From mid-June through mid-August, Gettysburg National Military Park offers a variety of ranger guided programs for our visitors with subjects ranging from battle history to medical practices of the Civil War, living history and battlefield hikes. We also offer programs for our younger visitors. Ranger guided programs are offered at the visitor center, on the battlefield, and in the Soldiers' National Cemetery. Programs average twenty minutes to two hours in length, depending on the subject matter and location. Look for the link on this page of the current schedule or ask for a complete schedule at the park information desk during your visit. Stay tuned to our park web site for updates or changes to the summer schedule, which is usually available by May 1 each year. Best of all, these ranger guided programs are free of charge.

Please note that these programs are scheduled only during our summer season from mid-June to mid-August, but some of our daily ranger programs will be offered through mid-October. We will also have ranger-guided "battle walks" through mid-October. Check the latest daily battle walk schedule (at right) or inquire at the park information desk on the day of your visit for further information.

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THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

Our series of ranger programs that focus on the highpoints of this great Civil War battle:

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG- AN OVERVIEW (30 minutes) This brief programs provides a concise overview of the Gettysburg Campaign and all three days of the battle. Meet in the Ford Education Center inside the Museum and Visitor Center, daily at 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M.

THE FIRST DAY (1 hour) This program explores why the battle occurred at Gettysburg and how the fighting on July 1 shaped the rest of the battle. Meet at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial, Auto Tour Stop 2, daily at 10:00 A.M. and 3:30 P.M.

THE SECOND DAY (1 hour) Explore the events and actions that resulted in some of the most desperate and bloody fighting of the American Civil War. Meet at the Peach Orchard, daily at 2:00 P.M.

THE THIRD DAY: "Pickett's Charge" (1 hour) Learn what happened during "Pickett's Charge" on July 3, 1863 and discover what its outcome meant for the Union and Confederacy. Meet at the "Ranger Program" sign in the National Cemetery parking lot between Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue, daily at 10:30 A.M. and 4:00 P.M.

RANGER GUIDED BATTLE WALKS (2 hours or more ) A different program every day, these two hour plus battlefield walks visit parts of the battlefield park to look closer at the smaller stories and events that make up the larger story of Gettysburg. Walk the route of Pickett's Charge, explore Devil's Den and the Wheatfield, walk the charge of the Louisiana Tigers at East Cemetery Hill, and much, much more. Check at the information desk for a complete schedule of daily topics and where to meet the park ranger. Water, hat and proper foot gear are highly recommended. Daily at 3:30 P.M. (Walks begin at 3:00 PM in the spring and fall months.)

EAST CAVALRY FIELD (1 hour) Visit the scene of one of the largest cavalry battles of the war, where Confederate General JEB Stuart was stopped by a brave young Union officer named George Armstrong Custer. Offered once weekly. Inquire at the information desk for details and where to meet the ranger for this program three miles east of Gettysburg. Wednesday and Saturday at 1:30 P.M.

"KEY MOMENTS" PROGRAMS

These programs link several key moments of the battle to the exhibits in the museum gallery of the Museum and VisitorCenter. These programs are one hour in length:

LITTLE ROUND TOP (1 hour) This program focuses on the July 2 fighting for this critical terrain feature, one of the most famous hills in America. Meet at the General Warren statue on the summit of the hill, Auto Tour Stop 8. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 11:00 A.M.

DEVIL'S DEN (1 hour) More famous today for its unusual rock formations and stories of Confederate sharpshooters, Devil's Den was vitally important to its Union defenders on July 2, 1863. Meet at the parking lot on Sickles Avenue at Devil's Den, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:00 P.M.

CULP'S HILL (1 hour) Walk the wooded slopes of Culp's Hill on the right end of the Union line where the most sustained fighting of the battle took place on July 2 and 3. Meet at the Culp's Hill Tower on Slocum Avenue. Sunday, Tuesday,Thursday and Saturday at 3:00 P.M.

CEMETERY HILL (1 hour) Famous today as the site of the Soldiers' NationalCemetery and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, this hill was also of vital importance during the Battle of Gettysburg. Influencing all three days of the battle, it was imperative that this critical terrain feature be held by the Union Army at all costs. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the National Cemetery. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:00 A.M.

