Gettysburg Battlefield Driving Tour
Follow the battle from the ridges west of town to the Union line and the fields fought over on its flanks.
Pennsylvania
Things to do in Gettysburg by car
The drive
Gettysburg on foot
Gettysburg was a crossroads town of about 2,400 people when two armies collided here on July 1, 1863. Three days later some 51,000 men had been killed, wounded, captured or listed as missing, and that November Abraham Lincoln came to dedicate a cemetery for the Union dead. The fields around the town are now a national military park, with roads laid out so you can follow the fighting by car. Our drive follows the battle in order in nine stops. It starts on McPherson Ridge, where John Buford's dismounted cavalry held the Chambersburg Pike on the first morning, and passes the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, dedicated in 1938 before veterans of both armies. On Seminary Ridge you stand on the Confederate line. At Little Round Top you hear how close the Union came to leaving its most important hill empty, and at Devil's Den, among the boulders, how a famous photograph was staged with a borrowed body. The Wheatfield was fought over again and again on July 2. The Pennsylvania State Memorial, the largest on the field, lists the state's soldiers by name. At the High Water Mark you see the small clump of trees Pickett's Charge aimed for, and the drive ends at the Soldiers' National Cemetery, where Lincoln spoke beside the graves of 979 unknown soldiers. The route is 12.9 miles and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes with the stories. Getting out at the stops is the best way to see the ground, so allow longer if you can.
Gettysburg: questions people ask
How long is the Gettysburg battlefield driving tour?
It's 12.9 miles and takes about 1 hour 15 minutes with all nine stories. Getting out at the stops adds time.
Where does the Gettysburg auto tour start?
On McPherson Ridge, west of town on the Chambersburg Pike, where the battle began on the morning of July 1, 1863.
Does the tour follow the battle in order?
Yes. It moves from the first day's fighting west of town to the second day's fields to the south, and ends with the third day and the cemetery where Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address.
Is there a self-guided tour of Gettysburg?
Yes. "Gettysburg Battlefield Driving Tour" is on Stories. Unlock it once for your group for $4.99 and play it in your browser; the app plays each story as you arrive.
Every Stories tour plays in your browser, no app needed. How it works
Know someone headed to Gettysburg? Give a walk as a gift, emailed on the day you pick.