They’re building a new one south of the current visitor’s center. I guess it must be a bit further down the road. As you could see from the electric map room the park is way overdue to modernize it’s facilities.
My brother and I were working in western Maryland a few years ago and we decided to visit Gettysburg on the 4th of July. I think there may have been as many people there on that day as there were in 1863.
Yes, the National Parks people need more money (or something); the major battlefields in Virginia are poorly marked. There is no bus tour. No tour guides except at Fredricksburg. You rent a tape and take the auto tour but you drive on REAL fast highways with people wanting to do seventy behind you.
It just does not work. Fredricksburg is almost all privatized and built up. The guide there points to a swale in a public road to show where 8000 men were hit.
Sad.
The first time I went to Gettysburg, back in the 80's, I went on the fourth of July weekend. Being a newcomer to studying the Civil War, I hadn't realized that that was the busiest time because of the anniversary of the battle. I was lucky to find a hotel room for the night. I used to go to the relic and book sales, but got tired of the traffic problems and of having to fight the crowds to see the items that were up for sale. I then started going to Gettysburg in the Fall, but then it got to be just as crowded, so I now only go in the winter months. I like having the place to myself.