Kenya M.

Mt Hope is a Rochester treasure. It was a little busy today but still a beautiful quiet place to spend some time. "Mount Hope Cemetery, one of the most remarkable Victorian cemeteries in America, is a magnificent 196 acres of lofty hills and picturesque valleys created by glaciers and transformed into a beautiful historic cemetery. A diversified forest of trees forms an arboretum shading thousands of marble, bronze, and granite monuments. The cemetery is a veritable museum of funerary sculpture and mausoleums spanning more than a century and a half."

Tammra S.

Such a beautiful place filled with so many stories and rich history. It's beautiful and peaceful. Worth a tour, and definitely support the Friends of Mt Hope Cemetery. Their historic walks are worth the ticket cost, and the guides are very knowledgeable. I was here with my sisters for a Twilight walk, and I'd recommend attending one or two.

Nicholas S.

Mt. Hope Cemetery is a historical cemetery by all means. Founded in 1838, it was the first municipal cemetery in the United States. It sets on 196 acres and has over 350,000 guests. It also has some historical, famed people resting there as well as friends/family of many of us. The place is huge, a great place to hike, take pictures. Truly a monumental place of Rochester.

Sandy J.

Rochester overall, has many parks, most are just "nice" but if you want dramatic pictures or good texture of scenary, then I recommend your jog or walk be through Highland Park or Mount Hope with their sloping landscape to give more gradient to your scenic view. Mount Hope has nice gravestone and great history to add story and also stone contrast against forest foliage in your stroll. Highland Park across from it has more of a park feel with more consideration to flora/fauna labeling and arborists. It is a HUGE cemetery btw. The size of it, as you drive by will impress you already. What is Mount Hope most famous for? Frederick Douglass and Susan B Anthony's graves (both great American historical figures with freedom, suffrage rights). I've included the map below I found to help people find the appropriate graves in case you wanted to pay your respects to these great people by adding your Voted sticker on there, as tradition. The small cathedrals and stone buildings make great photos and contrast with the trees and trails. You'll see my fall and winter photos below as ideas of what kind of dramatic views you can get. I honestly think Mount Hope is the BEST place within Rochester to get ood scenic photos- other parks are a little too homogeneous in backdrop or too flat to get good photos. There are also free and good tours given by the Friends of Mount Hope society that go on once in a while for those who love ghost tours and hearing historical stories. Sundays at 2:00 p.m. May 1-oct 30, the last time I checked, were the days you can catch these tours at the main big gate.

Celina G.

What a special place it is! We love taking our dogs for walks at cemeteries. This one has been our favorite-because it is huge! Not to mention it looks so cool, so rugged and so historical. You don't get these sort of cemeteries back in California. We can't wait to check it out in the fall and winter.

Franklin M.

Old school since 1838. Despite the famous people that are buried here this is one beautiful cemetery. I love visiting these old historic place for the incredible artwork on the headstones. The area with all the trees and hills makes it even better to walk along and get lost in its beauty.

Danielle P.

I flew into Rochester, NY for some site seeing in the area and decided to visit Frederick Douglass's historical sites. He is buried here along with other famed people as well other families. Susan B Anthony is also buried here. The cemetery is well maintained with clean bathrooms. Make sure you stop the visitor office for info and maps. The staff gave me some useful tips and other markers to see during my visit. This place is huge, I saw quite a few people wandering and taking pics.

Ruth C.

This is such a cool place to walk around. So much history. We found Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglas' grave sites. Such a pretty setting as well. You can spend hours walking/driving around. Will definitely go back as we only got to see a small portion of the grounds.

Kelly S.

This place is so amazing! One of the oldest cemetery's dating back to 1838. With over 190 acres of land perfect for walks or jogging through the hills and valleys all while be surrounded by so much history. Just a few of the notable people buried here: Nathaniel Rochester, founder of Rochester Susan B Anthony, social reformer and women's rights advocate Frederick Douglass social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. Frank Gannett, founded Gannett newspaper Seth Green, fish farming/fish hatchery Henry Lomb and John Jacob Bausch , founded Bausch & Lomb Margaret Woodbury Strong, Strong National Museum of Play Hiram Sibley, pioneer of the telegraph in the United States Henry Augustus Ward, American naturalist and geologist Tips: Take a tour, Sundays at 2:00 p.m., May 1 - October 30... and it's free!! If you are looking for a specific grave site do your homework first or stop at the office for directions to a location. With so much land,the cemetery is broken up it to four quadrant's you could be wondering around for hours. Visit Susan B Anthony grave site on election day, many people place voting stickers on her grave marker to pat their respect and say thank you. Take your time and enjoy all the beautiful nature and great views. Visit in the Autumn, thank me later.

PJ C.

On Sundays at 2pm the Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery conduct a tour of the cemetery for just $5 (there are other specialty tours on other days). This tour was always on our list of things to do but we never got around to doing it despite the great press. Finally with some out-of-town visitors in tow we took this history walk on a beautiful summer afternoon. Joanne, our tour guide, did a great job of weaving history, botany and geology through her storytelling about the cemetery and its residents. The almost two hour, one mile walk through the hilly north end can be taxing for some especially when you have a guide like Joanne who is one spry "seasoned" volunteer. Despite my many years of living in Rochester I learned some historical tidbits and connections of modern businesses to their pasts. Well worth it!

Lucy M.

I don't think I've left a bad review for a cemetery ever. If you're walking out it's a good experience, no? Mount Hope is a lovely place to stroll through. It's very hilly, with deep pits and shallow circles that look a little spooky in the right light. We came across some people doing a photo shoot. I found lots of entertaining tombstone names, my favorite being Catharine D. Lux. You tell em Cathy!

Lisa M.

Historically significant and also picturesque with lots of greenery and beautiful monuments.

Nathan M.

Aside from the interesting people that are buried here and the unique topography of the vast cemetery, Mt. Hope offers a peaceful place within the city to relax with a stroll or explore with a camera handy. I take all of my friends from out of town here because it's FREE and it a great historical icon in America. If you didn't know, this is the first Victorian style cemetery in the country. I prefer wandering the older section and finding gravestones that have been forgotten about on the steep slopes or overgrown with bushes. Whether you're taking friends or just going solo, make sure you carve out an hour or two because you won't want to leave!