In July, typical afternoon highs at Mount Vernon run around 89°F (hot). Mid-afternoon sun stands about 62° high, and the sun is up from 5:55 AM to 8:32 PM. Historic districts usually offer building shade on one side of the street as the sun moves.
See live sun & real shadows here →| January | 37°F |
| February | 46°F |
| March | 62°F |
| April | 69°F |
| May | 74°F |
| June | 86°F |
| July | 89°F |
| August | 83°F |
| September | 80°F |
| October | 68°F |
| November | 58°F |
| December | 45°F |
Historic districts usually offer building shade on one side of the street as the sun moves. See real building shadows over satellite imagery for any time of day: https://isthereshade.com/?anywhere&at=38.708,-77.0861
Around 8:32 PM local time in mid-July (it shifts through the year). Sunrise is about 5:55 AM.
Mount Vernon · Mount Vernon, VA. Data: exact sun position; climate normals from historical weather; live forecast on the interactive view.
George Washington's estate spreads across a bluff above the Potomac south of the capital, and a visit means walking a lot of open ground: the bowling green in front of the mansion, the gardens, the paths down toward the river and the tomb. Most of that is exposed, and a July afternoon at Mount Vernon reaches about 89°F, so summer here is a matter of timing the open stretches and using the shade the grounds do offer.
At 3 PM in July the sun sits about 62 degrees up on a west-southwest bearing near 240, high over the lawns and gardens. The mansion's famous east-facing piazza looks out over the river, and that covered porch is one of the genuinely shaded, breeze-catching spots on the property, cooler than the open green in front of the house. The gardens and the walk to the tomb, by contrast, are largely in the sun.
Touring Mount Vernon is a walking visit that strings together the mansion, the outbuildings, the gardens, and the grounds along the river, so an afternoon in July is a run of exposed sections with shaded pockets in between. Take the open gardens and the bowling green early or late, and use the tree-shaded paths and the mansion tour for the hottest hours.
At high-80s afternoons, bring water, sunscreen, and a hat. The estate's position on the bluff above the Potomac means it often catches a breeze off the water, which takes some of the edge off, and the piazza is built to make the most of it. That breeze helps, but it does not replace shade on the open lawns, so pace your loop and rest in the wooded stretches and on the covered porch.
The shoulder seasons are kinder. September eases to 80 and October to 68, the gardens are still worth seeing, and the light across the grounds is gentler than in high summer, while spring does the same before the June climb into the high 80s.
To see how the mansion and the estate's trees throw shade across the lawns and gardens at the hour you plan to arrive, the satellite shadow view shows it for your date. At Mount Vernon the practical read is to walk the open gardens at the cool ends of the day, take the river breeze on the piazza, and let the trees carry you through the heat of the afternoon.