Frequently Asked Questions

Most visitors take 1-2 hours to tour the Oak Hill home, see the grounds, and visit the museum. However, visitation time can vary greatly. Feel free to stop by if you only have a little time to spare - visiting The Martha Berry Museum is free!

We love when guests are excited to visit our historic gardens and trails! Grounds Passes are available for $5/guest. These passes give you access to exterior spaces around the Oak Hill estate, and do not include a house tour. The Grounds Pass is valid until 5:00 pm on the date of purchase. No Grounds Passes will be sold after 4:30pm. When you arrive, please check-in at the museum before going elsewhere on the property.

Guests are welcome to bring a lunch and eat in our picnic area, located behind the museum parking lot. The area is uncovered and has several picnic tables available for guest use. Please check in at the museum when you arrive, and dispose of any garbage in the provided outdoor trash cans.

There is no food available for purchase at the museum. Picnics are not permitted in the Oak Hill gardens.

Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum does not permit pets in any buildings or on the estate grounds.

Service animals are welcome at the museum. Please note that therapy animals, emotional support animals, and companion animals are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are not permitted in the museum.

Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum is a tobacco-free campus, so smoking is not permitted anywhere on property. Vaping, weapons, and drones are also not permitted on the grounds at any time.

Interior spaces at The Martha Berry Museum are accessible for wheelchairs and other mobility aids.

Visitors may enter using the ramp at the rear of the museum building. Ring the doorbell if you are in need of any assistance, and staff will meet you at the door. There are accessible parking spaces located adjacent to the ramp, near the exit from the museum parking lot. Seating is provided in several locations throughout the building.

We recommend contacting Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum prior to your visit so we can best accommodate your needs. You can reach us by email at oakhill@berry.edu or by phone at 706.368.6789.

The first floor of the Oak Hill home is accessible for wheelchairs and other mobility aids via a ramp at the back of the home. Please inform our staff when checking in if you need an accessible entrance, as the main entrance to the house involves several stairs. Your guide will direct you on where to park in order to best access the back entrance to the home.

Touring the upper floor of the home requires the ability to climb stairs. For visitors unable to navigate the second floor of the house, photographic tours are available.

Portions of the Oak Hill gardens are wheelchair accessible. Because many of the garden paths are pea gravel or historic flagstone, motor-powered wheelchairs may not work throughout the entirety of the estate. Sections of the gardens are not accessible as they do contain stone steps. 

Climbing a few stairs is necessary to visit Martha Freeman's cottage. The Carriage House is wheelchair accessible. 

We recommend contacting Oak Hill & The Martha Berry Museum prior to your visit so we can best accommodate your needs. You can reach us by email at oakhill@berry.edu or by phone at 706.368.6789.

Service animals are welcome at the museum. All service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work. Please note that therapy animals, emotional support animals, and companion animals are not considered service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act and are not permitted in the museum.

Staff may ask you a few brief questions about what service your animal is trained to provide.

Light, noise, and crowds inside The Martha Berry Museum & the Oak Hill home can vary depending on the time of day and year. Music is played in museum galleries and some spaces have a tendency to echo.

If you or a member of your group has sensory concerns, we would recommend visiting the museum on weekdays before noon, when the museum tends to be the quietest. We encourage you to call the museum prior to booking a tour to ensure that there are no events or large groups that will overlap with your visit.

If you would like to request an accommodation due to sensory concerns (lowered ambient noise, smaller tour groups, etc.), please contact the museum by email at oakhill@berry.edu or by phone at 706.368.6789 in advance of your visit.

If you have needs that haven't been addressed here, please contact the museum by email at oakhill@berry.edu or by phone at 706.368.6789 in advance of your visit.

Photography shoots are permitted on the Oak Hill grounds, but require the purchase of a photography pass. Due to the historic nature of our grounds, a limited number of photo passes will be available each day. Passes can be reserved online up to one day in advance of the shoot, or can be purchased day-of at the museum's front desk. If passes sell out, no additional photography shoots will be permitted that day. Advance reservations for photography passes can be made here.

Passes are $35 and cover up to 6 guests. The pass includes everyone in the party - the photographer, those being photographed, and anyone who is a guest of those being photographed. Additional passes will need to be purchased to cover groups exceeding 6 people.

Photography is only allowed during museum operating hours, and will not be permitted during museum or private events. For more information, please contact the museum at 706.368.6789.

Private event rentals at the Oak Hill home and Christopher Browning Pavilion are managed through Berry College's Events and Hospitality office. You can find more information about available venues and submit an event inquiry here.

We are excited that you want to make Oak Hill part of your proposal! You will either need to purchase general admission to the Oak Hill home or a photo pass in order to gain access to the estate grounds. Please contact the museum by email at oakhill@berry.edu or by phone at 706.368.6789 in advance of your visit to verify availability and discuss any additional logistics.