Visit Gettysburg National Military Park for a beautiful ride through scenic grounds full of history and a nearby town packed with culture.
Gettysburg National Military Park is a breathtakingly beautiful and historically significant destination. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought over three days (July 1 to July 3, 1863). Confederate commander Robert E. Lee took his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania intent on continuing an unbroken string of victories. Lee initially prevailed, but flawed tactics and Union resolve turned the course of the battle (and ultimately, the Civil War). Pickett’s Charge, a near-suicidal and uphill advance across a mile of deadly Union artillery fire, sealed the South’s fate. During that engagement more than 12,000 Confederate troops marched directly into a Union cannon barrage, those who survived closed to small arms distances, and then those who survived the small arms fire engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Nearly half the Confederate troops were lost.
Prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, muskets transitioned from smoothbores to rifled barrels. Military tactics, however, remained the same, formations closed to can’t-miss distances, and the results were horrific. With 51,000 casualties and 11 general officer deaths, Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee, charismatic hero of the South, was soundly defeated. U.S. General George Meade, appointed to command the Union troops just days before the battle, achieved a tactical victory but a strategic defeat when he allowed Lee to withdraw. Lincoln said it best: Meade held the Confederate Army in the palm of his hand but refused to close his fist.
Gettysburg is history you can feel. It is a town, a National Military Park, and hallowed ground. Some months after the battle, Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address. It was elegant, eloquent, and with 272 words, only two minutes long. Its words carry as much meaning today as they did 160 years ago.
I first visited Gettysburg more than 60 years ago as a little kid and I was a little kid again on this visit. Gettysburg was even better than I remembered. The Visitor Center is new and there are far more battlefield monuments (approximately 1,350 today), but the battlefield remains unchanged. Numerous state militias fought at Gettysburg; each erected monuments in the years following the Civil War. The New York monuments had been the largest until that state completed its last. Pennsylvania, waiting and watching patiently, then built a monument that dwarfed New York’s. All the monuments are impressive and more than a few offer dramatic photo opportunities. You can ride your motorcycle through Gettysburg National Military Park on a self-guided tour along an extensive network of two-lane roads, you can take a bus tour, or you can hire a guide. The roads leading to Gettysburg and the riding in Pennsylvania are awesome. Maryland is not far and the riding through Catoctin Mountain Park on Maryland’s State Route 77 is some of the best you’ll ever find. Take my word on this: Gettysburg National Military Park is impressive. You need to experience it.

The Skinny
- What: Gettysburg National Military Park, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 17325-2804, 717-334-1124. No admission fee to the Park, the Visitors Center, and the Museum; there are modest fees for the film and cyclorama painting. Open 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
- How to Get There: From the east or west ride Interstate 76 and pick up any of the numbered state routes heading south. From the south take Interstate 83 north and State Route 116 east.
- Best Kept Secrets: Neill Avenue (also known as the Lost Avenue); it’s the least visited area of Gettysburg National Military Park and probably the most original in showing how the battlefield looked on those three fateful 1863 days. In town, it’s The Blue and Gray Grill (their chili is wonderful) and Mr. G’s Ice Cream just a block away.
- Don’t Miss: The Pennsylvania Monument. At 110 feet tall, it’s the largest on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Climbing the interior spiral staircase will reveal the entire Battlefield.
- Avoid: Not checking the weather (it gets cold and icy during the winter), not bringing a camera, and speeding (Gettysburg National Military Park should be savored, not rushed).
- More Info: Gettysburg National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)
- More Photos: The ExhaustNotes Blog