THE AFTERMATH OF GETTYSBURG

Ranger programs that focus on Gettysburg after the battle:

NATIONAL CEMETERY (35 minutes) Join a guided walk for a 35-minute program that explores the meaning and cost of the Battle of Gettysburg, and of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the National Cemetery, daily at 11:00, 2:00, and 3:30.

CARE OF THE WOUNDED (1 hour) Over 27,000 soldiers were wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg. Treating them and saving their lives is a story of courage, ingenuity and human resilience. Meet at the Ranger Program Site behind the Museum and Visitor Center, daily at 3:00 P.M. 

GETTYSBURG: THE AFTERMATH OF BATTLE (1 hour) This program examines the consequences of a huge battle like Gettysburg and how soldiers and civilians alike dealt with its circumstances to avert a crisis much worse than the battle itself. Meet at the Ranger Program sign in the National Cemetery parking lot between Taneytown Road and Steinwehr Avenue, daily at 1:00 P.M.

THE CIVIL WAR EXPERIENCE

The story of the Civil War beyond the battlefield of Gettysburg:

 

CIVIL WAR SOLDIER (1 hour) Over 160,000 soldiers who participated in the Battle of Gettysburg. Find out why they enlisted, why they fought, and what they endured during the four years of the American Civil War. Meet at the Ranger Program Site behind the Museum and Visitor Center, daily at 2:00 P.M.

A VISIT TO THE PAST (45 minutes) Step back in time with costumed interpreters who portray men and women who witnessed and participated in the events of 1863 at Gettysburg. Programs offered daily at the Visitor Center or beginning at the Ranger Program sign at the National Cemetery Parking Lot between Steinwehr Avenue and Taneytown Road. Visitor Center Programs at Ranger Program Site 2- 10:30 and 1:30. Cemetery Parking Lot Programs at 11:30, 12:30 and 2:30.

EVENING CAMPFIRE PROGRAMS. Rangers present programs on a wide variety of topics on the Battle of Gettysburg and the American Civil War. Campfire programs are held nightly at the park Amphitheater at Pitzer Woods, Auto Tour Stop 6, beginning at 8:30 P.M.

PROGRAMS FOR YOUNG VISITORS

JOIN THE ARMY! (1 hour) Children "enlist" in the army and learn something about what it meant to be a soldier in a Civil War regiment. This program is for children ages 6-12 only, and held outside of the Museum and Visitor Center. Sign up at the Visitor Center information desk. (Limited to 25 participants). Daily at 11:00 A.M.

JUNIOR RANGER PROGRAM. This free family-oriented activity allows children (ages 5-13) to become Junior Rangers by completing an activity guide as they visit the park and museum. Ask for details and the program guide at the park information desk in the Visitor Center.

THE BATTLEFIELD PARK

A look at Gettysburg as a memorial to the armies and as a National Military Park:

MONUMENTS OFGETTYSBURG (45 minutes) The Gettysburg battlefield contains the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture. Who created these monuments and decided where to place them? What do they symbolize? Learn the extraordinary stories behind these memorials during this ranger-conducted program held in the Ford Education Center classroom of the Museum and Visitor Center, Saurday and Sunday at 1:30 P.M.

HIKE WITH A RANGER (3 hours) Join a ranger for a three-hour hike on the battlefield. This informal program examines Gettysburg's fascinating layers of history, extending from the battle to present day. Offered once weekly. Water, hat and proper foot gear are highly recommended. Check at the park information desk for starting location on the day of the program, every Wednesday at 9:00 A.M.

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMS

147th Anniversary Battle Walks, July 1-4, 2010
Special ranger-led programs on the battlefield discuss key events during the three day battle. These popular programs average two and one-half to three hours in length. Check our website at ww.nps.gov/gett in early 2010 for updates as they occur.

 

147th Anniversary Real-time Programs, July 1-3, 2010
Join a team of rangers for a series of special hourly programs that highlight specific events and chronologically follow the course of the Battle of Gettysburg. Check our website at www.nps.gov/gett in early 2010 for updates as they occur.