Is Gettysburg Worth Visiting?

Is Gettysburg worth visiting? Yes! Yes! And More Yes! 

From the moment we arrived in Gettysburg, I knew the place was special. Scared, hallowed ground. Still 149 years later (we visited in 2022) the ground feels burdened by the souls who gasped for their last breath on these battlefields. 

Amidst the horror of war, a new light shined on the union and war began turning in the North’s favor.

Support our Troops

To the families of those brave soldiers and those who supported them, I’m not sure my words or descriptions will do this place the true justice it deserves. 

Arriving in Gettysburg

As a camping family we arrived in Gettysburg later in the day. After traveling a longer distance, from West Virgina, the night before we were definitely late arrivers in the Artillery Ridge Campground. We set up and began getty ready for our Epic Saturday to tour the Gettysburg battlefield.

Gettysburg Day 1

We arrived at the Gettysburg National Military Park and Museum first thing Saturday morning. Entry into the building is free and works fine if you want to re-fill your water bottle, grab a snack, or maybe a tee-shirt. If you want more, we all want more, the additional features of the museum have a nominal charge. The full experience (museum, park film, and cyclorama) will set you back roughly $20 per adult and $15 per child. Worth. Every. Penny!

I’m biased because we took in these features of the park and our son is completely into history. His joy of experiencing Gettysburg in this way was worth every cent of the cost.

Museum

The museum was well done. I recall a large crowd, however, the facility is large and crowds can mingle through at a comfortable pace. Honestly, someone bent on reading every placard, could spend a full day taking in the information. I particularly appreciated the historical scenes set up to replicated the leaders quarters. 

My mind went into logistics mode of how challenging it must have been to set up camp for a general in the middle of a battle ground. 

Other sections talked about the soldiers on both sides taking over private residence for headquarters or a field hospital. Sacrifices like these were huge and I’m guessing absolutely overlooked by most of history. I can’t even begin to image living in a town with a battle raging and then being kicked out my house by members of the army (friend or foe).

A New Birth for Freedom

This 15 minute film brings viewers to the battlefield and helps set the stage for what you will witness the rest of your time in this scared ground. 

Cyclorama

The largest oil canvas painting in the world at 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet tall, this work of art is amazing. Between the lighting, sounds, cool freeze, and the park volunteers sharing the stories of the battle one begins gaining an appreciation for what these boys and men faced over 3 days in July 1863.

If you only have a few hours to visit Gettysburg, you owe it to history and yourself to visit the museum and understand deeper the sacrifices made the summer of 1863. Yes, visiting Gettysburg is worth your time, even if it’s brief.

Licensed Battlefield Guides

Commissioning a tour guide has been a silent dream of mine. An area expert. Google in your car. But, better because your expert engages with you! 

Licensed Battlefield Guides are live Google! The Gettysburg Foundation offers these walking history books for a tiny fee. How tiny? Only $75 for 2 hours of personal one-on-one attention in your car. Up to six people can tag along. Your guide will drive and talk or ride and talk. Our guide rode because, well, I’m the only one who gets to drive our truck. 

Why choose to part with cold hard cash of $75? If having a living and breathing Gettysburg Google machine next to you isn’t enough, then suffice to say having a guide who can shepard you to all the right spots. No guessing are we here or there. What are we supposed to see? Or did Buford ride over this hill? Seriously, after a few stops the grounds look similar. 

Living Guides are like Gettysburg Google in Your Car!

Your guide will be your window into the world those horrific 3 days in July 1863. You’ll hear stories from the point of view of town residents. You will stop the car and walk the battlefields. If you close your eyes and open your ears you can hear the men fighting on Culp’s hill. In the cornfield you’ll see the visions of hundreds or thousands of men fighting shoulder to shoulder for their cause.

Our kids ran up Pickett’s Charge. Earlier in the day, Jack purchased a replica black powder rifle. He gets a new plastic gun in every gift shop. 

Our guide was the highlight of this visit into Gettysburg. Is Gettysburg worth the visit? Definitely! Do yourself a favor and go all out for the guide. Guides are available for 2 hours up to 8 hours. Eight hours would be a lot of history for me, but 2 or 3 was perfect. Absolute must do!

Ghost Tours

Not to be confused with ghost hunting, which I was told is different. Gettysburg Ghost Tours was our choice for dipping our toe into the paranormal. Three out of four of our family was a bit skeptical of ghost. One is all in! 

If memory serves, Gettysburg Ghost Tours has one of the Voltar Fortune Tellers, which ups the freaky feel by at least 10 points! 

On night one we met up with our guide, dressed as if he walked out of 1863. He was filled with energy and offered engaging stories. Our stories and tour was less campfire ghost stories style and more another side of history of Gettysburg. And the unexplained activities that happen on a regular basis. 

The Black Cat

Our tour was named, The Black Cat, which is fitting because we are proud owners of a black cat. Our guide shared stories that went along with the buildings like the Dobbins House, Jennie Wade House, the Farnsworth House, Haunted Creek Bed, and many more. My favorite was at the Dobbins House where a shadow of President Lincoln is cast onto the second floor of the building. Looking in the direction of where the shadow should be cast from, one can’t see anything causing it. Crazy!

This tour is situated as a walking tour along the sidewalks of Gettysburg. We covered a couple of blocks, maybe 6 total. Not NYC super long blocks, so as long as you can walk around your block, you’re probably sufficiently fit for this 45 minute excursion. Joining the tour has a small fee, but the tour guide is a great story teller and this is fun experience that many towns simply can’t compete with!

Maybe some of these stories can be explained and maybe not. Checking out these ghost tours is worth your time when you visit Gettysburg!

