Gettysburg National Military Park - Places To Go (U.S. National Park Service)

The Museum and Visitor Center

(National Park Service)

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MUSEUM AND VISITOR CENTER

The National Park Service Museum and Visitor Center at 1195 Baltimore Pike (Rt. 97) is the place to begin your visit. The center offers information on park tours and local information, a vast museum that focuses on the Civil War and the story of the Battle of Gettysburg featuring relics from many collections including the Rosensteel Collection of Gettysburg-related items, the film "A New Birth of Freedom" about the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Gettysburg Cyclorama. There is a Resources Room with information on park exhibits and databases, an expansive bookstore and Refreshment Saloon located in the center. There is an all inclusive fee to enter the museum gallery, to view the film and the cyclorama program.

The Museum and Visitor Center is open daily from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. with hours from 8:00 to 6:00 P.M. in the spring and fall months, and summer hours from 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. The center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Check our Operating Hours and Seasons page for specific dates. MORE

The park is open daily and park visitors may drive their vehicles to many of the places known in battlefield lore- Culp's Hill, McPherson's Ridge, Cemetery Hill, Spangler's Spring, Devil's Den, the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and the "High Water Mark" to name but a few. The park also has hiking trails, a horse trail, and welcomes on-road bicyclists.

Within walking distance of the Visitor Center is the Soldiers' National Cemetery where Union dead from the Battle of Gettysburg were buried and today is the resting place for veterans and their families from all wars. It is also the place where President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. Park visitors usually make the cemetery a must-see stopping point during their visit. The cemetery is open from dawn to sundown, with parking located in Ziegler's Grove at the intersection of Hancock Avenue and Taneytown Road. The cemetery is closed to vehicular traffic with the exception of mobility impaired visitors who may obtain a permit from the National Park Service at the Museum and Visitor Center to drive into the cemetery. (Permission must be obtained before entering the cemetery.)

(Main Street Gettysburg)

The David Wills House

THE DAVID WILLS HOUSE

Attorney David Wills' home in Gettysburg was not just the center of Gettysburg, it was the center of the immense clean-up process after the Battle of Gettysburg and where President Abraham Lincoln put the finishing touches on his Gettysburg Address. The speech transformed Gettysburg's community from a place of devastation to the symbol of our nation's new birth of freedom.

The Wills House museum features six galleries, two of which include rooms that have been restored to their 1863 appearance: Will's office where he received letters from families looking for loved ones after the battle and undertook plans for a national cemetery and its dedication; and the bedroom where Lincoln stayed the night before he delivered the Gettysburg Address.

The Wills House is operated by Main Street Gettysburg as an official partner with Gettysburg National Military Park. The property is on the Register of National Historic Places.

The Wills House is open from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Wednesday through Sunday during winter, 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Tuesday through Sunday during the fall and spring, and 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. seven days per week during the summer months. There is a fee to enter the Wills House. MORE

McMILLAN WOODS YOUTH CAMPGROUND

McMillian Woods Youth Campground is open to scout troops and youth organizations on a seasonal basis by reservation only. Reservations for camping at the site are accepted by a lottery system, beginning the first of every year. There is no commercial campground in the battlefield park and individual camping is not allowed within the park. MORE