When planning a household highway journey we pulled out a map and took a take a look at all of the doable locations to go inside 4 hours drive from our household in New Jersey, and someway Gettysburg, PA captured the curiosity of my nine-year-old. I wasn’t certain how a lot she would get out of it since I wasn’t certain what there was to do there moreover take a look at the Battlefield and children usually don’t even research the Civil War till eighth grade.
Once I began trying into it although, I used to be shocked by all of the issues to do in Gettysburg, even for youths! After doing analysis and getting some assist from Destination Gettysburg, we have been capable of put collectively a jam-packed itinerary for two days in Gettysburg that had one thing for everybody and confirmed us that there was a lot extra to Gettysburg than simply the Battlefield.
Beyond that, we discovered the Gettysburg Battlefield to be far more impactful than a discipline full monuments. The space’s devastating historical past had a profound impression on us, touched our hearts, and ended up being a spotlight of our journey.
So in case you are planning a household journey to Gettysburg, PA, here’s a pattern itinerary with loads of enjoyable issues to do in Gettysburg with children and a pleasant steadiness between historical past and household enjoyable.
Things to do in Gettysburg, PA
Day One
Disclosure: Our go to, together with resort, points of interest, excursions and a few meals have been generously hosted by Destination Gettysburg and the Hilton Garden Inn Gettysburg however the opinions are solely my very own.
Visit the Gettysburg National Military Park
I at all times suppose it’s a good suggestion to begin off your day with museums when children are recent and fed versus later within the day. As you drive by means of Gettysburg you’ll be able to simply get caught up by glimpses of assorted monuments and wish to get proper out on the Battlefield,
However, I consider that spending time within the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum will assist create a greater understanding of the occasions main as much as the battle and foster higher comprehension throughout your Battlefield tour.
If you haven’t accomplished so already, guide your excursions and take a look at the Junior Ranger and National Park packages while you arrive. You will wish to begin your go to with the Cyclorama. Before we went to Gettysburg many buddies and family members mentioned, “You HAVE to do the Cyclorama,” however I had no concept what it actually was.
Basically earlier than there have been IMAX theaters, there have been cycloramas, that are 360 diploma work that depict a scene (on this case, the Battle of Gettysburg ) and are surrounded by artifacts and landscaped foregrounds to create a three-dimensional impact. Painted by Paul Dominque Phillipoteaux and his assistants, the Cyclorama of the Battle of Gettysburg was first displayed in Chicago in 1883.
Before you enter the precise Cyclorama, you’ll go to a theater to look at a 20-30 minute movie about slavery and the problems main as much as the Civil War, an outline of the principle occasions of the Civil War main as much as the Battle of Gettysburg, culminating with an outline of the three days of combating that occurred in July 1863.
From there, you’ll transfer upstairs to a theater housing the Cyclorama. Position yourselves anyplace alongside the rail and when the presentation begins, you’ll hear how the final day began with Pickett’s Charge. Using mild to spotlight parts of the portray and sound the scene will come alive. Afterward, you should have a couple of moments to maneuver round and take a look at the opposite parts of the portray. Be certain to search for a person standing close to a tree holding a sword, that is the place painter Phillipoteaux put himself into the image.
After taking within the Cyclorama, it would be best to spend about an hour exploring the Gettysburg Museum of the Civil War. To make it easier to perceive the timeline, the museum leads you thru the reveals beginning with the occasions main as much as the Battle of Gettysburg and the by means of every of the three days of the Battle and the aftermath. Each part contains a video that takes excerpts from what you noticed within the Cyclorama and expands upon them to provide a greater understanding of who’s who and the Battle timeline and areas.
The museum ought to hold your children intrigued with so many multimedia reveals. In addition to the movies, there are a lot of touchscreen, interactive reveals all through the museum to carry historical past to life. It can also be a fantastic preparation for a go to to the precise Battlefield. After exploring the museum, guests also can cease in to the useful resource middle to analysis any ancestors that will have fought at Gettysburg.
The customer middle is positioned on Baltimore Street, simply south of downtown Gettysburg. Plan on spending 1.5-2 hours on the park museum and customer middle.
Downtown Gettysburg
After the museum, it’s possible you’ll begin to get a bit hungry. I’d advocate heading into Downtown Gettysburg. Located at 20 Lincoln Square, proper within the coronary heart of downtown Gettysburg (5 minutes from the Battlefield), The Pub & Restaurant is a Gettysburg basic that provides a really intensive menu that ought to hold the entire household comfortable.
After lunch, take a while to walk by means of downtown Gettysburg and perform a little purchasing. Be certain to cease and take your image with Abraham Lincoln proper within the sq..
