Advice for First-Time Visitors to Gettysburg

Here is my Advice for First-Time Visitors to Gettysburg!

When I began researching our trip to Gettysburg National Military Park and Visitor Center, I noticed that every website claimed it was impossible to do even a cursory visit in two days. Given the experts’ estimate of two days and our one-day limit, I decided to plan a second trip instead of trying to cram everything into one visit. At day’s end, I was so glad we did.

I am looking forward to going back.

For the last decade, I have become a student of American history. It began when I played Abigail Adams in a local production of 1776. My area of focus has always been the Revolutionary War and the Colonial Period. Even with living so close to Colonial Williamsburg, I felt it was time to branch out and continue my education in a different era.

During the pandemic, several sites for Civil War history were open. I visited the American Civil War Museum, the White House of the Confederacy, Fort Monroe, and Appomattox. The more I studied, the more it seemed a visit to the town of Gettysburg was a natural next step.

An Overview of Gettysburg

I’m not a big war history person, and understanding the battlefield seemed very overwhelming. So I began my educational journey the way every Gen X person does, and searched for a movie. I was delighted to find a mini-series called Gettysburg with lots of actors I love and a PG rating. Although it is not 100% historically accurate, it provided a good foundation for my initial understanding. I also read the book Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South.

Gettysburg is considered a turning point in the Civil War, resulting in the most significant number of casualties. Union Major General Meade and the Army of the Potomac thwarted Robert E. Lee’s attempt to invade the North. The battle was from July 1st through July 3rd, 1863, when the Union forces finally drove the Confederates back into retreat.

Possibly even more famous than the battle is the visit President Abraham Lincoln made in November of 1863. The 272-word speech, known as the Gettysburg Address, is one of the most famous American speeches ever made.

Things You Must Do

Our first stop was the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum. The museum is privately owned and operated by the Gettysburg Foundation, in partnership with the National Park Service. Admission at the time of publication (September 2025) is $20.75, with additional discounts for several groups.

Your visit begins in the theater watching “A New Birth of Freedom” narrated by Morgan Freeman. The film covers the battle and ends with Lincoln’s famous address. You will recognize many faces in the movie, and it is very well made. As you exit, you enter the room with the Gettysburg Cyclorama. I could have spent an hour in this room and still not seen everything. It is a 360-degree, hand-painted canvas longer than a football field and higher than a four-story building that depicts the third day of battle. With the use of lighting, music, and narration, it offers another perspective on Gettysburg.

After this, you can enter the actual museum. It’s enormous. I could have easily spent the remaining five hours of our trip poring over the displays. There are over one million artifacts on display- uniforms, flags, firearms, maps, furniture, and more. Most of my party ducked out after about 90 minutes and took advantage of some comfortable benches in the lobby. They also have a fantastic bookstore, and we all did some shopping.

Due to things I had seen online about the quality of the visitor center’s food, we all brought lunch. Although this was a frugal move, I would say the dining area has had quite the glow-up. I would have been very comfortable eating what I saw while we were there. So if a picnic lunch isn’t possible, eating on site seems like a relaxing option.

The battlefield is FREE to visit. You will need a vehicle to get around, as it is enormous. While you can download the National Parks Service app and allow it to guide you, we decided to go on a tour. Most people choose to go on a bus tour, and we saw multiple buses around the battlefields. These were about $50 per adult after tip.

Since five of us were going and we had a vehicle that could accommodate all of us, we decided to get a licensed battlefield guide. A three-hour private tour was $117 before tip, so the price was almost the same. This also gave me the chance to ask all the questions I wanted without annoying other tour attendees. The guide drives, and you can request to visit anything you would like. Since we were rookies, we decided to let our guide pick. We visited the key sites I wanted to see, including the Longstreet Memorial, Spangler’s Spring, the wheatfield, the peach orchard, the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, and Little Round Top, which was my top priority (especially after watching the mini-series).

Things We Will Do On The Next Visit in Adams County

The Eisenhower National Historic Site– the preserved farm of General and 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The Jennie Wade House– the house of the only civilian to be killed during the Battle of Gettysburg.

David Wills House– the house where Lincoln put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address.

Look for Specific Monuments– Gettysburg Military Park has over 1300 monuments, markers, and memorials.  I want to explore our family history and identify specific things to look for.

Gettysburg National Cemetery– This is my biggest regret from our visit.  We could have probably crammed it in at the end, but I wanted to take the time.

Visit Local Shops – Gettysburg is a great town with a great main street type area.  I can’t wait to go back, shop, and eat!