Gettysburg Heritage Trails Program

Gettysburg Trail Medal The York-Adams Area Council, the National Park Service, and the Gettysburg National Military Park/Eisenhower National Historic Site are proud to offer Scouting groups the opportunity to participate in the Gettysburg Heritage Trails program, which includes a stop at the Visitor Center/National Cemetery, two hiking trails through the battlefield at Gettysburg, a walking tour of historic downtown Gettysburg and a tour of the Eisenhower National Historic Site.

The National Park Service and the York-Adams Area Council have published a trail guide for each of these five trails and tours (the current edition was revised in May 2008, 15th edition). These trail guides can be ordered directly from the York-Adams Area Council Scout Shop and cost $1.95 per guide. In addition, a limited number of trail guides are also available at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The five program elements are:

The Visitor Center/National Cemetery
The Billy Yank Trail
The Johnny Reb Trail
The Eisenhower National Historic Site
The Historic Gettysburg Trail.

The trail guides are comprehensive and provide all of the information you should need concerning the trails programs, maps, requirements, etc. The trail guides are the primary source of information for participants in these programs, as the council does not make available any other printed or on-line materials regarding these programs.

Our Scout Shop can accept credit card orders by phone for trail guides by calling (800) 569-5197 (outside York) or you can order these materials on-line.

Program Descriptions

The Visitor Center/National Cemetery and Eisenhower sections are question and answer exercises, as outlined in the trail guide. The trail hikes through the battlefield are designed to give participants a soldier's perspective on what happened on the battlefield.

The Billy Yank trail is a 10-mile hike through the battlefield and takes approximately six hours to complete, while the Johnny Reb trail is a four-mile hike and takes approximately 2.5 hours to complete. Please be sure to carry plenty of water with you as there are no water fountains along the trails.

The Historic Gettysburg Trail is a walk through the downtown area to help visitors imagine what it was like to live in Gettysburg in July 1863. This trail is approximately three miles and takes 2-3 hours to complete.

Your group is encouraged, but not required, to view the Gettysburg Multimedia Experience, which includes the film "A New Birth of Freedom" and the Gettysburg Cyclorama program. Please call the reservation office for tickets at (877) 874-2478 or visit the park web site at www.nps.gov/gett for more information.

Awards

Gettysburg Patches The basic patch is awarded for completing the Visitor Center/National Cemetery section. The Billy Yank and Johnny Reb side segments are awarded for those two trail hikes and the Historic Gettysburg patch is awarded for the completion of the guided walk, and the Eisenhower star patch is awarded for a visit to Eisenhower National Historic Site and completion of that section.

Current prices (as of 9/1/08) for Gettysburg items are:

Main Gettysburg patch - $2.25 each
Johnny Reb, Bill Yank, Eisenhower, and Historic Gettysburg segments - $1.00 each
Plastic Patch Holder - $1.00
Gettysburg Trail Medals - $4.25 each

To receive the Trail Medal, Scouts must have completed the entire set of requirements for each patch segment. Additional shipping and handling charges apply for mail orders. You can order these recognitions on-line or the Scout Shop can accept credit card orders by phone at (800) 569-5197 (outside York).

Additional information on the awards may be obtained from the York-Adams Area Council at (717) 843-0901 or (800) 569-5197.

Gettysburg Heritage Trails Program

Program Descriptions

Awards

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