Visitor's Guide
Overview
Come discover for yourself what makes Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum a National Historic Landmark. Visitors are invited to tour the Cemetery all throughout the year, experiencing the many treasures of our ‘Museum Without Walls’. Each year, Spring Grove welcomes tens of thousands of people to its grounds to visit the graves of those buried here, to participate in one of our many tours or events and to enjoy the solitude of the natural surroundings.
What To Do
Historic Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is open daily from 8am – 6pm.
We recommend beginning your visit by stopping at our Customer Service Center, located just inside the main gate entrance, 4521 Spring Grove Avenue. Our hours are:
Monday – Friday 8am – 5pm
Saturday 8am – 4pm
Closed on Sundays
We are asking visitors to the Customer Service Center to please be respectful and continue to wear masks and social distance. The office can be reached at 513.681.7526 during business hours.
- If there is an immediate need, please call 513.853.1035
- Extended Summer Hours:
Monday and Thursday 8am – 8pm, May through August - Restrooms are in the Customer Service Center foyer and are available throughout the entire day.
Key Rules
Key rules for visitors while onsite include:
- Spring Grove does not permit pets of any kind on the property at any time. However, service dogs are permitted when providing support/service to one in need.
- Scooters, rollerblading, skateboards are strictly prohibited.
- Permit required to ride bikes. Please come into the Customer Service Center—located just inside the main gate entrance—to fill our a permit form.
- Picking / cutting flowers or removing plants, shrubs, or trees from anywhere on site is not allowed
- Fresh flower placements at burial sites ONLY April thru October, complimentary flower vases are available at the Customer Service Center.
Overview
Historic Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is in Spring Grove Village. The main entrance to the cemetery is south of the Winton Road and Spring Grove Avenue intersection. The North Gate entrance to the cemetery is located at 4861 Gray Road.
We offer printed and electronic materials to help you learn more about the Cemetery’s history, the notable people buried here, the many monuments and buildings, and our plant collections. Printed materials are available at our Customer Service Center during open hours. Looking for a particular location? Download a PDF of our Map and our Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure to learn more about some of the Cemetery's more famous landmarks.
Rules and Regulations
Historic Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is still an active cemetery and we ask our visitors to be respectful and follow these rules while visiting. Regulations have been put into place to ensure that the Cemetery grounds and atmosphere are conducive to peaceful reflection and respect for the families and friends who visit their loved ones. Your cooperation is appreciated.
- Exit the grounds no later than the scheduled closing time. The cemetery gates, including the Main Gate, North Gate, and funeral home gate**, are opened at 8A and locked at 6P. The Main Gate only is open until 8P throughout our extended summer hours on Mondays and Thursdays (May 1st thru August 31st).
**The funeral home gate remains open for evening visitation services. - Pets of any kind are prohibited on the property at any time. However, service dogs are permitted when providing support/service to one in need.
- Visitors are all allowed to drive on paved roads ONLY at a speed limit of no greater than 20 MPH.
- Scooters, rollerblading, skateboards are strictly prohibited.
- Permit required to ride bikes.
- Do not drive or park on the grass. You may park along roads in the cemetery, be sure to pull your vehicle far to the right side of the road while keeping all four tires on the pavement.
- Do not park in front of an open internment site, unless you are part of the funeral procession.
- Avoid disturbing a graveside or chapel service and family members that are visiting their loved ones. Show respect for the deceased and for their surviving families and loved ones.
- Do not touch memorials or artifacts, they are privately owned outdoor sculptures. Gravestones are fragile. Please do not climb or sit on them. Gravestone rubbing is prohibited.
- Always step to the side of the road as a funeral procession passes you.
- Do not intrude on funeral services and yield to funeral processions.
- If a road is blocked to vehicle traffic, do not walk through or around the barrier. The area is blocked to prevent potentially hazardous situations involving tree limbs removal, road work, etc.
- We respectfully ask that you use modesty regarding wardrobe, clothing without offensive language or graphics. Wear a shirt, pants, and shoes at all times.
- You should walk in a single ‑file, never 3 or more abreast. This is especially important on a road with lots of curves, where traffic has only a split second of seeing you.
- Be very cautious of traffic near crests of hills and curves. Never assume a driver has seen you and do not assume vehicles will stop.
- Wearing headphones and using a mobile device will reduce your awareness of what is happening around you. Keep the volume at a level where you can still hear approaching vehicles.
- Turn down your radio so that the sound cannot be heard outside the vehicle.
- Do not feed or disturb birds, deer, or other wildlife. Fishing, hunting, or trapping wildlife is strictly prohibited in the cemetery.
- Do not litter. This creates extra work for our grounds crews and shows disrespect to the families who come to mourn their loved ones.
- Public restrooms located in the foyer of the Customer Service Center remain open during regular gate hours.
- Please do not disturb/decorate trees, shrubs, and plantings, or pick flowers or foliage. It is unlawful to pick flowers or remove plants, shrubs or trees.
- Fresh flower placements at burial sites ONLY April thru October, complimentary flower vases are available at the Customer Service Center.
- Balloons are not permitted.
- Tree climbing is strictly prohibited.
- A special permit must be obtained for all filmmaking, commercial photography, or photography with special equipment or posed subjects.
- To protect our monuments and keep pests away, we cannot allow food on the Cemetery grounds. However, there are many excellent restaurants, diners, bakeries, and grocery stores close by.
- We advise that you secure all valuable items in your car and out of plain sight. Lock your vehicle.
Failure to comply will result in being asked to leave the grounds. Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum reserves the right to ask anyone to leave the premises at its discretion.