Mark your calendar for the third Sunday of every October!

The cool and colorful days of autumn approach and we invite you to this annual pilgrimage to one of our most sacred and cultural spaces. Visit your family, friends and neighbors, meet new residents and greet visiting tourists from afar. The beautiful grounds and pedestrian friendly avenues are sure to be a healthy, entertaining, educational and reflective afternoon.

This Maple Hill Cemetery event has grown to be one of the largest living history strolls in the nation, with over 75 costumed characters, traditional music, special exhibits, an expanded antique auto display, and student scavenger hunts. There will be at least a dozen new characters featured this year. Not all are buried in Maple Hill, but they are essential in accurately reflecting the history of Huntsville. Some of the music will accompany character portrayals. Exhibits will highlight fascinating cemetery history and recent restoration projects. Look for the antique autos in a chronological procession in the southern end of the cemetery.

Scavenger hunts for different age groups are available and at the stroll. Click to open a PDF in a new window.
Scavenger Hunt A - Elementary School
Scavenger Hunt B - Middle School
Scavenger Hunt C - High School

The metered parking spaces and municipal garages downtown are free to the public on Sunday! If you live nearby, we encourage you to walk to the Stroll. If parking in the cemetery, please the use the McClung entrance located on the southern border. If parking on side streets nearby, please exercise caution and courtesy with our good neighbors.  Please remember that pets are prohibited, and for your safety, do not lean, sit or stand on the monuments.

The Stroll is a free event for all ages, but we welcome donations. The Huntsville Pilgrimage Association sponsors this event and all donations are used to preserve and restore the historic sections of Maple Hill Cemetery. The toll of nearly two centuries of vandalism, human error, damaging weather and the natural aging process, presents a constant and never ending endeavor. With your support, the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association has provided nearly $400,000 for the restoration of over 1650 monuments and decorative metal fences. The designation of Maple Hill Cemetery in the National Register of Historic Places reflects your commitment in protecting this jewel in Huntsville’s cultural treasure chest.

Looking forward to strolling with you at our Maple Hill!

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Maple Hill Cemetery - a history written in headstones and monuments - has been damaged by pollution, vandals, and neglect. Proceeds from the historic homes tour are used to restore the cemetery's grounds and grave markers.

School children enjoy their annual tour of the grounds where they learn much about the history of the South from descriptions of the characters buried there - dating from the Revolutionary, 1812, Spanish American, and Civil War eras. These children have also helped raise money to restore damaged grave markers.