Visited:

A lot of… something?

Gettysburg sure is a lot of fields, some statues, and a college town. We highly recommend driving yourself around and following the tour through the app on your phone. If you’re going to the Visitor’s Center, be prepared to fork out some cash if you want to visit their newest attractions. The cemetery was probably my favorite part, partially because it seems to be a still-operating location for veterans. There were fallen soldiers and family members from recent wars, so it’s pretty great to see something from so long ago still in use. Other than that, Gettysburg is a lot of open space and pretty underwhelming unless you have a lot of prior knowledge when it comes to the Civil War. Also, if you’re looking to conquer a fear of heights, there’s a pretty great watchtower to help with that.

-G

Gettysburg was sadly the biggest letdown of a park I’ve been to. I love history, and I understand that money needs to be made to maintain the parks; holy hell this place wants to nickel and dime you into the dirt. We saw no fewer than three donation boxes when every other visitor center has one. Everything is very expensive. That could be forgiven if the tours were good and the guides knowledgeable - that is not the case here from my experience. My father used to tell a story of a fellow tour guide he knew who just made facts up because “they don’t know any better.” That attitude was on full display. A guide leading a group was going on about this beautiful statue of General Meade and how this is where he stood his ground. We were mere feet from a sign for where Pickett’s charge started. The statue in question was a Confederate statue. Not sure if you knew, but, Meade weren’t no graycoat.

-B