Bucket list - Gettysburg

[klongstreet]

Just booked for Gettysburg and am traveling in March, can anyone help me with taxi price from Harrisburg
weather, is two weeks too long, any good bars etc
many thanks

 

[MRB1863]

Just booked for Gettysburg and am traveling in March, can anyone help me with taxi price from Harrisburg
weather, is two weeks too long, any good bars etc
many thanks

A tour of Steinwehr Avenue is a must! Along Steinwehr is Gettysburg Eddie's, Dobbin House, O'Rourke's, and a few others. A great stroll indeed, looking at all the relic and tourist shops, restaurants and such. There are some good pubs near the square too. Gettysburg is chocked full of magical places. Where do you plan to have lodging? Two weeks is enough to get you addicted and having you wish for another two weeks, then another, then...
You may be way more thrifty to consider a rental car rather than a taxi for transportation from Harrisburg!

 

[E_just_E]

Two weeks is not too long, if you have a rental car A good week is pretty much required for the battlefield and the second week you can explore near by areas.

(717) 948-5990 is the phone number of the Harrisburg Airport Taxi. I think that it will take you about $50 or so each way to get to Gettysburg.

However, the battlefield is huge and you'd really like to have a car, to at least go around once, or to drive to particular places and then walk. Even if you will not go to the Cavalry Fields. The Day 1 battlefield loop, from the Lutheran Seminary to the Eternal Peace memorial and then back through the town is a good 10-12 miles, and that does not include Cashtown or anything else around the Chambersburg Pike. The Day 2 loop, pretty much from the Seminary and around Confederate Avenue is a good 15-17 miles, and I am not counting inner battlefield roads like Wheatfield, Sedwick, Sykes, etc. Nor am I counting going up and down Culps Hill And the problem is that you cannot chop it to 4-5 miles a half day, because getting transportation to and from there (good luck finding a cab at round top ) would be a nasty proposition.

Is it doable without a car? Yes, but you really got to be in shape and have a bike or something. But, if you have a bike, you might as well rent a car.

The weather in March can be from snowy and 30s to mild and 50s+, depending on when you are travelling. Can pop up to 70s on occasion. March is usually ok. Depends on the year too. Get some winter clothing for sure, but also get some warm weather stuff. It also depends on where you are from. If you are from Minnesota, it will be like late Spring for you, if you are from Florida or S. CA, it will be like the dead of winter...

 

[Jamieva]

I'd highly recommend renting a car. Have you considered Uber for the ride from the airport vs a traditional taxi?

2 weeks is way more than enough for Gettysburg. If you truly go for 2 weeks you want to have a car because you could easily drive to Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Monocacy and the VA sites if you are really ambitious.

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

If you absolutely can't drive the next best thing I would think would be the battlefield bus tour. I think though during non-peak season they only have one or two bus tours a day. Here's the link - http://www.gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com/

I've never done the tour bus, as I've always driven around the battlefield, but I know friends who have and enjoyed it. Also without a car its more difficult to get to some of the farther afield places like the Seminary Ridge Museum and the Cavalry Fields, which are things you don't want to miss if you're spending two weeks there. While you can spend a lot of time in town at the shops and various museums there, there is so much more to see than just the center city and the battlefield. Even the quaint little towns surrounding Gettysburg like New Oxford are worth a visit, as they have unique shops, restaurants and lovely architecture from the era.

 

[War Horse]

Don't forget about the Farnsworth House. The tavern plays the movie Gettysburg continuously. The food is excellent and they dress in period outfits. All posts above are true. 2 weeks is a dream. You will come back a changed person. Lucky you!

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

I'd highly recommend renting a car. Have you considered Uber for the ride from the airport vs a traditional taxi?

2 weeks is way more than enough for Gettysburg. If you truly go for 2 weeks you want to have a car because you could easily drive to Antietam, Harpers Ferry, Monocacy and the VA sites if you are really ambitious.

Uber would be much cheaper than a standard taxi. Also too a nice 30-40 minute ride you can also visit the Civil War Museum of Medicine in Fredrick, MD - http://www.civilwarmed.org/

 

[War Horse]

I completely forgot about the Reliance Mine Saloon. It's an awesome place. Many of the Guides and Authors hangout there and the ambiance is out of this world. If you want to talk CW with some the most knowledgeable people anywhere this is the place.

 

[War Horse]

Here's the link


http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...ance_Mine_Saloon-Gettysburg_Pennsylvania.html

 

[MRB1863]

I completely forgot about the Reliance Mine Saloon. It's an awesome place. Many of the Guides and Authors hangout there and the ambiance is out of this world. If you want to talk CW with some the most knowledgeable people anywhere this is the place.

Yeah! I thought about that one too, pictured it in my head, then....poof it was gone before i could type it! Getting older is no fun!

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

I completely forgot about the Reliance Mine Saloon. It's an awesome place. Many of the Guides and Authors hangout there and the ambiance is out of this world. If you want to talk CW with some the most knowledgeable people anywhere this is the place.

