Participate in a Ranger Program

Large group of visitors enjoying a summer program at Fort Necessity

Corrine Hinton/NPS

Ranger programs at Fort Necessity National Battlefield are generally performed seasonally on a daily schedule, varying on staffing availability and weather conditions. If you have any questions regarding any of these programs, please contact the Visitor Center Front Desk at [phone].

The 2025 summer season programming will start Sunday, June 8th through Monday, August 25th! The Fort Talk and Soldier's Life programs will be offered every day at the times noted below. Mount Washington Tavern is open daily 10 AM to 4 PM every day May 1st to October 31st.

Special encampments will take place the weekend before Memorial Day in honor of the anniversary of the Jumonville Glen skirmish and on July 3rd and 4th every year for the battle and surrender anniversaries.

Fort Talks

Fort Talks are a half-hour long program that talks about the Fort Necessity campaign and the Battle of the Great Meadows. Each Ranger creates their own talk, and may start outside or inside the Visitor Center. Please listen to the Visitor Center Public Address System messages for where that particular talk will start from.

All Fort Talks are usually a guided walk from the Visitor Center to the fort, and will end where the Soldiers' Life program will be held (generally at the benches near the fort). This may change in inclement weather.

Fort Talks Daily Schedule:

• 10:30 AM

• 12:30 PM

• 2:30 PM

Soldier Life and Musket Firing Demonstration

Soldier Life and Musket Firing Demonstrations are generally given at the outdoor amphitheater near Fort Necessity, and last about 30 minutes. These talks are presented in Living History by Park Staff or Volunteers, to show what life would have looked like for the British, French, or Native soldiers that were in the Great Meadows on July 3rd, 1754.

At the conclusion of the program, a historic weapons demonstration may be done at the Fort to show how black powder muskets were fired. Due to the safety requirements of black powder, musket firing demonstration may or may not occur due to staffing availability and weather conditions.

Soldier's Life Daily Schedule:

• 11:00 AM

• 1:00 PM

• 3:00 PM

Again, all daily Ranger Led Programs are subject to staffing availability and weather conditions.