magnumholmes

We are planning a trip to the Gettysburg, pa., area in July. How many days do you need to have in your itenerary to rightfully take in all of what Gettysburg has to offer?

We are really interested in the Civil War (or as many said in Charleston, SC, the "War between the States") history.

Give me some ideas on everything that is there.

Thanks

Amy

Well, you can actually see quite a lot in one full day; I highly recommend the licensed battlefield guide tours (as opposed to the audio ones) for maximum impact. (And yes, I've done both.) Two days would give you a good amount, in my opinion, although I'm sure there are some buffs who could spend much longer. It depends, really, on whether you want to fit in the little things like Jennie Wade House and the Wax Museum, or if your primary interest is the battlefield itself. Oh, and of course, if you're going for the reenactment that changes things considerably.

There's a Civil War Museum in Harrisburg, which wouldn't be too far away, and there are many other areas within a few hours' driving time. What are your interests beyond the Civil War...antiques, shopping, nature, culture...?

magnumholmes

I am no Civil War Buff, but I like the history of it. We just were in Charleston, down from a disappointing time in Myrtle Beach (one of those use-it-or-lose-it type of vacations)-- it rained almost all the time-- and visited Fort Sumter and three different plantations and thought Gettysburg would be a good place to visit for a few days.

I also want to go to Hershey Park (roller-coaster enthusiast) because we've never been there, Philadelphia for all of the Revolutionary War and Civil War stuff and travel on to Six Flags near Jackson, NJ (for, you guessed it, more roller-coasters).

I am alloting nine or 10 days. Do you think that will be plenty?

Thanks

Amy

Rollercoasters...yes! Have you been to Dorney Park, in Allentown? (It's about an hour outside Philadelphia.) They've got a 1923 wooden coaster there that I just love. www.dorneypark.com

You could base yourself in central PA for three or four days for Gettysburg, Hershey, and even Harrisburg if you wanted to visit the Civil War Museum (and the State Capitol building is actually quite lovely.) On your way to Philadelphia from there you could stop at Valley Forge for the Revolutionary tour, or, of course, do it as a daytrip out of Philadelphia. Based in Philadelphia for six nights you could do Six Flags Great Adventure and/or Dorney Park plus a fair amount of sightseeing in Philadelphia itself--of course, if you have more time, I could give you weeks' worth of Philadelphia things to do. But your ten days sounds reasonable, although there's a fair amount of driving involved. In Philadelphia itself, though, you won't want to be using your car most of the time.

Were you planning on later in July or doing this around the 4th? If the latter, be advised that, while it's a great time to be in the birthplace of the nation, it's really, really crowded then.

Happy planning!

emalloy

Gettysburg is also the home of Pres. Eisenhower and the park service runs tours from the visitor's center from there. If you travel south of Gettysburg or come up that way you can visit Harper's Ferry without going too far out of your way. This is quite different from many of the Civil War sites as the park service takes you down into town and people still live in some of the homes there. There are often re enactments in early July but they don't take place on the park service battlefield land, but are set up on farms with similar topography a few miles from it. I'm not sure if they are doing that this year or not.

magnumholmes

This is a great start. Thanks for the replies. I will take everything in and jot down the ideas for the trip.

Any other ideas, please feel free to let me know.

Thanks and keep the replies coming.

traveler24

I found I needed at least 2 days-guided tour is really informative. I then went on to
Antietam and Sharpsburg and to Harper's Ferry. I drove to Antietam early AM, walked around the battlefield and drove to Sharpsburg where I stayed all night.On to Harper's Ferry next day and was in Frederick by evening
The comparison betwen Gettyburg and Antietam is quite remarkble. Antietam was the "bloodiest" single day of the Civil War-even though the land area is quite small.
This "side" trip was well worth the time for me--

cd

Agree with the above to include Harper's Ferry. AND, if you love roller coasters and have not been to Cedar Point,Ohio, you are missing out on the best or the best! http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/par...ters/index.cfm

wliwl

I really only enjoy Gettysburg in the late evening when the crowds are gone and the sun is setting. It takes on such a mood.

magnumholmes

Oh yeah. We've been to Cedar Point a number of times. The only coaster there I haven't ridden yet is Maverick. Will get it eventually.

I am a traveller who likes a full schedule. Not extremely rigid, but would like to stick to it as much as possible.

Any other info would be appreciated.

dan_woodlief

Well, you have already received a ton of good advice. I have been to Gettysburg several times, including last year, for anywhere from 1 1/2 days to 5 days. My thought is that you "can" see Gettysburg in 1 day - that is the battlefield and a quick look at the cemetery and visitor's center/museum. This certainly would be enhanced by having a guide for part of the day. For someone very interested in the war though I feel 2 days is a minimum and 3-4 is not too much at all if you want to take in more than the main sights.

Give yourself time for at least a few hours to see the center of town, even if after dark.

I usually like to do part of the battlefield one day and then leave to go to the visitor's center, the cyclorama (which was just restored), shop for souvenirs/artifacts, or see other things like the miniatures display at the campgrounds. Then hit Little Round Top to the Angle the next day.

Good experiences include going out on the battlefield late in the day, or especially very early (around sunrise) when crowds are nonexistant and the light is magical and haunting.

You definitely would be well-served to spend a day at Antietam, which is easy to see even in great detail in less than a day. This is such a fantastically preserved battlefield. And as others have said, Harpers Ferry is just down the road from there. Shepherdstown, WV is very near Antietam and is a great place to stay (nice little college town) if you want to move around a bit from your Gettysburg base.

If not over-saturated at this point, the National Civil War Museum in Harrisburg is excellent, but I would probably spend a day or so in Amish areas and go to Philadelphia.

Most people are not interested in Civil War artifacts, except for seeing them in a museum, but a visit to the Horse Soldier shop is very interesting. It is like a small (well not so small) museum in itself.