Getting Around

The park contains more than 26 miles of paved roads open for touring by private vehicle. Park visitors should begin their tour at the National Park Service Visitor Center. Visitors may tour the park on their own with the use of a self-guiding park map, hire a Licensed Battlefield Guide for a personal touch, or use one of the commercially available audio tours.

Self-Guided Tour:
The Gettysburg National Military Park Brochure is available at the National Park Service Museum and Visitor Center at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg. The brochure has a tour map of the park, a description of the battle and a brief history of the park. The map coincides with park tour route signs and wayside exhibits so that you can take a self-guided tour, one stop at a time at your liesure. Audio programs are available at specified stops. The length of the tour is at your own pace but plan to spend at least two hours on the field. Free. (One brochure per family, please.)

Licensed Battlefield Guide Service:
Bttlefield guides are available to give you and your group a personal tour of the park in the comfort of your own vehicle. Widely known for their knowledge and courtesy, the guides are self-employed ladies and gentlemen tested and licensed by the National Park Service and your guide can customize a tour to your special needs and desires. Tours last two hours in lengthand guides are assigned to personal vehicles from the Visitor Center desk on a first come, first served basis beginning at 8:00 AM each day.  Guides can also be reserved for cars and buses. Fees:

1-6 people= $55.00
7-15 people= $70.00
16-49 people= $105.00
50+ people= $140.00.

For visitors without vehicles, there is a bus tour of the battlefield available with a guide on board, which begins from the Visitor Center. Check our Things to Do page for bus schedule and times. For additional information about the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, visit their web site at www.gettysburgtourguides.org.

Auto Tape Tours:
Audio-cassette tours are also available for purchase. The tape tours are self-guiding, take you to the important areas of the battlefield, and describe the battle action. There are maps available for some tapes or you can use the park brochure as a guide. Cassette tours can be purchased and/or rented at many local businesses, and may be taken through the park at your leisure. Plan to spend at least two hours on your tour with an audio tape. Approximate costs range from $10 to $15. Call the Museum and Visitor Center Bookstore at (717) 334-2288 for further information.

For information on the commercial tape and bus tours, call the Gettysburg Travel and Convention Center at (717) 334-6274.

Getting Around Gettysburg
Currently there is no public transportation system in Gettysburg except for summer months when a shuttle runs through portions of downtown. The speed limit is 25 miles per hour on most borough streets, which are clearly marked with directional signs and turning lanes at prominent intersections. Metered public parking is available on most borough streets. For downtown convenience, public parking lots are available on East High Street and at the downtown parking deck on Race Horse Alley, accessible from North Stratton Street. Drivers should be mindful of slow moving horse-drawn carriages during spring, summer and fall months as well as heavy pedestrian traffic at intersections.

Visitor Centers

The new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center is located at 1195 Baltimore Pike in Gettysburg. The center features a new museum and exhibit hall that will take visitors through the story of the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg, the significance of the Gettysburg Address, and how the war shaped the future nation. There are also special exhibits in the Gilder-Lehrman Exhibit Room, a Resource Room where visitors can further explore our electronic databases, an orientation film entitled "A New Birth of Freedom" and the famous Gettysburg Cyclorama (opening in September 2008).

The center has tour information for the battlefield and is where a Licensed Battlefield Guide can be hired for a personal tour of the park. There are other amenities in the center including a vast bookstore and refreshment saloon, reminiscent of the saloons that offered food and drink to Union soldiers on their way to war.

The Visitor Center is open all year but closed on the days specified below.
Regular center hours are from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. During the summer season from June 1 through September 1, the center is open from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. After that date, the center returns to an 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. schedule. Phone (717) 334-1124 for further information on location and closures.

Closures
The Visitor Center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. 

Special Programs
A 20 minute film entitled "A New Birth of Freedom" about the Battle of Gettysburg is shown every 30 minutes throughout the day. There is a fee for this film. Volunteers staff the museum gallery and Resource Room throughout the day. Park ranger programs are held just outside of the center during the summer months.

Reservations for a battlefield tour with a Licensed Battlefield Guide are available at the Visitor Center.

Exhibits
The Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War, featuring one of the largest collections of Civil War relics in the world, is available for viewing during regular center hours. Access to the museum is free of charge.

Facilities for Disabled Visitors
The Visitor Center has restrooms accessible from the lobby of the building and museum area, an information service desk and a book store. Handicapped parking available adjacent to the building, which also has provisions for mobility, hearing or sight impaired visitors.

Book Store
The museum and visitor center bookstore is operated by Event Network. For information on holdings and titles, contact the store at (717) 334-2288.

Refreshment Saloon
The center has a refreshment saloon operated by Aramark and offering a selection of snacks, sandwiches, and drinks. For information about the saloon, contact Aramark at (717) 334-5629.

Access to Eisenhower National Historc Site
The shuttle to Eisenhower National Historic Site is located at the Visitor Center. Visitors can purchase their tickets for the shuttle out to the Eisenhower Farm at the ticketing counter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fee to drive through the park?
Gettysburg National Military Park is open year-round and there is no fee for entrance to the park, National Cemetery, or park buildings.

