I’m a big civil war history buff and I’ve never been to Gettysburg. It’s on my bucket list.
Eat at least one meal preferably breakfast at the Lincoln diner in downtown.
If you locate Jennie Wade’s grave you will be within a few feet, or yards, of where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
Be sure to see the presentation before touring the battlefield. I enjoyed the self-guided tour as I could go at my own pace; linger where I wanted to. Also be sure to stand in the spot where Lincoln delivered his stirring address (an address that few could hear that day.) Cheers!
When we went we stayed at the campground which is walking distance to Little Big Top. Long walk through the woods but doable. I don‘t know whether they have cabins. We no longer have a camper and I don‘t know whether I could walk that far. It is my favorite place on the battle grounds. Turns out we were there on Halloween which is actually more crowded than the first week of July because supposedly the battlefield is most haunted place in the country. I loved our trip. Enjoy.
Cashtown Inn..
Good for a haunt or two and unique:
Check in at the visitor’s center first. You can pick up a self directed guide and use it for your own tour. Give yourself at least a full day to thoroughly enjoy the park. Take lots of pictures.
By the way, make sure you return within five years to enjoy it again.
See about getting a mailbox there so you can have a Gettysburg address.
There is something there. I don't know what it is. I went there in the middle of July, 93 degrees outside, standing in the Peach Orchard...freezing cold.
Gettysburg is a wonderful place. I enjoyed it a great deal.
The main visitor center has a nice little museum, an orientation film and also the restored Cyclorama painting (there’s a charge for all 3). If you’ve never been, I’d recommend those.
The Auto Tour gives you a decent overview of the 3 days of battle. I consider Little Round Top, Devil’s Den and the High Water Mark (the point reached by Pickett’s Charge) to be “must see”.
If you like pizza, Tommy’s Pizza is right near the battlefield and I and various guests have liked it.
There are some secondary sites that you probably can skip on a first trip. The David Wills House is where Lincoln stayed the night before delivering the Gettysburg Address - there’s not a lot to it. The Eisenhower Farm is an interesting bit of Americana, but it is about Eisenhower and has nothing to do with the battle or battlefield.
The bloody angle, which was the high water mark of Picketts Charge. The 1st Minnesota infantry defended that part of the Union line on July 3.
I live in York, just 29 miles east, and have been to the Battlefield numerous times. Be sure to visit the Gettysburg Museum of History. It’s a nice and informative place, in town on Baltimore St.
https://www.gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com
Our two favorite place to eat in the downtown area are the Dobbin House Tavern and the Farnsworth House Inn. The wife and I live about 2 hours away from Gettysburg and visit there at least two or three times a year.
Our two favorite place to eat in the downtown area are the Dobbin House Tavern and the Farnsworth House Inn. The wife and I live about 2 hours away from Gettysburg and visit there at least two or three times a year.
If you’re at all sensitive to this sort of thing, you’ll find it’s a rather spooky place. My wife & I both did, and we don’t normally go in for stuff like that.
i live 20 minutes from Gettysburg and am there every week:
1. Go to visitor center and watch the orientation film
and cyclorama interactive and museum. Visitor center will also give you the free ranger programs for the day
2 hire a licensed guide to tour the battlefield
3. Shriver house museum gives you the experience of what
happened to a family during the battle attic was a confederate sniper nest
4. Dinner at Dobbin house a must make reservations
5. visit the national cemetary.
6. walk around the square. Wills house where lincoln stayed
7 walk pickets charge
I could go on and on. If you want to meet up send me a private message.
I said this on another post about somebody visiting Gettysburg, it’s a short drive up route 15 to Harrisburg, I would highly recommend the Civil War Museum in Harrisburg. C-SPAN has done a special on it just after it opened and I got many reviews that said it was one of the best Civil War museums in the country. My boss visited it and she told me it was incredible, I’d lived in Central PA most of my life but unfortunately before I moved I never visited it. Harrisburg was a staging area for Civil War soldiers.
All I remember of the place was standing at the angle and looking cross the field to the tree line and thinking..who the hell was dumb enough to order a charge across that?
We all know who that was.
I dont know if you can walk across that by yourself or not.
Every Thursday i go to the blue and gray on the square for steak night then I cross the street for a cigar at the union cigar store. You can meet me there.