Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum in Cincinnati, OH 2025

Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum dates back to 1845 and is one of the jewels of Cincinnati: a National Historic Landmark, which is an excellent mix of cultural heritage and landscape planning. The area of 733 ac (about 300 ha) offers visitors an open-air museum, a magnificent arboretum, and a tranquil sanctuary within a 15-minute drive from downtown Cincinnati.

The cemetery grounds include about a dozen ponds, numerous well-sculpted tombstones and memorials, and multiple examples of Gothic Revival architecture. The vast cemetery serves as the eternal home of famous "residents" such as William Procter and James Gamble (Founders of Procter and Gamble), Waite Hoyt (professional baseball player and Hall of Fame pitcher for the New York Yankees), Daniel Drake (a pioneering American physician and writer), Bernard Kroger (founder of Kroger supermarkets), and Civil War generals and colonels.

Best time to visit Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum

Spring Grove Cemetery gates are open daily from 8 am to 6 pm. From May 1 to August 31, visitors can enjoy extended hours from 8 am to 8 pm on Mondays and Thursdays. Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is particularly beautiful in spring and fall. In late March and early April, the trees blossom, and later in the spring visitors enjoy colorful displays of tulips, daffodils, and other flowers. Late October is when fall foliage peaks, so it's another magnificent time of year at Spring Grove Cemetery.

Spring Grove Cemetery Tours

From April through October, Spring Grove Heritage Foundation offers public and private tours to let visitors experience Spring Grove's history, art, architecture, and horticulture at its best. Private and public walking tours usually cover about a mile of relatively flat surface and are guided by a knowledgeable docent. Spring Grove Cemetery also offers free-of-charge tours for school and college groups of up to 30 people. Private bus or van tours (the cemetery to not provide a vehicle) take small and large groups throughout the grounds with the guidance of a docent. Another option is to join a tram tour on the open-air, 24-seat tram for $75 per group. All the public tours information is available on the Spring Grove Cemetery events page (see the "External Resource" section). Private tours can be booked via phone or through the official website's contact page. For those who prefer solitude, the Cemetery suggests doing a self-guided visit at no cost. A Self-Guided Walking Tour map is available in the lobby or in the map section of the Spring Grove Cemetery website.