Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts

Address:	1551 Trap Rd, Vienna, VA 22182, USA
Phone:	+1 703-255-1800
Site:	nps.gov
Rating:	4.6

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

Alice Wang

Wolf Trap is the premier place in the metropolitan area to catch a performance in a natural, outdoor setting. Its a private, non-profit organization that partners with the National Park Service; Wolf Trap manages programming while NPS manages the grounds. I like the diversity in performances that Wolf Trap attracts. You can see Billboard toppers like Meghan Trainor or OneRepublic; legendary fan faves like Aretha Franklin, Harry Connick Jr., and Don Henley; or classical phenoms like Yo-Yo Ma. They also host multicultural artists, opera, and the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). Wolf Trap is the summer home to NSO, and theyll have concerts playing a range of music variety from classical music to Disney theme songs. The Filene Center has over 80 performances scheduled for the summer between May and September. In general, most people go for the lawn seats which are cheaper and allows you to bring your own food and drinks (including alcohol but no kegs). This is a pretty rare accommodation for a performing arts place, and people take advantage of this. They do have orchestra seating, but youre not allowed to eat or drink (except water) in these covered seating areas. If you forget your own picnic, they do have concession stands and an onsite restaurant. You can also request OVATIONS PICNICS or Society Fair to help pack your picnic and all you have to do is pick it up. Ive seen a number of performances at Wolf Trap over the years, and the lawn experience has definitely been the best. The orchestra seats, while closer to the stage, do not offer the same ambiance or comfort as laying on your own blanket on the lawn. Wolf Trap is certainly a place to go with family and friends to eat, drink, chat, and listen to good music. Because the venue itself is much more casual than say the Kennedy Center, the performers are more lax too and theyll chat with their audience. For the most part, the performers do a pre-performance discussion on the Old Farmhouse Lawn. Best advice? Come here early and leave early. Otherwise, youll be fighting traffic on traffic. And that way, you can pick the best picnic spot and settle in. Unfortunately if you have orchestra seats, you wont be seated until 7:30pm so thats not as ideal.

Mitchell Waters III

Wolf Trap is one of our familys favorite local places for concerts. Its a (relatively) small venue, with the main stage designed as an amphitheater (ground, balcony and lawn seating). They host a variety of acts throughout the summer, with both free and paid concerts. The grounds are beautiful, with picnic areas outside of the gated area, and they allow food and drink on the lawn. Nothing except for water is allowed in the seating area, so dont plan on bringing anything to your seats. If you do plan to get lawn seats, you should be aware that the hill has a decent slope, and they dont allow chairs below a certain line (basically the upper lip of the amphitheater). You should also plan on getting to the grounds a bit early. Lawn space is first come, first serve, and popular concerts tend to fill the lawn quickly. Overall, its a great venue, and the variety has been getting a lot better over the last few years. If you are a local, you should definitely give Wolf Trap a shot.

A Private User

For many many years I have taken friends, family members and community groups to WOLFTRAP performances. Just last week I encouraged several hundred of my elementary music students in Ashburn, Va. to attend live performances at WOLFTRAP (we have been studying American composers, jazz, Broadway musicals etc. in class). I have never referred to WOLFTRAP as the "Barns", and am shocked that the huge WOLFTRAP organization is attacking our own little performing arts venue in rural Berryville Virginia. Our citizens raised money for our local renovated facility, which is housed on the historical Rosemont property (thus "TheBarns of Rose Hill" was created.) I am sure WOLFTRAP will win. Our little community cant fight the big bad wolf. But you can be sure I will no longer give WOLFTRAP a five star rating- or encourage students to attend performances. Honestly, recently getting copyright protection for the name "Barns" is ludicrous... as if Berryville citizens were a threat!

Jaime Farfan

Nice and big venue with two floors and open walls. Best seats in my mind are "lawn seats", where you sit on the inclined lawn and are allowed to bring your own alcohol, beverages in general and food. Attended the Carlos Vives Concert on July 10th. It was AMAZING! Best concert experience/venue I have ever been to. I had press passes through a friend, so I bypassed the line, but otherwise, get there EARLY. And I mean, EARLY. Like 1-2 hrs before the actual event. Lawn tickets are the way to go. Apparently it is the only concert venue in the US that allows you to bring in Alcohol and food. Which in my mind, made the experience extremely enjoyable. Bring a picnic blanket, and dont bother trying to hide your booze and food. Youre allowed to bring it in :D. People trade drinks and food on the lawn, everyone was dancing and having a great time, and not one single fight broke out. Staff were super courteous and lovely when searching bags and scanning tickets.

Chris Lundquist

Saw my first concert here recently and had a lovely experience. Being able to bring food and drink in if youre sitting on the lawn for the show makes for a really relaxed atmosphere, as does setting up your own blanket and belongings to sit with your friends. They have nice food and alcoholic drink selections available for purchase as well. Just beware the 9th circle of hell that is attempting to leave the venue in your car after the show. Order COMPLETELY breaks down in the parking lot and billions of cars just aimlessly amble toward the few exit routes creating a giant, frustrating bottleneck that you can get stuck in for 30 minutes to an hour. Thats the only gripe I have--I hope that the venue owners look into some kind of solution to make things more orderly. I know it cant be fast given the practical realities of hosting that many people, but I am sure it could at least be less of a lawless wasteland experience.

Edward Nickerson

Nice outdoor concert venue with a rustic, lodge feel. The rows of seats were angled and spaced well enough to provide a good view of the stage over the heads of other guests, at least in the Loge Section I was in. The box seats in front of us looked nice, so Id be willing to pay a little extra for those next time. The open lawn seating was very crowded and uncovered (fortunately, it didnt rain) but for people on the lawns, they could bring their own chairs or blankets and coolers with drinks, which cuts down on costs, but likely requires an early arrival for the best viewing locations. The lawn areas way in back didnt look that appealing. If youre in assigned seating, you have to buy a Wolf Trap tumbler for drinks ($5 each, which you can bring back for other events), and beers were pricey for the amount you get in the cup ($10.50 each). Overall, despite the tumbler and beer prices, it was a great venue.

Luke Hansen

I had never heard of Wolf Trap before spending the summer in DC. To say the least, I was surprised that there is a national park for the performing arts. When I learned of this I knew I had to go to a show there. I was able to make it to Ira Glasss performance. I am really impressed that Wolf Trap provides a shuttle service from the DC Metro. We were visiting other sites so we ended up driving but if I ever go back I will surely take advantage of the shuttle option. The venue itself is quite cool. We sat in the lawn. Our experience was not at all diminished by this. Instead, we paid only $25 per seat and had a great view. I would highly recommend the lawn if you dont mind sitting on the ground. Consider bringing bug spray and prepare for a decent wait to get out of the parking lot. These are things that shouldnt be surprises and dont take away from the overall Wolf Trap experience.