Plimoth Grist Mill

10/10 recommend the Plimoth Grist Mill! 🌽 We purchased the Heritage Pass and almost skipped this stop — do not skip it! You might think a corn mill wouldn’t offer much, but we walked away with so much knowledge that I was genuinely shocked. My 11-year-old son even said this was his favorite activity we did in Massachusetts (and yes — we went to Salem! 😄), which says a lot. Madeline was absolutely wonderful. She made the experience feel almost like a private tour, staying with us throughout and explaining everything with such warmth and patience. She’s a former middle school teacher, and it really shows — my son connected with her instantly and had a blast exploring, experimenting, and learning around the mill. The history shared here is fascinating, and don’t miss the little gift shop on your way out — it’s super cute and gives cozy Cracker Barrel vibes. If you’re visiting Plymouth, this is a must-see spot that perfectly blends fun, education, and New England charm. 🌾✨

What a beautiful piece of history. Great teachings and you can buy the grain milled there. Excellent time learning about this beautiful facility. Parking on the street and you can walk to town, Plimoth Rock and Mayflower II boat.

So interesting! Must go with kids! Matt was so fabulous at explaining how the mill turns and about leverage. We all even got to mill some corn using all the various methods the pilgrims used. Oh and I left my purse inside and Matt even ran outside in our walk to the Mayflower tracked me down and gave me back my bag.

The Plimoth Grist Mill in Plymouth is a gem! It’s a fully working, water‑powered mill that grinds corn into fresh cornmeal using 200‑year‑old stones. Kids love experimenting with the gears and sifting cornmeal, all while learning about simple machines, renewable energy, and Pilgrim-era life. A fun, educational 30-minute visit—not to miss if you’re exploring Plimoth Patuxet!

We have been to several grist mills and love that this one is still operational. Take your kids and let them learn about how things were then and how much we have progressed. The people who work here are very knowledgeable and can answer all of your questions. We chose the ticket that got us into all of the places in town. It was expensive but when you consider what it goes to it's worth it.

Gorgeous area for photos and quiet reflection near the stream. We enjoyed the free parking nearby and the path leading to Brewster Gardens and the main tourist sites. We only observed from outside and did not tour inside, as $35 a person seems outrageous to tour a mill.

Plimoth Grist Mill was quite interesting. While there one has the opportunity to see the workings of a grist mill where corn was ground into corn meal and polenta. The mill still grinds corn and the products are available for purchase in the gift shop. On the top floor one will see the large stone that grinds the corn and learn how it operates. On the floor below there is more information about the operation, and one may see someone sifting the product. Outside the wheel which turns the stone is turned by the force of water. The replica grist mill stands on the same ground where the original mill stood.

Wow!!! What an amazing place. The guides were fantastic. And to think, this machine was awesome and built without Ai !!!!

Stopped in here at the tail end of our visit to Plymouth and really enjoyed the demonstration. Our son was invited up to help turn the dials and the staff did a great job explaining how the mill works. Really neat to see the recreation.

Great find, food was hot, great servers and reasonable price. Recommend highly. Great seating , large tv for Sport viewing

If you're getting a combination pass with the Plimoth Plantation, it's not bad to come over here, but I wouldn't recommend $8.95 just to visit this place alone. Since I bought a weekend pass and was going to take advantage of that, I came on a Saturday and Sunday. One good feature is there was a lot of parking on the road it's on. It's not walkable from the museum/village, but it is walkable for the Mayflower II so if you'd like to see that, parking near the mill is great since no meters and a lot of parking both times I went. It's also right near a lot of shops/restaurants, so if it's a stop along your path, you can find other things to do in the area. Only one of the days at one time (Saturday around 2 pm) was the mill actually going for a demonstration, so aim for this. Any other time they might talk about how the mill works, but that's not as exciting, so check the say schedule. Not that grinding corn is super engaging, but it's interesting to see how the large stones and wheel combo going. Downstairs, you could see where the ground corn came out with another worker describing the process. On Sunday, the wheel wasn't going at all, but downstairs they had a small demo about how a recipe using the ground corn was traditionally made, and they sell what they make in the gift store. It probably will take 30 minutes to an hour of your time depending on what time you come. If you bought the combination pass, it's a nice addition, but it's not worth it for just this on its own.

See a working fish ladder for herring Alewife breeding. On Saturdays, they've got a working mill grinding corn into corn meal and grits. Enthusiastic and well versed staff that'll show you how a water powered mill works from the time period. Has a gift shop where you can buy what was ground here. They sell to local restaurants and source their corn locally. Mill is indoorsb and 2 levels. The fish ladder is outdoors. Free parking lot here. Dead on Patriots Day. Great time to visit. Got the combo ticket with the Mayflower, Grist Mill, and Plimoth Patuxent Museum.

