Gettysburg Battlefield Fun – Experiential Learning

You’ve reached “home base” for fun ways to learn Civil War history at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Start here to plan your Gettysburg battlefield bike tour. And maybe learn about the battlefield by perusing this website.

Gettysburg Battlefield Fun

Gettysburg National Military Park, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 17325

Landscape PhotosMonument Gallery
Hunt for MonumentsTake Quiz
Select Bicycle RouteTips for Your Ride
Study NotesGettysburg Index

Gettysburg Battlefield Bike Tour

“Biking the Gettysburg Battlefield—Not Just Any Map” covers some of the pitfalls of not knowing the Gettysburg road network (or having a pre-planned bicycle route) before you arrive on site. Personally, I was surprised that I made so many navigation mistakes during my first couple of full-day rides through the park. These mistakes took away from some of the enjoyment of the trip, because time and effort was wasted. Fortunately, my safety mistakes were inconsequential.

That said, you will be disappointed if you rely on the free paper map from the National Park Service. The NPS map is great for cars, but not for bicyclists.

For a safe, fun, and educational bicycle tour, please consider Civil War Cycling’s paperback guidebooks and downloadable PDF document maps. The product descriptions in our shop describe their complementary purposes.

Paperback Guidebooks

Bicycling Gettysburg National Military Park: The Cyclist’s Civil War Travel Guide is a 238-page color guidebook that tells the story of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) from the perspective of a bicyclist who scans the battlefield landscape for natural and physical landmarks—not only to stay oriented, but also to connect geography with the historical narrative.

Guidebook for Bicycling Gettysburg
Paperback Guidebook
Maps to Bike Gettysburg
Paperback Mini-Books

PDF Maps with cues and historical summaries

Civil War Cycling publishes eleven digital companion maps for cycling Gettysburg based on theme and riding distance. These “booklet size” maps can be used with or without the larger guidebook. Their purpose is to help with navigation while also including some historical detail and photos. The maps are downloadable Adobe PDF documents that you can view or print for personal (non-commercial) use. The maps are not part of a GPS navigation system and there is no audio.

Companion Maps for Bicycling Gettysburg (PDF downloads)
Companion Maps for Bicycling Gettysburg (PDF downloads)

^^^Scroll (if necessary) to view full listing on Gettysburg PDF maps. Or simply CLICK to shop.

Map of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

  Gettysburg battlefield bike tour scene

The West Edge of The Peach Orchard, at Emmitsburg Road

Order of Battle Links

The National Park Service sometimes restructures its site and buries information that it thinks is less interesting or useful to park visitors. Order of Battle links are just one example. For the convenience of Civil War Cycling readers, here they are: The Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg The Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg

Gettysburg RSS Blogroll
Although not well maintained in recent years, these two sites have many years worth of exceptionally interesting material:

Gettysburg Web Sites
Gettysburg National Military Park
Gettysburg National Military Park - Alerts, Conditions
Gettysburg Foundation
Destination Gettysburg
Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides
Gettysburg Businesses
GettysBike Tours (1195 Baltimore Street)

Gettysburg Bicycle (307 York Street)