Welcome to the Gettysburg Battlefield Self-Guided Driving Tour
Welcome to the narrated driving tour of the Battle of Gettysburg, the most crucial battle of the Civil War! Here, Union forces staged a nearly impossible defense against Confederate attackers–and won! Walk in the footsteps of Civil War soldiers, re-live the battle strategies of the key generals, and embark on an adventure that brings this historic three-day battle to life on your Gettysburg auto tour.
This self-guided Gettysburg Auto tour lets you explore Gettysburg’s historical wonders with maximum flexibility, safety, and value. Hop in your car, get the tour guide app set up on your phone, and get started. All audio plays automatically based on location.
Follow the Battle
The tour follows the intense 3-day battle at Gettysburg chronologically. It begins at the Gettysburg Heritage Center, where you learn about the lead-up to the battle. Before you start driving, be sure to download the Action Tour Guide app and enter your unique password to access the audio tour. Then, you’ll explore McPherson’s Ridge, the site of the first skirmish of the first day. From there, you continue past the Railway Cut, Iverson’s Pits, and Seminary Ridge until you reach the end of Day 1.
As you continue to follow the route on the Gettysburg Auto Tour, begin Day 2 with an exploration at Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard, and Culp’s Hill. Day 3 then starts with the infamous Pickett’s Charge. This comprehensive tour ends at the Gettysburg Cemetery, where you hear Lincoln’s poignant Gettysburg Address. And if you ever have questions, feel free to reach out to us over chat, call, or email – we’re always available and looking forward to helping you!
The Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Abraham Lincoln
November 19, 1863
Starting Point Address: Gettysburg Heritage Center Parking Lot at 1 Culp Street. Culp St Gettysburg, PA 17325
Little Round Top Rehabilitation Project Closure Notice
The contractor has notified the park that they will close Little Round Top on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. All road closures & detours will go into effect on the morning of July 26, 2022. Little Round Top will be CLOSED for 18 months. For more, click here.
What You'll See
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Gettysburg Visitor Center
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McPherson Ridge (Auto Tour 1)
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The Railway Cut
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Eternal Light Peace Memorial (Auto Tour 2)
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Oak Ridge Observation Tower (Auto Tour 3)
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Battlefield Sallie Memorial
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Seminary Ridge Museum
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North Carolina Memorial (Auto Tour 4)
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Virginia Monument (Auto Tour 5)
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Pitzer Woods (Auto Tour 6) & Longstreet Observation Tower
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Eisenhower National Historic Site
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Warfield Ridge (Auto Tour 7)
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Little Round Top (Auto Tour 8)
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Devil's Den
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The Wheat Field (Auto Tour 9)
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The Peach Orchard (Auto Tour 10)
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The Abraham Trostle Farm
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Plum Run (Auto Tour 11)
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The George Weikert Farm
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Pennsylvania Memorial (Auto Tour 12)
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Spangler's Spring (Auto Tour 13)
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East Cemetery Hill (Auto Tour 14)
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The High Water Mark (Auto Tour 15)
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National Cemetery (Auto Tour 16)
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Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address
Tour FAQs
These days, there are much better options for touring a historic site like this than the type of Gettysburg guide you might have in mind. More specifically, you can get a rich, exciting, and complete tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield by using an app!
While the roads through the park will take you close to the major battlefields, in many areas, you’ll have to get out of the car to actually stand on the fields where the combat took place, such as Little Round Top. A Gettysburg Driving Tour app will help you locate the specific battlefield sites so you can get up close and personal with history.
Now, folks generally associate the Gettysburg Battlefield with the hot, humid days of summer, especially since the battle itself took place on the first three days of July 1863. Ironically, that’s exactly what makes winter such a good time to visit Gettysburg.
Absolutely you can! In fact, I’d say a Gettysburg driving tour is the absolute best way to experience this historic battlefield. Sure, you could pay to hop on a tour bus, but then you’re on someone else’s schedule and won’t have the chance to really explore the key sites across the field.
Luckily for traveling history buffs, the weather in Gettysburg is fairly predictable, even during the peak days of summer. The average temperature maxes out at around 85 degrees fahrenheit. That said, if you’re used to dry heat, the humidity on the Gettysburg Battlefield is something to keep in mind.
The truth is that Gettysburg is beautiful in every season. During spring, flowers are in bloom, the grass is greener than at any other time of the year. Summers give you the most authentic battlefield experience since it was the peak of summer when the battle actually took place. Many locals swear that autumn is the best time to visit Gettysburg when the leaves change to brilliant reds and golds. Winter is by far the quietest time to visit Gettysburg
Additional Information
What do we do?
Simply put, Action Tour Guide is an audio guide, map, and tour book – all in one app! We are a GPS-enabled app-based tour that narrates information based on your location right on your phone. You can experience our driving and walking tours at your own pace and literally at any time of the day!Â
Lifetime Validity
​Changing travel date? No worries! All individual tours come with lifetime validity.Â
No Network Needed
The tour works offline which means you do not need your phone network to enjoy the tour. However, we do suggest you download the tour at your home, hotel, visitor center, etc before you head out for a completely immersive experience.
Not an Entry Ticket
This is not an entry ticket.