A MUST DO! ONLY OPEN ON THE WEEKENDS & HOLIDAYS. What a Beautiful Picture Perfect Water Wheel, Waterfall & Grist Mill. There's also a Picnic Area across the Street on a pond with New England Fall Foliage that looks like it came from a Movie in a Make Believe Town. Perfect! They also have a Tiny Gift Store here with all Cape Cod local products. The Parking here is Free right across the street at Jenney Pond. I recommend that you purchase The Heritage Weekend Pass so you can Save some Money & get to see all 3 places in Plymouth: The Mayflower Ship, The Grist Mill & the Plimouth Plantation. Before you enter the building you will see a Powerful Water area below you which has been diverted from the Town Brook to provide Power for the 14 foot Water Wheel & Waterfall. The Plimoth Grist Mill Tour itself takes only about 15 minutes. They explain about the Corn & the grinding process. This building is a reproduction of the 1636 mill, built in the late 1960s. Some of the parts are from a 19th Century mill in Pennsylvania. The colonists spent the first 13 years pounding their corn by hand. The production of Meal became easier when Stephen Deane got the OK to build a Water Wheel to beat the corn. He died a few years later & The Colony gave permission for John Jenney to erect a mill for grinding corn with millstones. After his death Sarah Jenney continued to operate the mill. The Pilgrims grew Indian Corn or Maize. Corn became the foundation of the Plymouth economy & was considered more precious than silver. The Colonists also traded corn for beaver with Native people. Downstairs they were Cooking something Hot on the Stove & they gave me the Recipe to celebrate an Authentic 400 year old Thanksgiving which I took a picture of & posted. The Water Wheel is made out of Cypress. The Waterfall & Water Wheel were all artistically Decorated for Fall with Pumpkins. The Sound of the flowing water really relaxes & calms you. They have a tiny little gift store but it's jammed packed with Fun Stuff & all kinds of locally made & sourced products from Cape Cod. After you are done buy a Lunch from one of the local restaurants or bring your own & have a Picturesque New England Picnic on the Beautiful Jenney Pond that looks like a postcard with the Fall Foliage & Wildlife. What a Fantastic Day! Everyone loved it. It used to be, you had to have Mega Bucks & be really rich to have the Good Life, not anymore. The Game has changed. You've been Upgraded. Now You Can Live Like a King on a Limited Budget

Friendly staff but not much to see. We had a combo pass with the mayflower and pilgrim site. You can park here for free and walk down to the rock and mayflower along the stream in the back. Just follow the steam. Not far and it's all downhill. Picturesque too.

I've lived in the area my whole life and only recently started going to Grist Mill. The food is outstanding. I'm celiac and they have incredible options for anyone avoiding gluten. The gluten free pizza is among the best I've had. Specifically the pastrami pizza is out of this world. The manager/owner took time to visit our table and talk about the different gluten free pizza crusts they've used over the years. Really cool. They were able to make the surf & turf gluten free as well. That swordfish steak was as good or better than anything I've had at East Bay or 71 West... and half the price. My family has remarked about the Monte Cristo special (French toast bread with pulled pork .. what a combo!), lemon scallop risotto, salads... All wonderful choices. Great atmosphere and location as well. Highly recommend!

This is adorable little grist mill to see when in Plymouth. It's tucked behind some trees. There is plenty of parking. It's not a grand sight to see, but it's definitely worth a stop. We didn't go inside, but did get some photos and a short video outside of it working.

The mill was in complete operation during our visit and then we actually got to watch them stop it and take it apart to clean it. Fantastic little gift shop on the property as well with lots of great food items and souvenirs.

Even though we didn't see the mill in operation, the brief history and explanation of how the mill works was very interesting! The whole area is very serene, beautiful, fresh (air), and scenic - reminds me of scenery you would find in a calendar). It was a great learning opportunity for adults and kids to learn about the area and the mill's operation and the small gift store downstairs was a nice touch.

It was an ok visit to an actual working mill. The site is actually small and the workers at the mill do an ok job of explaining he work which happens there. I am not sure if it was the time we got there(later in the afternoon) but it seemed like they were ready to go. They did not do a good job engaging with the public. They answered questions if asked but nothing more. Overall we visited the place because it was a part of the ticket package we purchased but I don't think I would purchase it if it was a stand alone ticket.

Great tour! This was a great tour for both adults and kids. They show you how the mill works and how to work the machines. They have a big area with grits the kids can sift and touch. The did great job making it kid friendly. Matt was a really good at doing demonstrations. Highly recommended!

I was hoping for something more authentic, I found it rather displeasing having the flagpole where it is and the lobster decorations. I understand it's a rebuild yet It appears to be more of a local Learning Center for people in the community to learn from as teenagers. Good teacher inside on Thanksgiving Day.

The best time to go is 2:30 pm on Saturday. You can see the mill in operation. They take apart the mill for cleaning at 3:00 pm. It is interesting to see how the heavy millstone is moved. The mill only operates 2 days a week for a couple of hours. I would call ahead.

We didn't get to hear about the mill as we got here too late but it seems like it would be an interesting tour. The waterfall did make for a nice photo opportunity.

Sales staff was very friendly and helpful. The tour guides / millers very willingly and enthusiastically shared their craft and the areas history with us. Their passion was easy to see as we asked questions and they talked of their own tours of other mills.

Nice talk about the Grist Mill Came here as part of our Plimoth Plantation ticket package. It's not something I would've picked out to visit, but definitely glad we did. We learned a lot about how grist mills work. It was suggested we park by the Grist Mill, visit the Grist Mill, then walk down to the beach to see the Mayflower II and that worked out great! Totally worth the time to check it out if you are going down to the Mayflower II as well.

To be honest, definitely not one of the highlights of Plymouth. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably skip the grist mill. There's a little interesting info here, but not a lot. It was also annoying that we had purchased a ticket that covered multiple attractions, and one was the Grist Mill. Yet when we got in line with everyone else, we were sent to a different area to get our tickets stamped. Of course when we got there, there was absolutely no one there to stamp the tickets. We just went through the mill on our own and when we came out, we were chastised for not getting our tickets stamped. It's never a great customer service policy to be sending your customers on wild goose chases and then chewing them out for your own lack of organization. Just saying.

"Corny" ha, I get it.... This was a complete waste of time. Can I have that hour of my life back? Nothing was operating even though they said it was a working Mill. Bait & switch? Don't waste your money.

Love this place with all the history it has to offer. Nice little gift shop if you like souvenirs. FREE parking! There is also a nice park nearby to walk around. Charming little man made waterfall too. Nice place to visit year round, especially in the fall.

I thought that this mill was pretty corny. In all seriousness, however, seeing the water wheel spin and learning about the operation of a mill was nothing short of fascinating.