What are the park hours?
Park grounds and roads are open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM from April 1 through October 31, and 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM from November 1 through March 31. The Gettysburg National Cemetery is open at dawn and closes at sunset. Park buildings are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.

Where should I begin my visit?
We recommend that you begin your visit at the National Park Service Museum and Visitor Center at 1195 Baltimore Pike and start with the film "A New Birth of Freedom", the park orientation program on the battle. (Fee) The building also has an extensive museum about the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg with audio-visual presentations that will help guide visitors through all three days of the battle. Plan on spending at least two hours in the museum and visitor center.

What is the best way to tour the battlefield?
Visitors may tour the park on their own with the use of a self-guiding park map, hire a Licensed Battlefield Guide for a personal touch, or use one of the commercially available audio tours. 

Does the park have bus tours?
Bus tours of the park are offered by several commercial companies in Gettysburg including some offered from the visitor center with a Licensed Battlefield Guide. For commercial buses in Gettysburg, call the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau at (717) 334-6274 for further information and schedules.

Does the park offer horseback riding tours?
Horseback riding tours of the field are offered by a commercial company near Gettysburg. Call the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau at (717) 334-6274 for further information. Horses are required to stay on designated trails in the park.

Can we camp and picnic on the battlefield?
The park offers McMillan Woods Youth Campground to organized scouting groups and other such organizations. Youth camping is by reservation only. The Gettysburg area has several commercial campgrounds, all within easy driving distance of the battlefield park.
There are two picnic areas in the park at the National Park Service Museum and Visitor Center and on South Confederate Avenue. Open fires are not allowed in park picnic sites.

Can we go into the old houses and buildings on the battlefield?
Most of the battlefield farms are private quarters for park employees and their families and are not open to the public. The Leister House (Meade’s Headquarters), the Brian (Bryan) House, and Snyder House are all park exhibits with historically furnished interiors that visitors can view through the windows of each house.

How can I find out about the annual reenactment, museums, hotels and restaurants in Gettysburg?
Call the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau at (717) 334-6274 for further information. The annual reenactment is held on private land in Adams County and not within Gettysburg National Military Park.

What is the “Gettysburg Cyclorama”?
The Gettysburg Cyclorama is a 360-degree oil on canvas painting 359 feet long by 27 feet high that depicts the full fury of “Pickett’s Charge”. This unique painting, first shown in Boston in 1884 before coming to Gettysburg in 1913, is currently undergoing restoration and will be unveiled in the new museum and visitor center at Gettysburg in September 2008.

How can I find out about my ancestor who was a soldier and may have been at Gettysburg?
Gettysburg National Military Park does not maintain a comprehensive list of soldiers who fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, nor do we have a database of individual soldier records. Military service records for Union and Confederate soldiers are maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, DC. The park does have a comprehensive database of Pennsylvania soldiers who fought at Gettysburg as well as the dead and wounded of both armies. Inquire at the park information desk for assistance with this information.

When are the ranger guided programs given and what is the schedule?
The summer schedule of ranger guided programs is available at the park information desks. The schedule is usually set for release by mid-May every year and will be posted on the Gettysburg National Military Park web site.

Most of the Union soldiers are buried in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery at Gettysburg. What happened to the Confederate dead?
The southern dead were removed to cemeteries in North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia between 1871 and 1873. Most of the Confederate dead were interred at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia in a special section set aside specifically for the casualties of Gettysburg.

How many monuments are on the battlefield?
There are approximately 1,328 monuments, markers and memorials at Gettysburg National Military Park.

Why is the National Park Service removing trees from the battlefield?
Visitors notice areas of the park where tree removal has been ongoing for several years, and will continue for several more as part of our battlefield rehabilitation program, as specified in the 1999 General Management Plan for Gettysburg National Military Park. The tree removal will reestablish former pasture and cropland that was present in 1863 at the time of the battle. In conjunction with the tree removal, historic orchards are being replanted on battlefield farms and several areas, void of trees after 1863, are being allowed to grow into high grass meadows or woods. Another part of the rehabilitation program is reestablishing the many miles of battlefield fences that designated farm fields and also played a role in deciding the movements of troops during the battle.

I know a lot about Gettysburg. How do I get to become a battlefield guide?
The Licensed Battlefield Guides at Gettysburg National Military Park are a unique service. Guides are individuals who have proven their abilities and knowledge through a series of written and oral exams before they are licensed by the National Park Service. The written test for new guides is given once every other year. Those who score the highest on the exams are invited back to give an oral test of their knowledge in a supervised tour of the park with other guides and National Park Service personnel. Dates for the written test will be announced as the need arises to fill spaces in the guide force. 

When is the new Museum and Visitor Center going to open?
The new visitor center opened its doors on April 14, 2008.

What will happen to the old visitor center and Cyclorama Center?
Both buildings will be removed and the sites rehabilitated in accordance with the park’s 1999 General Management Plan.

Operating Hours & Seasons

PARK GROUNDS AND ROADS
The park is open daily from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. April 1 to October 31, and 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. November 1 to March 31.

