Gettysburg trip

We stayed at Comfort Suites right on Cemetery Hill. Very clean and comfortable with a free breakfast. Ate dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Company. Decent beer - typical brewpub quality. Food was solid - good burgers and sweet potato fries. I decinitely recommend starting at the visitor's center and giving yourself a good few hours there. We self-guided (there are good books available, my wife isn't as obsessed as me and we had our 8 hear-old, so I needed to be flexible and just hit the highlights). I hope to get back as soon as possible with my brother and/or a couple of friends.

 

Friend of mine walked from Arkansas to Gettysburg for the anniversary.

 

Heading to Gettysburg with my parents in a few weeks so discovered this thread. Very informative so don't have much more to ask except for this...

If the government shuts down I'm worried about what might be open. But I found this on their site from a previous shutdown.

For those who have been, if the stuff they say was open is open during this shutdown, it sounds like it's still worth the trip, right? The National Military Park is the main thing and that stays open apparently. It still had guided tours. The museum and painting and film all stayed open. I assume the cemetery is a must-see and if that's closed that would suck, but looking at this, and assuming it's similar this year, I get the feeling we should still make the trek. Any other thoughts from those who have been? Or if someone's been in the last 10 years and there's been changes or tips would love to hear those too.

 

I went there a few years ago with my son’s Boy Scout troop. We camped right down the road from the battlefield and had a blast.

I’ll echo what the others said 10 years ago and add that if you get a chance, do one of the Ghost Tours in the town at night. The guides tell some great stories.

 

I've seen two Civil War battlefields (Vicksburg and Shiloh) but Gettysburg has got to be the mother of them all. Vicksburg, by the way, is very driveable.

 

Years ago my family bought a CD you played while driving the battlefield. I’m assuming they make an app equivalent now. It was like having a private tour guide in the car.

 

Andersonville had a web link to the driving tour audio. I’d assume most every NPS site does.

 

A guy I know recommends "the high ground" for some reason.

 

An update on this. Had an amazing time at Gettsyburg with the folks. We ended up doing the tour where the guy drives your car around while narrating. He was absolutely incredible. We did a three-hour one, which was perfect for mom and dad given their age, but I could have done the longer ones you can also get. And knowing our Minnesota roots, he gave us great info on the 1st Minnesota, which played a key role in the battle. I'd love to get down there again and would definitely want to have our guy again though I assume all the licensed guides are incredible.

On our last day we made it out to Eisenhower's farm which was also fun. And the Civil War museum and cyclorama were also outstanding.

One thing with the actual battle. I obviously didn't read about it enough growing up as I pictured a big field. The battlefield. There's where they fought. That field. Didn't realize how sprawling it all was, which makes sense given the three days. So it was poignant but also just damn educational.

 

At the Little Drummer Boy campground? My family stayed there when I was about 12.

 

Looking it up, it was a different campground. I don’t remember the name of it.