MelissaBeckoff

how much time do you need to spend in gettysburg?is one day enough?
we are 3 adults, 1 12 year old and 1 9 year old. trying to plan columbus day weekend

elmom

1 day is enough.... we went w/3 kids a few years ago and no matter how into teh history the adults are; there's only so many battlefields (which today, all look pretty much alike) kids can take. There are interesting spots along the historic ones... I remember a place of cliffs and rock walls you could climb/explore. I know I'll get slammed/disagree with this, but we even bought the CD car/self-tour guide ... and I remember people screaming at my husband to fast forward the CD.....

Ryan

Lee stayed for 3 days. At least two days to long.

In all seriousness, I'd plan for at least one full day. Figure at least 90 minutes at the visitor center/museum and then depending on what you wanted to see that could be another 4 to 5 hours.

The Cemetary, the spot of the Gettysburg Address, is across from the visitor center. Given that speeches place in US history, certainly a stop there is worhtwhile.

If you wanted to see the full battlefield with the first days battlefield being a bit east of town, including the Missionary Ridge area (the spot of the Southern encampments) and Lee's HQ, certainly it'll be a full day.

If you wanted to hit the high points, I'd suggest you might want to start on the Missionary Ridge and the observation tower. Climbing to the top will give you a good perspective on Cemetary Ridge (the Union Lines) and the site of the actual fighting. Also, looking across the field at the distance to the center of the Union lines, will give you a good sense of what the soldiers faced with Picketts Charge.

Following around to the Union lines, I'd suggest stopping at Little Round Top (there is a rock specifying the end of the Union line), then continuing up the road a bit to the Devil's Den, the Peach Orchard, and finishing at "The Highwater Mark."

All along the way on both sides will be numerous monuments that were resurrected by the respective states. The one for Pennsylvania is certainly the most prominent.

gail

We went in the summer with my mother (in her 70s), and my 2 kids - ages 10 and 14 at the time.

Buy/rent the audio CD/tape for your car. It is a self-guided tour. Advantage over a personal rent-a-guide is that you can stop it, start it, fast forward - take a break to go to lunch - and not worry about offending the guide if the kids get bored.

But all of us enjoyed it a great deal. We stayed 2 nights (as part of an 8 day road trip) - but were really there only 1 full day.

DuckFaceMcJones

I would have loved to have stayed long enough to have gotten out and walked the ground a lot more than I did, but the wife & kids woulda killed.

One day is sufficient for a good visit.

There are a couple of vendors near the Visitor's Center that offer bus tours of the Battlefield. They have a tape that they play as you ride that is most informative. They also stop at a few of the special places so you can get out and get the feel of the ground, such as Little Round Top and the High Water Mark.

The High Water Mark is especially moving. You stand at the crest of Cemetery Ridge and mentally picture the waves of men coming toward you, and realize what brave folly it was. I am getting goose flesh just recalling it now as I type. You are standing on hallowed ground when you are there, and you feel it and know it.

Sorry, didn't mean to get all goofy on you.

Have a great trip.

Bill_I

We stopped last June on our way to Virginia, from Chicago. (Once we got of the main highway & took one of the back roads, I think it was hwy 30 to Gettysburg, that was an adventure in itself with all the ups & downs in the road.) I wanted to see it. But my 15 year old son ended up really liking it, & my 12 yr old son & wife thought it was worth the stop. We had 3 hrs available to see things. We went thru the museum & walked around the cemetary. Then did 1 of the drives, where we did stop at most of the stops on the Confederate side, but did not make as many stops on the Union side. There was a reinactment also going on that day. 3 hours was not enough time to spend there, but I am glad to have been able to spend only that amount of time versus not seeing it at all. a full day would have been just about right to see things.

dwooddon

I'd start with the Visitor's Center, especially if you are not already familiar with the ebb and flow of the battle. They have a presentation that takes around 30 minutes, using a floor-mounted birds-eye view of the battlefield and a series of lights that are used to explain the major events in the sequence they occured. It adds a level of knowledge that will help you understand and appreciate the various areas you tour.

I also echo the sentiment about feeling you are on hallowed ground. Gettysburg is one of the 4 or 5 Civil Wat battlefields that give me that feeling every time I visit.

azrat

hello, toured Gettysburg a few summers ago and did most of the previously noted activities; museum, cemetary, also did the tape guided drive,(very worth the time in my opinion), all this took one very full day. We returned the next morning on a whim and rode horseback from a stable thru the battlefield areas. This turned out to be the hi-lite of the Gettysburg experience for me. If you are not a huge Civil War/history buff the reverance of this hallowed park is still awesome - more so on horseback. Also took a side trip to tour Synders of Hanover Pretzel Factory. They were shocked that somebody came all the way from AZ to little ole Hanover to buy pretzels. Sometimes the little spur-of-the-moment things make your adventures memorable. Have a great trip, PA is very friendly.

lcuy

We spent two nights in Gettysburg, but mostly just one day. Arrived in the late afternoon, had dinner in an authentic little diner, then went back to the park for a really interesting park ranger talk. Our girls (who were 10 and 13 at the time) had a lot of fun capturing fireflies.

The next morning we went to the visitor center and spent maybe 4 hours in the museum and driving/walking around. We
took a late afternoon horseback ride and had dinner, then went to bed. Next day we left town early. It was a perfect visit!

marysuenyc

Azrat, Lcuy, what stable did you ride out of -- was it Hickory Hollow Farm? I'm a fairly experienced rider, my husband is somewhat novice and I'm trying to find a stable where we could tour the battlefields on horseback and both be happy. Thanks for your help!

dan_woodlief

What parts of the battlefield does the horse ride cover? It sounds interesting.