VISITOR CENTER
The park visitor center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with summer hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Years Day.

CYCLORAMA CENTER
The Cyclorama Center is now closed and will not reopen.

SOLDIERS' NATIONAL CEMETERY (Gettysburg National Cemetery)
The Soldiers' National Cemetery is open at dawn and closes at sunset daily.

Directions

By Automobile
Gettysburg National Military Park is located in Adams County, Pennsylvania. From North or South, follow US 15 to Gettysburg and watch for signs to direct you to the National Park Service Visitor Center. The visitor center is located between Taneytown Road (State Rt. 134) and Steinwehr Avenue (Bus. Rt. 15). From East or West, drive into Gettysburg on US Rt. 30, turn South on Baltimore Street (Rt. 97), and follow signs to Steinwehr Avenue (Bus. 15).

By Air
Harrisburg International Airport at Middletown, Pennsylvania, is the closest air terminal, approximately 35 miles north of Gettysburg. The second closest is Baltimore-Washington International near Baltimore, Maryland. Gettysburg has a small airfield on Route 30 west of Gettysburg that will accommodate private aircraft.

Bus
There is no commercial bus service into Gettysburg at this time.

Public Transportation
There is no public transportation system in Gettysburg at this time.

Plan Your Visit

Welcome to Gettysburg! In planning your visit to the park, there are a number of suggestions we can offer you to plan your time spent here. The park has a new Museum and Visitor Center that offers park information and an orientation to the American history that Gettysburg symbolizes. The suggestions on this page will provide you with information to help plan your visit and best utilize your time while visiting Gettysburg.

Where should we begin our visit to the park?
Visitors to Gettysburg National Military Park should begin at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center at 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, where the park offers free information, a vast museum about Gettysburg and the Civil War, the film "A New Birth of Freedom" (fee) that orients visitors to the significance of Gettysburg, the Gettysburg Cyclorama (to open in September 2008), and a bookstore. The center also provides information on the numerous ways to tour the battlefield park. 

How long should I plan for my visit?
Plan to spend a minimum of four hours at the park, though an entire day is more desirable if you wish to take advantage of the museum and film program, have a leisurely tour of the park and visit nearby attractions.

What kind of park tours are best for me?
The park offers a self-guided auto tour of the park. Tour route maps are available at the Visitor Center information desk at no charge. The park also offers a Licensed Battlefield Guide Service for private battlefield tours in your own vehicle or with a guide on a tour bus (offered seasonally). Commercial bus tours of the park are available through companies in Gettysburg.

What are the National Park Service ranger programs?
The park offers a wide variety of ranger-guided programs annually from April through October, with the core season for summer programs from mid-June through mid-August. The programs are given on a daily basis through the summer by a National Park Service ranger or park intern focusing on subjects including the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Soldiers' National Cemetery, the Gettysburg Address, soldier life and Civil War medicine, as well as other general topics.

What is the Living History program at Gettysburg?
The park hosts volunteer organizations that portray Union and Confederate infantry, artillery and cavalry organizations as well as surgical units, Civil War-period ladies' organizations, and special units such as sharpshooter regiments or signal corps personnel. These programs are limited to weekends and begin in the spring and last through the early fall with encampments and demonstrations in the park. 

During the summer months, the park has a program entitled "A Visit to the Past" with costumed interpreters who portray persons who experienced the Battle of Gettysburg and its aftermath. These programs are scheduled on a daily basis from mid-June through mid-August. 

What is there to do for students groups?
Apart from the museum and film experience at the visitor center, the park offers a variety of programs designed specifically for school groups. 

Call (717) 334-1124, extension 8023 for further information on park offerings.

Fees & Reservations

Entry to the park is free of charge.

Electric Map Program
There is a charge for the Electric Map program at the park Visitor Center: $4.00 for adults (ages 17-61 years) $3.00 for children (ages 6-16 years) $3.00 for senior citizens (62 years and older) Children under 6 years old admitted for free. Group Rates: $3.00 per adult.

Licensed Battlefield Guides
Guides may be reserved in advance for organized bus groups and car tours by calling toll free at 1-877-874-2478 or 1-866-889-1243. A guide may also be reserved on the day of your visit with availability on a first come-first served basis.
Guide fees: 1-6 people= $55.00, 7-15 people= $70.00, 16-49 people= $105.00, 50+ people= $140.00.
During the busy season, there are commercial bus tours available with a licensed guide aboard that leave from the visitor center at times scheduled throughout the day. The fee for this service is $25.95 for adults (ages 13+), $15.50 youth (ages 6-12), and free for children 5 and under.

For Group Reservations and Tour Group Operators: To reserve Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides, tickets for the Electric Map Program and group tours to Eisenhower National Historic Site, please use the new toll-free number at 1-877-874-2478 or FAX at 1-717-338-1244. For further information on tickets and group reservations, contact the Gettysburg Foundation at reservations@gettysburgfoundation.org.

Special Use Permits
For certain events and ceremonies held in the park, sponsoring groups will require a Special Use Permit, which is available through the park's web site or by calling the park at (717) 334-1124.