Visit the Shriver House Museum
In the morning, you should have discovered so much concerning the Battle of Gettysburg, however a go to to the Shriver House Museum will present you what it was like for the civilians on the town. From guides in interval gown you’ll find out how Mrs. Shriver left their dwelling and saloon and took her household out to the household farm into the center of the battle.
When the household returned they discovered their home had been shot up, became a hospital, and utilized by Confederate sharpshooters through the battle. The museum is positioned between downtown and the customer’s middle at 309 Baltimore Street. Tours run each half hour and take roughly one hour.
Dinner on the Dobbin House Tavern
When you might be prepared for dinner, a fantastic historic choices is the Dobbin House. There are two eating choices on the Dobbin House; the downstairs Springhouse Tavern for informal eating and the upstairs eating rooms for high-quality eating in a interval ambiance.
We opted for the interval eating upstairs and I used to be so comfortable to see their youngsters’s menu had choices moreover the everyday hen fingers and french fries. I had the hen and shrimp dish (scrumptious) and my daughter selected strip steak (from a child’s menu that provided Pasta, Baked Chicken, Baked Shrimp, Filet Mignon and Strip Steak.) If you go to you also needs to take a look at their museum upstairs that exhibits how the Dobbin House was a cease on the Underground Railroad.
Dobbin House Tavern is positioned at 89 Steinwehr Ave, Gettysburg, PA 17325.
Take a Ghost Tour
Apparently professionals suppose there may be loads of paranormal exercise in Gettysburg, which is conceivable with what has occurred there. If you have an interest in exploring the paranormal, there are a variety of ghost excursions accessible in Gettysburg. I’ve a daughter that’s simply spooked so we didn’t benefit from these excursions.
Day Two
Tour the Gettysburg Battlefield
There are some ways to tour the Battlefield, together with bike excursions, horseback excursions, bus excursions, audio self-driving excursions, and even segway excursions! But the way in which I’d advocate to your first go to to Gettysburg with children could be with an official Battlefield Guide. If you go this route, make your reservations no less than 3 days prematurely by calling 877-874-2478.
Our guided tour of Gettysburg National Military Park was extremely informative and transferring. I’d extremely advocate reserving a registered information. Renae MacLachlan, our Licensed Battlefield Guide, actually introduced historical past to life for us with graphic descriptions of the sounds and smells of the Battle of Gettysburg to seize our consideration, as a result of solely by making use of our creativeness to all of our senses might we start to fathom the dimensions of this devastating battle.
“During the Battle the bullets were flying so fast and thick it sounded like thousands of hornet nests, yet after the battle no birds could be found, they were all scared away,” defined Renae. “People lay dying for days as they only saved those worth saving, not burying the last person until April of the following year — the stench could be smelled as far away as Harrisburg.”
“The sulphur from gunpowder burnt the inside of soldier’s and local’s noses and affected their sense of smell for up to five years after the battle.” Renae didn’t simply inform us concerning the battle logistics, she took us again to that day and helped us think about what it was prefer to be a soldier and a civilian through the Battle of Gettysburg.
I requested Renae what it took to develop into a Licensed Battlefield Guide and he or she gave me a glimpse into the hassle it takes to realize this place. It isn’t only for historical past buffs. In addition to studying and finding out a stack of books, candidates are screened to see how they work together with guests, together with households.
They have to know how you can interact the know-it-all historical past buff whereas nonetheless making it fascinating for his or her teenage children, and how you can hold the eye of school-aged youngsters by making the historic sights accessible to all ages and pursuits. Not solely that, she must know the situation of all 1,320 monuments and memorials to assist guests which can be on the lookout for sure states or ancestors.
That’s practically 6,000 acres of land to cowl in simply two and half hours in a approach that’s significant, participating and academic. Not a simple job, however they do it they usually do it exceptionally nicely as a result of they aren’t simply guides, they’re storytellers.
The story begins with the method of Lee’s military, pondering they’d encounter just some Union troopers and shocked by the scale and power of the pressure they encountered. We actually noticed the benefit that the excessive floor afforded Union General Meade, as we launched into a path following the three-day battle step-by-step.
Suddenly the monuments started to make sense as we began to establish which belonged to which military primarily based on the situation and the route they have been going through (matching the place of the suitable military and regiment.) We discovered how regiments personalized their monuments with symbols like a Celtic cross or their canine mascot. Renae additionally described how you can establish which of the 410 cannons have been authentic versus reproductions.