How have I never been too his place?! I've been to Gettysburg at least a dozen times or more. This goes to show you that you'll always find something new even in a place you've been before!

 

[MRB1863]

How have I never been too his place?! I've been to Gettysburg at least a dozen times or more. This goes to show you that you'll always find something new even in a place you've been before!

Apparently you haunt the classier crypts! We folks are apt to drop in to many doors in search of the ultimate bar-stool. (not that we only drink) The menu fare is good too! Like the fries at Hunt's, even without a cold beer!!!! Hunt's is one of our "must stops" each time we jaunt to Gettysburg from late March til late-November, their open season.

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

Apparently you haunt the classier crypts! We folks are apt to drop in to many doors in search of the ultimate bar-stool. (not that we only drink) The menu fare is good too! Like the fries at Hunt's, even without a cold beer!!!! Hunt's is one of our "must stops" each time we jaunt to Gettysburg from late March til late-November, their open season.

LOL! So it seems! I usually don't stay overnight in Gettysburg, which might be why I'm not familiar with saloon. When I go with my family, my dad refuses to sleep in a hotel in Gettysburg - I think he took his grandfather's ghost stories to heart a little too much! The other times I've been with friends I'm surprised we didn't end up there...hmm...will have to put that on my list next go 'round.

 

[MRB1863]

LOL! So it seems! I usually don't stay overnight in Gettysburg, which might be why I'm not familiar with saloon. When I go with my family, my dad refuses to sleep in a hotel in Gettysburg - I think he took his grandfather's ghost stories to heart a little too much! The other times I've been with friends I'm surprised we didn't end up there...hmm...will have to put that on my list next go 'round.

Some of the haunts ARE "boo-tiful" you are sure to enjoy!!!

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

@klongstreet you can also request by mail the Gettysburg Travel Guide for free. Usually you can pick it up in town as well, but here's the link to the site - http://www.destinationgettysburg.com/request-guidebook.asp

The website seems to have much of the information too but I always like hard copies, call me old fashioned

I recommend also starting at the Visitor Center before you do any tour of the battlefield, even after all this time I still go there first, at this point mainly for the amazing bookstore/gift shop, but as a new visitor you'll find it most useful.

 

[Legion Para]

While in Harrisburg take a few hours and visit the National Civil War Museum.

http://www.nationalcivilwarmuseum.org

 

[Legion Para]

I would also suggest you visit Ronn Palm's Museum of Civil War Images while in Gettysburg.

http://www.ronnpalmmuseum.com

 

[Legion Para]

The Seminary Ridge Museum opened on 1 July 2013.

http://www.seminaryridgemuseum.org

 

[E_just_E]

Things might have changed now, but IIRC, the Mine Saloon had only Miller and Yuengling on tap and they had no food
Be warned, unless someone has been there more recently and things have changed.

Gettysburg is bit of funny as far as bars and bar food goes. There is a place that even calls itself "The Pub", but they got tablecloths linen napkins and $30-40 entrees...

Battlefield Brew Works is an interesting place in several respects. It is located at a Confederate Hospital (Monfort's Farm). It is a local microbrew, which is hit and miss, but they are trying and are better than Miller and Bud. The food is akin to what you would get outside a Home Depot on a summer Saturday; at about 10 times the price. And they do have entertainment in the weekends, including local singers, open mike comedians and burlesque. And close at 11 PM. Interesting place, as I said.

O'Rorke's is kinda your 'standard neighborhood bar', other than the facts that they try to pass themselves as Irish pub, call themselves a 'family eatery' and have about 80 items in their menu. Blah in many degrees, but blah is better than nasty. Again, Bud, Yuengling, and the Irish Bud products (Guiness & Harp) only on tap.

Blue and Gray Bar and Grill. Nothing much about Bar here, and the Grill part is just out of a Greek Diner. With eggrolls too. Biggest attraction: their burgers named after either Union or Confederate Generals and come with toothpick Union or Confederate flags. Unless the Confederate flag ones are banned these days. Almost forgot. They come in 2 sizes: Little Round Top and Big Round Top. What would you expect with a name like that?

You would want to go to The Garryowen Irish Pub. Decent selection on beer and Ales on tap, including real Irish as well as local microbrews, seasonally changing menu and some standard Irish pub fare. And not any 1863 pretense. The owners are Irish immigrants, and they know what they are doing. Probably the best bar at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Eddie's. See O'Rorke's up there, substitute "Irish" with "Baseball" and you got it.

That's pretty much my Pub/Bar review of Gettysburg

 

[klongstreet]

Many thanks for all the well informed tips, they are much appreciated ( as I would expect from this wonderful site). I wish I could meet up and thank you all over a beer and a chat, however i know this is not possible. I will instead, pay homage to the fallen, give my time and respect to all, and above all continue to listen and learn. Again many thanks to you all, without your knowledge and wisdom this site could not function.
I will be staying at the quality inn from the 3rd March-17th march, get in touch if you are visiting and would like to meet.