Washington State Capitol tour times, cost and parking

Washington State Capitol tours cost nothing. As of November 2026, the Department of Enterprise Services, which runs the Capitol campus in Olympia, offers a free guided tour of the Legislative Building that lasts 50 minutes. Weekday tours begin on the hour from 10 in the morning through 3 in the afternoon, six a day, and weekend and select-holiday tours begin at half past the hour from 11:30 to 2:30, four a day. Entry is free; the cost is parking, which the campus lists at $2 an hour on weekdays and free on evenings, weekends and state holidays.

Wednesday, November 11, 2026 is Veterans Day, and it is also the 137th anniversary of Washington's admission to the Union, which the statehood guide on this site dates to November 11, 1889. Veterans Day is the only state holiday left in 2026 on which the Capitol's own pages leave a real question open: they list the building's closed days and do not mention it. What they do say is below.

How long is a Capitol tour, and what does it cover?

The tour runs 50 minutes and is led by volunteers, according to the Legislative Building tours page. The route takes in the North Foyer, the Rotunda, the State Reception Room and the Legislative Galleries. The building has two public elevators on its south side that reach all four floors, and the page says the tours are wheelchair accessible.

The campus describes the volunteers as ambassadors for the building who can speak to its architecture and history. If you would rather wander without a guide, the campus also offers a self-guided Legislative Building tour with brochures at the visitor desk, with the caution that certain areas can be seen only on a guided tour.

What time do Capitol tours start?

Monday through Friday, tours leave on the hour at 10, 11, 12, 1, 2 and 3. On Saturdays, Sundays and what the page calls "select holidays," they leave at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30. The page does not say which holidays are selected.

At your tour time, go to the Tour Information Desk just inside the main entrance. The page adds a warning that deserves more weight than its placement suggests: "Please note that on rare occasions when volunteers are not available, tours may be canceled." A tour is led by volunteers, so a cancellation does not require a closed building.

Do you need a reservation for the Capitol tour?

Not for a small party, but the campus prefers one. The tours page says "Reservations are recommended. Walk-up requests will be accommodated if space allows." Groups of 10 or more must reserve, and a single tour holds at most 20 reserved spots. The campus's frequently asked questions page says a party of fewer than 10 can simply turn up and is served first come, first served, and that groups of 10 or more should phone 360-902-8880, the number it lists for the State Capitol Tour Office.

Individual reservations go through the state's Reserve a Tour system, which asks you to sign in with a WA.gov account. A first-time user creates one and verifies an email address before booking, so do it before the day you want to go.

Is the Capitol open on Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and other holidays?

The Legislative Building keeps its doors open every day of the week but has four closed dates. The visiting hours page closes it on Thanksgiving, on the day after (Native American Heritage Day), on Christmas and on New Year's Day. In 2026 that means Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27, then December 25. The rule behind the dates is state law: RCW 1.16.050 fixes Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November and Native American Heritage Day as the Friday after it, so both move with the calendar each year.

Regular weekday hours run from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and weekend hours from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. Holidays get the weekend hours "unless noted," and the page notes only the four closures. Veterans Day, set by the same statute as November 11 every year, is not among them, so the page as written points to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 11. Whether tours run that day is a separate question the tours page does not answer, because "select holidays" is not defined. Call the Tour Office at 360-902-8880 or email tours@des.wa.gov, the address the FAQ page gives, before you drive.

The hours page also says the building's hours may differ when lawmakers are in session. The Legislature's regular session opens on the second Monday of January under RCW 44.04.010, which makes it January 11, 2027, so a December weekday visit falls before the session hours apply. The grounds are open every day from dawn to dusk, per the same page.

How much is parking at the Capitol?

As of November 2026, visitor parking on campus costs $2 an hour on weekdays from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m., and is free on evenings, weekends and state holidays, according to the campus's directions and parking page, which says "Parking is free on evenings, weekends, and state holidays." That makes Veterans Day parking free on the page's own terms, since the statute above names it a state holiday. The campus's FAQ page gives the weekday window as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. rather than 7, so the two pages disagree by an hour; the sources do not say which is right, so read the kiosk or meter signs when you arrive. The FAQ says the meters accept credit and debit cards.

The parking section opens with a closure notice: "The North Diagonal and General Administration (GA) Building parking lots are closed through November due to the demolition of the GA Building." That was posted when the page was read on November 2, 2026, and its wording gives no year, so check whether it has been lifted. The visitor lots it lists instead are South Diagonal, the P1 level of the NRB garage, level A of the Plaza garage, Centennial Park, a lot at Jefferson Street and Maple Park, and two on Deschutes Parkway, north and south. Metered street parking around campus is run by the City of Olympia at the same $2 on weekdays, per the campus page.

The page also describes a free shuttle, under a heading that reads Shuttle service during legislative session: a seven-passenger van marked with the agency's logo that runs every 18 to 20 minutes on weekdays, holidays included, from 6:15 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., and stops at the south doors of the Legislative Building. The page does not say whether it runs outside the session, so do not count on it in November. Four accessible parking spaces sit on the building's south side, with two doors beside them, but the building page says those two doors stay shut on weekends and on state holidays. The southeast corner entrance, near Sid Snyder Avenue and Cherry Lane, is open whenever the building is.

How far is the Capitol from Enumclaw?

The address is 416 Sid Snyder Avenue SW, Olympia. From Enumclaw it is about 52 miles and roughly an hour and 15 minutes without traffic, by an OpenStreetMap routing estimate. The campus page lists four transit agencies that serve the campus: Intercity Transit in Thurston County, Pierce Transit, Mason Transit and Grays Harbor Transit. Enumclaw's only public bus, King County Metro route 915, runs to Auburn Station, and the Enumclaw to Seattle bus guide covers that leg, though the guide is about the trip to Seattle, and this piece did not check a transit route from Auburn on to Olympia.

Can you bring a dog, a bag or a camera?

Dogs and other pets are welcome on the grounds under physical control, and are not allowed inside buildings, the campus says. Service animals are welcome on campus, the pets page says. The FAQ page says backpacks and purses may go into the Legislative Building. Photographs are allowed on the grounds and inside, but tripods, monopods and selfie sticks are not allowed inside any campus building.

Where does the Capitol's stone come from?

The question has a local answer. The campus says the building's outside is Wilkeson sandstone from Pierce County. The Wilkeson sandstone piece on this site tells how the quarry town ended up in the Capitol's walls and why the town says the state still owes it money.

The architects were the New York firm of Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White, chosen in an April 1911 competition, and the campus's history page says the cornerstone was laid on September 1, 1922. The dome's stonework was finished on October 13, 1926, and the building was dedicated on March 28, 1928, at a cost of just under $7.4 million. At 287 feet, the campus calls it the tallest masonry-domed building in North America. It has come through three major earthquakes, the latest the 2001 Nisqually quake, and, by the campus's account, a $120 million rehabilitation was completed in 2004.

Before you go

Check three things on the morning of your trip. First, the tours page, for a schedule change or a notice. Second, the parking page, for whether the lot closures have ended. Third, if you are going on a holiday, a phone call to 360-902-8880.

The campus runs other tours with different rules. As read on November 2, 2026, its Governor's Mansion page lists Wednesday tours on December 2 and December 9, by reservation at least 24 hours ahead, with the page saying holiday tour reservations would open the first week of November 2026. If you are heading south anyway, Tumwater Falls Park is in Tumwater, south of Olympia; its hours and any closures are covered in that guide.