With Renae driving our automotive, we have been capable of deal with all the data she was relaying, whereas feeling free to go searching and picture the armies marching throughout the fields. And regardless that I wasn’t driving, we have been nonetheless capable of cease and discover any of the areas we thought regarded fascinating, together with climbing as much as the highest of Little Round Top, scrambling across the rocks at Devil’s Den, and taking within the view from the highest of the Pennsylvania Memorial.
In case you haven’t surmised it already, I couldn’t have been extra impressed with our go to to Gettysburg with a Licensed Battlefield Guide.
Lunch at One Lincoln
After all that battle speak, you will have to decompress a bit within the afternoon. Start with lunch at One Lincoln within the Gettysburg Hotel.
Visit the The David Wills House
If you’ve gotten vitality for a bit extra historical past, after lunch you’ll be able to cease by the David Wills House, the place Lincoln stayed the night time earlier than his well-known Gettysburg Address, at 8 Lincoln Square.
Take a Drive out into the Country
Next, it’s time to go to among the farms, markets and wineries alongside the Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Trail. There are many locations to pattern native wine and ciders. One of my favorites is Hauser Estate Winery.
In early October, households may also love collaborating within the National Apple Festival, which has been celebrated in Gettysburg for over 50 years! Here you will see arts and crafts distributors; vintage and basic automobiles; hayrides; a petting zoo; pony rides; pie baking and consuming contest; scarecrow constructing; and tractor sq. dancing.
On weekends in September and October, households can benefit from the corn maze, hayrides, petting zoo, pumpkin selecting, zipline and different actions at Fields of Adventure.
Explore Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum & Candy Shop
One of the most effective stops for people who love quirky points of interest is at Mr. Ed’s Elephant Museum and sweet store. Where else can you discover 12,000 elephants however in Gettysburg? Once you might be accomplished shopping by means of his intensive show, you’ll be able to have enjoyable purchasing on the over 700 styles of candies and fudge.
Dinner at The Garryowen Irish Pub
There are loads of locations on the town to have dinner however in case you are in an Irish temper (or significantly like bacon and wish to attempt their Tuesday Bakon Nights), the Garryowen at 126 Chambersburg St. is an genuine pub with Irish fare and music.
If you Have More Time in Gettysburg
If you’ve gotten greater than three days, there are extra enjoyable issues to do in Gettysburg together with:
Land of Little Horses
The Land of Little Horses is a cute interactive animal park. Open April by means of October, the Land of Little Horses has a big herd of miniature horses, in addition to different farmyard animals. Visitors can meet the animals, see each day performances, and even play within the reproduction western city.
Carlisle Sports Emporium
This mega leisure complicated has over 75,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outside enjoyable for all ages with three go-kart tracks, two 18-hole themed miniature golf programs, a 2-story lasertron laser tag area, an arcade, an indoor mountain climbing wall, curler skating and café.
Liberty Mountain
If you might be visiting within the winter, close by Liberty Mountain gives snowboarding, snowboarding and tubing for the entire household.
Eisenhower National Historic Site
Dwight Eisenhower was stationed close to Gettysburg in World War I and when he needed a spot to cool down, he returned and acquired a farm very near the Battlefield. After turning into President, Eisenhower hosted many well-known friends right here together with Premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, President Charles de Gaulle of France, Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Gov. Ronald Reagan of California.
Go Biking
Healthy Adams Bicycle/Pedestrian (HABPI) gives quite a lot of bike trip choices on the town, on the battlefield and all through the county.
Horseback Riding
National Riding Stables assist you to see the battlefield from a distinct perspective by driving the precise trails the place gives rode and infantry marched through the nice battle.
Food Tours
I like exploring a brand new place by means of my stomach and meals excursions are an effective way to do that. There’s no higher solution to see the city you’re visiting than to eat your approach by means of it. With Savor Gettysburg Food Tours you’ll be able to discover the historic downtown space and style your approach by means of historical past.
Steam into History
Ride a reproduction of the steam engine that introduced Lincoln to his now well-known Gettysburg Address on the Steam into History practice. Along the way in which, you’ll hear concerning the cities and villages he handed alongside the way in which and the skirmish at Hanover Junction previous to the Battle of Gettysburg.
Before you Visit Gettysburg with Kids
Note: This submit could include affiliate hyperlinks. If you click on a hyperlink and make a purchase order, I could obtain a small fee. All opinions are my very own.
While you’ll be able to definitely go to Gettysburg with out having first studied the Civil War, a bit background is useful. Since children normally don’t research Gettysburg and the Civil War till eighth grade, studying up on slavery, Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War, Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Address is an effective solution to create some context.
Recommended studying for youthful children contains:
Older Kids may additionally get pleasure from:
Find a Place to Stay in Gettysburg
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