Antietam National Battlefield

TPS

A must visit for American History enthusiasts! Definitely worth the $10 price of admission. There are many monuments dedicated to troops from Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Connecticut, etc. and just a handful of Confederate monuments. Antietam reminds me of a smaller Gettysburg which is a good thing because the landscape isn’t overwhelmed with too many monuments and memorials. The visitor center was in a temporary building as the new visitor center will be up in the fall of 2022. They have a Junior Ranger program for the kids. I’d recommend at least two days here but a lot can be covered with the driving tour. The battlefields are very well maintained. Make sure to visit Burnside Bridge and the Observation Tower!

Moving on with Old Man River Old man river

21,000 dead in America's deadliest one day battle. The visitor center is under construction so you have to go to the temporary site. It does have a good movie though.. as I drove and stopped at the 10 tour stops I walked in the sunken road or as it's called BLOODY LANE. When there climb the tower and get a good look at the battlefield. The go to Burnside's bridge to look at history over a peaceful stream.

Jason Zahn

We have a National Parks Pass so decided to try this park out (normally $20 a car). The permanent visitor center is under construction so they have a temporary center that is about what you would expect (ex. the "theater" showing the movie is now a TV and folding chairs) - IMO the only real reason to stop until the new one is ready is to visit the gift shop or bathroom....and apparently to voluntarily pay your park fee? I stopped in to show my card and get the map, but I never showed anything to anyone anywhere and never saw any park personnel outside the visitor center. That said, it was the first Monday in March and maybe saw a total of 10 people in my whole visit, which was lovely in and of itself. So, IDK, I guess a certain type of person loves these battlefield sites, and it isn't really me. I definitely appreciate the preservation of the park and having the undeveloped land. They have a handful of decorative cannons thrown about and LOTS of plaques about General XYZ attacked this direction at 7AM type stuff, but other than that, not sure what a tourist does here (particularly if you have kids to be entertained, god help you). I suppose this is for war buffs and people super familiar with the battle details. Of course, the cemetery is a deserving memorial to the incredible number of lives lost. The land is pretty in this area with rolling hills and distant mountains, so I took a lot of the hiking trails (which were marginally marked, didn't match the trail path on the map, and most of which just walk through open fields) and still had done everything in 4-hours. Overall I am happy we have the NPS and while this park isn't one of my favorites for revisiting purposes, I am sure there are others who enjoy it.

brian schroeder

Excellent. To be able to walk the fields as they were for the most part is awesome. Being here puts a lot more perspective on the actual battle as far as the terrain. I had no idea it was so hilly and wide open. The ranger staff was great. They helped me figure out the accompanying videos online for some of the stops.