Gettysburg Day 2

Self Guided Tour

We benefited greatly from having our walking, talking Gettysburg Google machine on Day 1! So much, we could pick and choose places we wanted to explore deeper and learn more about.

Pennsylvania Memorial, the largest in Gettysburg was an amazing remembrance to those who died here. Near the Union side of Pickett’s charge, this was a well visited memorial. The details put into remembering the fallen soldiers was amazing. The views from the second floor overlook much of the battleground.

Understanding the open distance and uphill climb his men had to make, General Lee must have been very confident Meade’s forces were weakened. Watching our kids run up the hill without the pressure of bullets, cannon balls, and the chaos of war, illustrated how difficult of a decision that must have been. The Union held the high ground preventing the Confederate troops from controlling the crossroads of Gettysburg. The battle began marking a positive turning point for the Union.

Calvary Field

With time to explore deeply we took a short drive out to Calvary Field. This section of the battle was several miles out of town on very flat ground where the opposing calvary forces battled. We were some of the only visitors in the area making for a errarly quiet time. Locals say sometimes you can hear the horses running through the fields.

We remained silent for nearly 10 minutes, but came up empty on hearing any horses.

Culp’s Hill

Driving back into Gettysburg we stopped at Culp’s Hill. WOW! Fighting on this ground must have been unbelievably intense. Dense forest, steep hills, creek beds that filled with blood, made for treacherous conditions. A look out tower at the top of Culp’s Hill provides an aerial view of nearly the entire battleground. Driving in the car the battlefield felt huge and looking out across the rolling hills I could appreciate the vast ground these men had to cover. 

The topography of Gettysburg is rolling hills situated in a way that provides expansive views into the distance. Holding the high ground on this battlefield yielded a distinct advantage. 

Back In Gettysburg

Jennie Wade’s home provided an interesting walk through a civian’s shoes during the battle.  Visitors have a guide who tells the story of Jennie and her family as they did their best to live during the battle. Jennie was in the kitchen needling dough when a bullet travelled through two wooden doors, struck and killed her. 

The home is decorated in furniture from the period including pieces in the home during the battle. A giant hole was cut in the second floor wall to allow the Wade family to escape the home and seek shelter in the cellar. Walking through I cannot imagine how terrifying the experience must have been for members of the community. Through the horrors of war, many towns people assisted members of the army with food and water.

Cemetery

The Gettysburg cemetery is laid out with sections for each state that fought in the battle. We walked the entire cemetery and spent most of our time near our home state of Kentucky.

Visiting simply to see the monument of the Gettysburg Address is worth taking a few minutes to see. 

Ghost Hunting!!

After spooky ghost stories the night before, we decided to tempt fate and hunt for ghost with Gettysburg Ghost Tours. Number 1 rule of ghost hunts is it must be dark. The number 2 rule is the house can’t have any electricity. And the 3rd rule is it has to be raining!

Check, check, and check!

Spookie factors bumped up a couple of notches.

Gettysburg Ghost Tours provides all the necessary equipment. Feel free to bring your own proton pack. Or come as you are. An open mind and lots of questions to ask the spirits are nice to bring along as well!

We pulled up to the spooky house and slowly made our way inside past the creaky doors. The air was heavy and the lights were dim. This was going to be fun! 

Our hunt leader, outlined the equipment and proper operating procedures. Then turned us loose. I don’t think we were permitted in the basement, which was good because basements are scary with power! The second floor had some dormers that opened to the attic. These were super creepy. 

Of all the “high tech” ghost hunting gear, I had my best encounters with the dowsing rods. In several instances the spirits moved the rods to answer my questions. Talk about the hair on your neck standing up! In the kitchen I knowing pranked Madeline with the dowsing rods. I hated messy with the spirits, but she is a non-believer so I wanted to see if I could change her mind. I did, if just momentarily. 

So, is Gettysburg worth visiting? Heck yes! The ghost hunt alone is worth the trip. 

Artillery Ridge Campground

Artillery Ridge Campground’s location is perfectly situated about 1 mile from Gettysburg National Military Park and Museum. Not only is the location perfect, the campground is very nice.

In fact, grounds within the campground were so close to the battlefield it was an ammunition store house for the Union.

Our site was 93, which provided a lovely view of the fishing lake. A fantastic sitting dock and gazebo were a short distance from our campsite. The site was plenty long, but fairly close to our neighbor. In a campground this busy, that’s understandable.

Campground Amenities

A short and easy walk from most campsites was a newly renovate pool, pergola, and patio. Guest are invited to play a round or two of mini golf at no additional charge. Cornhole (bean bag toss), playground, on-site laundry, firewood, and nice / clean bathhouses are available.

The pool was fantastic. Tons of seating and space in the water to cool down after a long hot day of sight seeing. Many of the amenities looked brand new or within the last season (we visited in 2022). This was refreshing to see because so many campgrounds are outdated and have tired equipment. 

Artillery Ridge offered something I had never seen before…24X7 Firewood via a vending machine! Picture a soda machine, but for firewood. Brilliant idea! I wish I took a picture of this Rube Goldberg invention!

Two bathhouses serve guest, one a bit more dated, but clean. The other is brand new and very nice. To this point in our travels this ranks in the top 5 campground bathhouses we’ve been to!

The campground store was well stocked and had plenty of RV essentials.

Is Gettysburg Worth Visiting?

100% yes. This town has so much to offer. Our two days flew by so fast. Whether you are a Civil War historian, parent hoping to bring history to life, or looking for a step back in time, Gettysburg creates lasting memories for everyone who visits!