Bike and Hike the Civil War Battlefields


Touring our national Civil War battlefields evokes emotion and a sobering reminder of one of our country’s darkest moments. I’ve had the fortune of visiting Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, Antietam in Maryland, and Wilson’s Creek in Missouri in the late summer of 2014.

All have well published auto tour routes with designated stops where you can read information boards or listen in to podcasts on you smart phone or on rented audio equipment.




I chose to follow the auto routes not by car, but on foot at Antietam (8.5 miles) and Wilson’s Creek (5 miles) and on bicycle at Gettysburg (24 miles).

There is something to be said for taking the slower method of travel. There is a certain closeness and feel of the history of these battlefields that one cannot get with a quick exit of the car or a brief gawking out of a window. 








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