Things to Do

Things to Do in Gettysburg, PA

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Plan your Gettysburg visit with battlefield tours, museums, and time to explore beyond the historic sites. From York & Stratton, walk to downtown shops, restaurants, theaters, and tasting rooms, or venture farther for orchards and nearby trails.

The Ultimate Guide to Gettysburg

Gettysburg’s battlefield is the starting point for many visits, but the town deserves time of its own. Soldiers fought through its streets, homes became hospitals, and Abraham Lincoln stayed on the square before delivering the Gettysburg Address. Visiting these places helps explain how the battle affected the people who lived here.

Today, those historic streets also lead to independent shops, restaurants, tasting rooms, and a restored theater. Stay a few days to explore the battlefield, spend an evening downtown, and take a drive through the farms and orchards of Adams County. From York & Stratton, many of downtown Gettysburg’s attractions are within walking distance.

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Begin at Gettysburg National Military Park

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Gettysburg National Military Park covers more than 6,000 acres, with roughly 1,300 monuments and markers across its fields, ridges, woods, and farm lanes. The park grounds and roads are free to enter and open daily from thirty minutes before sunrise until thirty minutes after sunset.

Begin at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center. The museum places the battle within the broader history of the Civil War, and the film A New Birth of Freedom provides an introduction for first-time visitors. Allow time for the Gettysburg Cyclorama, an immense restored painting of Pickett’s Charge that surrounds the viewer. Sound and lighting help explain the scene and the fighting it depicts.

The official sixteen-stop auto route takes about two to three hours, allowing time to use the National Park Service app and stop along the way. For a more personal introduction, book a two-hour tour with a Licensed Battlefield Guide. Your guide can tailor the tour to your interests, answer questions, and explain how the terrain influenced decisions on the battlefield. Guides can accompany you in your vehicle, lead a caravan, or conduct a bus tour. Reserve in advance for summer visits and major commemorative weekends.

Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard help visitors understand the fighting on July 2. At the High Water Mark on Cemetery Ridge, look west across the ground crossed during Pickett’s Charge. If you have time, walk between the Virginia Memorial and the Angle to get a better sense of the distance and terrain.

Explore Gettysburg’s Museums and Historic Homes

Gettysburg had approximately 2,400 residents in 1863. The battle left about 51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing, and churches, schools, and private homes became hospitals. The town’s museums explore this history through the experiences of civilians, nurses, children, free Black residents, and wounded soldiers, as well as those who fought.

The Gettysburg Diorama & History Center helps visitors picture the battle as a whole.
The Gettysburg Heritage Center examines both military and civilian experiences.
The Seminary Ridge Museum & Education Center occupies the 1832 Lutheran Seminary building
Beyond the Battle Museum traces Adams County’s history from long before 1863 through the present.
The Shriver House Museum tells the story of George and Hettie Shriver, whose home was occupied by Confederate sharpshooters.
The Jennie Wade House marks the place where twenty-year-old Jennie Wade was killed while preparing bread.
The David Wills House is where Abraham Lincoln stayed on November 18, 1863, and finished revising the Gettysburg Address.

Follow the Gettysburg Black History Trail

The free, self-guided Gettysburg Black History Trail explores the town’s history through its Black community. It connects homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, and battlefield sites, with stories of free Black landowners, Underground Railroad conductors, residents targeted by Confederate kidnappers, and veterans of the United States Colored Troops.

Downtown stops include the historic AME Zion Church site, the Franklin Street Colored School, and Lincoln Cemetery. The trail also reaches the Abraham Brian Farm on the battlefield and museums including Seminary Ridge and Beyond the Battle. Together, these places show how slavery, freedom, and citizenship shaped Gettysburg before and after the Civil War.

Things to Do in Gettysburg with Children

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For younger visitors, learning about the children who lived through the battle can make its history easier to understand. Children of Gettysburg 1863, inside the historic Rupp House, follows local children and teenagers through daily life, the arrival of the armies, the fighting, and its aftermath.

Hands-on galleries encourage families to explore together. Most visits last about forty-five minutes, making the museum easy to combine with the Jennie Wade House or a walk through the National Cemetery.

The Gettysburg Diorama is another useful stop for children who learn best by seeing how events fit together. Between museums, walk a short section of the battlefield or visit the playgrounds at Gettysburg Recreation Park. Families can also cross the pedestrian-only Sachs Covered Bridge, built in 1852 and used by both armies during the campaign.

Take a Gettysburg Ghost Tour

Ghost tours offer another way to explore Gettysburg after dark. Narrated walking tours combine local history with supernatural accounts, while paranormal investigations use equipment and access to indoor or outdoor locations to search for evidence. Check the format before booking so you know what to expect.

