Washington Crossing Reenactment 2026: Dec. 25 at 1 p.m., Sign Up First

The Christmas Crossing reenactment at Washington Crossing Historic Park is Friday, Dec. 25, 2026, from noon to 3 p.m., with the river crossing at approximately 1 p.m., and the park says admission is free. For the 250th anniversary of the 1776 crossing, the park requires advance registration for both the Christmas Crossing and the First Crossing on Sunday, Dec. 13, and caps attendance. This story sets both crossings side by side, lists every park event from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2 and adds a printable. The facts come from the park’s Nov. 9, 2026 pages.

For the holiday itself, see When is Christmas?.

Washington Crossing reenactment dates and prices for 2026

	First Crossing	Christmas Crossing
Date	Sunday, Dec. 13, 2026	Friday, Dec. 25, 2026
Park hours for the event	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.	Noon to 3 p.m.
River crossing	Approximately 1 p.m.	Approximately 1 p.m.
Price	$10 adults, $6 children 5 to 11, free under 5; $30 family rate (two adults, two children under 18)	Free
Registration	Required in 2026	Required in 2026
Attendance	Capped; tickets may sell out in advance	Capped

The park describes the First Crossing as a full dress rehearsal. Its announcement names Sergeant Major of the Army Michael R. Weimer as narrator for that day. The park’s December calendar titles the Dec. 25 event the “74th Annual Christmas Crossing Reenactment.”

Do you need tickets for the Washington Crossing reenactment?

Yes. The park says: “Due to significantly higher attendance anticipated for the 250th anniversary in 2026, advance registration will be required for both the First Crossing and Christmas Crossing reenactments.” It adds that admission to the Christmas Crossing “remains free” and that tickets will only be available at the door if the event has not sold out.

Booking runs through the park’s FareHarbor links on its crossing page, and the First Crossing event page is listed on the park’s site. The park does not say when registration opened or whether either date has sold out as of Nov. 9.

What if the weather or river is unsafe?

The park says the crossing “is contingent upon safe weather and river conditions for participants.” If it knows conditions will not allow the crossing, it will post an update on its webpage by 8 a.m. on the day of the event. If the boats cannot cross, “the reenactment event will still take place.”

Where is Washington Crossing Historic Park, and what about parking?

The address is 1112 River Road, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania 18977, at Routes 532 and 32 (River Road). The grounds are open dawn to dusk for free self-guided tours, and park offices close at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve.

Parking, shuttle and arrival times were to be “posted here in late October 2026” on the park’s crossing page. They were not posted as of Nov. 9, so check that page before you travel.

Washington Crossing Historic Park events from Dec. 6 to Jan. 2

Date	Time	Event
Sun., Dec. 6	2 to 3 p.m.	Lecture: “River of Victory: The Daily Delaware Crossings of December 1776”
Sun., Dec. 13	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.	First Crossing reenactment
Fri., Dec. 18	9 a.m. to 5 p.m.	Ten Crucial Days Bus Tour
Mon., Dec. 21	5:30 to 6:30 p.m.	Book Club
Fri., Dec. 25	Noon to 3 p.m.	Christmas Crossing reenactment
Sat., Jan. 2, 2027	9 a.m. to 5 p.m.	Ten Crucial Days Bus Tour

Source: the park’s December 2026 events calendar and its crossing page. The printable below keeps these dates on one sheet.

What happened on Dec. 25, 1776?

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) says Washington crossed “on Christmas night, 1776,” with the crossing running Dec. 25 to 26, using “2,400 soldiers, horses, and 18 pieces of field artillery.” The army then attacked “roughly 1,400 Hessian troops in and around Trenton, N.J.”

Patriots Week and Princeton 250th: not announced yet

The organizer of Trenton’s Patriots Week had not posted its 2026 schedule or a Battle of Trenton reenactment time as of Nov. 9, and details of a Battle of Princeton 250th event were not announced either. New Jersey’s Washington Crossing State Park pages list no Dec. 25 event as of Nov. 9. Parking and shuttle details are still not posted.

Other Christmas plans for 2026

Mark Dec. 13 and Dec. 25 on the December 2026 printable calendar. For other December events, see Christmas tree lightings in New York, Washington and Boston, the Christmas 2026 countdown calendar and Christmas Day 2026 games and times.