taste of what 18th century cooking was like. All of this and more is available every week through our Hands on History demonstrations.
Gemeinhaus Tour
Step back in time and visit the 1788 place of worship and community center for Bethabara’s Moravian community. Learn how the community at Bethabara rallied together to build this structure, worshipped and gathered in it, and how the structure has been changed and preserved.
Tour Length: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Admission Fee: $5 for adults; $1 for students and children over 3 years of age
Amenities
Historic Bethabara Park has two separate picnic areas you may reserve when you book your group tour. Neither area is sheltered, so please have alternate plans in the event of rain. Bethabara also offers a small gift shop located in our Visitor Center that includes Moravian cookies, colonial toys, and unique locally-made items. Bethabara’s grounds and trails are free to explore, if you would like to extend your visit with a self-guided look at the site.
Site Guidelines
Many of the items located in our 1788 Gemeinhaus are over 200 years old and must be treated very carefully. In order to help us preserve them for future use, we ask that you please do not touch any artifacts or sit on the furniture. All of the items located in the 1834 Log House are replicas. In order to better enjoy your visit and engage with history, we ask that you please touch the objects and sit on the furniture. Food, drinks, gum, and backpacks are not allowed in the exhibition buildings; please make arrangements to leave them on the bus. Please silence your cell phone during guided tours.