Mark Nesbitt’s Ghosts of Gettysburg is the original local operator, with tours based on the former park ranger and battlefield guide’s long-running book series. Its candlelight walks combine documented history with accounts collected over decades, following routes along Baltimore Street and near Gettysburg College.

Several local operators also offer indoor and outdoor ghost hunts. Compare locations, walking distances, age restrictions, and the type of experience offered. Book early for autumn weekends, and bring an extra layer for cooler evenings.

An Evening in Downtown Gettysburg

The Majestic Theater opened in 1925 as the largest vaudeville and silent film theater in south-central Pennsylvania. Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower later attended films and performances here, sometimes with visiting world leaders. The building also served the White House press corps during Eisenhower’s years at his Gettysburg farm. Following a major restoration, the Majestic now hosts concerts, theater, dance, comedy, independent films, and classic cinema. Check the program while planning your stay, particularly if you would like to pair a performance with dinner downtown. For a historic dining setting, the Dobbin House Tavern, built in 1776, serves colonial-inspired dishes in candlelit rooms and its stone cellar tavern. Gettysburg also has breweries, neighborhood restaurants, and cocktail bars for a more contemporary evening. Leave time for a walk around Lincoln Square before returning to the hotel.

Adams County’s Wineries, Cider Houses, and Breweries

Adams County is Pennsylvania’s leading apple-producing county. Its orchards supply fruit for local ciders, fruit wines, seasonal beers, and spirits, while nearby farms provide grain for area distillers. Downtown tasting rooms make it easy to sample local drinks, and a drive into the countryside takes you closer to the farms behind them.

In town, Reid’s Winery Tasting Room & Cider House offers an introduction to local cider. Adams County Winery’s Gettysburg Wine Shop carries bottles from its Orrtanna vineyard. Mason Dixon Distillery produces spirits from locally sourced grain in a restored furniture factory, with a full restaurant alongside the stills. For beer, consider Fourscore Beer Co. or Appalachian Brewing Company’s Battlefield location.

Outside Gettysburg, Adams County Winery has operated in Orrtanna since 1975. Thirsty Farmer Brew Works serves small-batch beer and cider on a family farm across from the Historic Round Barn. Boyer Cellars, nearby orchards, farm markets, and seasonal festivals provide several stops for a half-day drive through the northern part of the county.

The Adams County Field to Festival Trail has replaced the former Pour Tour and Crop Hop. Its free seasonal digital passport connects farm markets, orchards, craft beverage producers, and agricultural events from spring through the October harvest.

Browse Gettysburg’s Independent Shops

Gettysburg’s shops reflect both its history and the interests of the people who live and work here. The Horse Soldier specializes in authenticated military antiques, with carefully selected pieces that reward a closer look. Dirty Billy’s Hats makes historically accurate headwear for reenactors, collectors, and film productions. The Regimental Quartermaster carries reproduction uniforms and equipment, offering a detailed look at period clothing and supplies.

Gallery 30 features work by regional artists and makers, while Lark Gifts carries contemporary gifts with color and humor. Together, these shops offer plenty of ways to bring home something from your visit, whether your interests lean toward Civil War history, local art, or an unexpected find.

Explore Beyond Downtown Gettysburg

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The Eisenhower National Historic Site adjoins the battlefield and preserves the only home Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower ever owned. Visitors can drive directly to the farm and park on site. The grounds are open daily, while ranger-led farm walks and tours of the furnished home follow a seasonal schedule. Check the current tour days before visiting.

North of Gettysburg, the orchards are worth exploring during spring bloom and the late summer and fall harvest. The Historic Round Barn, built in 1914, operates as a seasonal farm market. Hollabaugh Bros. offers a market, pick-your-own fruit, and events throughout the growing season. The National Apple Harvest Festival, held over two October weekends, is the county’s major harvest celebration.

For a short outing, walk across Sachs Covered Bridge over Marsh Creek. If you have more time, Caledonia State Park offers ten miles of trails, remnants of the ironworks associated with abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, and a section of the Appalachian Trail.

Farther north, Pine Grove Furnace State Park has lakes, the Appalachian Trail Museum, and access to Pole Steeple. The short, steep climb rewards hikers with a broad view of the surrounding landscape.

Plan Your Stay Around Gettysburg’s Annual Events

Gettysburg’s annual calendar includes commemorations, living history programs, and seasonal celebrations. Battle anniversary events take place around July 1 through 3. September brings a major World War II weekend at the Eisenhower site, followed by the National Apple Harvest Festival over two October weekends.

November’s Dedication Day and Remembrance Day observances include a parade and cemetery illumination on scheduled years. In December, a town-wide Christmas festival brings visitors downtown for the holiday season.

These events can be a good reason to plan a visit, though popular weekends also mean fuller hotels, busy restaurants, and changes to traffic patterns. Reserve early and consult official calendars for current dates and programs.

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