Autumn in Gettysburg: Fall 2025 Essential Guide

Each year, as autumn settles in, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, undergoes a stunning transformation. The crisp air and vibrant fall colors breathe new life into the historic town, while the shortening days bathe its iconic landmarks in a warm, golden light, signaling the year’s gradual close. During this harvest season, both lifelong residents and first-time visitors delight in wandering the town’s charming streets and scenic trails, discovering hidden gems nestled among the Civil War memorials—ranging from local museums and cozy cafés to welcoming shops.

Autumn in Gettysburg becomes a haven of activities for everyone, blending its rich historical legacy with the enchanting atmosphere of the season. Whether you’re a history buff, a lover of the outdoors, or simply someone eager to soak in the beauty of Central Pennsylvania’s harvest season, Gettysburg offers an abundance of memorable experiences. When autumn arrives, there’s always something magical waiting to be discovered in this remarkable town!

Autumn Activities in Gettysburg

Tours

Bus Tours

Tour the Gettysburg Battlefield on an iconic open-air double-decker bus (weather permitting) or enjoy a climate-controlled coach. Both are available with a National Park Service licensed guide.

Tours depart from the Gettysburg Tour Center located at 778 Baltimore Street beside Ghostly Images of Gettysburg and near the National Cemetery. There is plenty of free parking at the Tour Center for your bus tour!

Click HERE for more info!

Sunset Double Decker Tour

Experience the evening serenity of the bucolic Gettysburg Battlefield aboard an open-air  Double Decker Bus. As you ride through the battlefield, listen to the narrative of a Licensed Battlefield Guide as they relate all the details of the famous battle, while experiencing the dramatic sunset across the scenic fields from the perfect vantage point. Tours run throughout the Fall. Planning a Gettysburg visit? Reserve your spot today!

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Haunted Bus Tour

Join us for an unforgettable journey through the Gettysburg countryside with our exclusive Haunted Bus Tour, offered most Saturdays throughout the summer and fall. Journey past some of the most haunted locations around Gettysburg while your guide shares chilling tales. Beware, strange encounters await. You never know who or what might be waiting for you in the darkness…Are you brave enough to find out?

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Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Walking Tours

Interested in experiencing the supernatural side of this autumn destination? Ghostly Images of Gettysburg offers three walking tours… The Spirits of Jennie Wade Tour, the Haunted Orphanage Tour, and the Ghostly Encounters Tour where your guide will be a GHOST. You’ll have your choice of two haunted houses to explore during your 90-minute tour. It’s creepy fun for everyone!

Click HERE for more info!

Festivals

Hanover Harvest Festival

September 6, 2025

Come out for a fun-filled day at the 2nd annual Hanover Harvest Festival hosted by J.A. Myers Homes! Celebrate the season with family-friendly fall activities, vendors, delicious food, and great company. Bring your friends, family, and neighbors! This is the perfect way to kick off the fall season.

Click HERE for more info!

21st Annual Gettysburg Wine & Music Festival

Sep 6-7, 2025

Enjoy a fall weekend at Central PA’s premier wine festival. Savor hundreds of wines from a multitude of Pennsylvania wineries, spirits from Pennsylvania distilleries, and enjoy great live music.

Chairs, portable tents (with the proper ticket and in the designated areas), and blankets are welcome.

Click HERE for more info!

Fall Harvest Festival

Sep 13, 2025

Join in the fun on Opening Day of Fields of Adventure’s 16th annual Fall Harvest Festival, Saturday, September 13th. Enjoy activities for all ages and delight in all your favorite fall foods. The festival kicks off with over 25+ attractions including these new ones: Bubble Barns, Rooster Rollers, and a revamped petting zoo barn. There is a large corn maze and mini maze with different difficulty levels.

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Adams County Heritage Festival 2025

Sep 21, 2025

The Adams County Heritage Festival is a celebration of ethnic music, food, and crafts that reflects the multicultural atmosphere of Adams County. It is a way of sharing our various traditions and appreciating the best that each ethnic group has to offer, as well as a commitment to community and the goal of living together in harmony.

Family-oriented entertainment features musical performances, storytelling, a dance/drum group, a bicycle parade for children, a special Children’s Activities area, and the highly popular Passport Program linked with international displays.

Click HERE to learn more!

12th Annual Sweet Potato Festival

Sep 20-21, 2024

Head out to Thomason’s Olde Thyme Herb Farm and Gift Shop for all things sweet potato!

Sweet potato fries, soup, funnel cakes, whoopie pies, and more. Live music both days, craft vendors, face painting, and alpacas. Come out for Food, Music, and Sweet Fun!

Click HERE for more info!

Street Food Fiesta! // ¡Fiesta de Comida Callejera!

Sep 20

The Adams County Farmers Market is excited to host our second annual Street Food Fiesta in partnership with Casa de la Cultura! This event is meant to be a celebration of Central- and South American culinary traditions as well as a chance to highlight Latino-owned businesses in our community.

Click HERE for more info!

Pippinfest 2025

Sep 27-28, 2025

Welcome to the 44th community wide celebration of the Pippin Apple Harvest. The Borough of Fairfield and the Pippinfest Committee invite you to join us for two days of fun, food, crafts and entertainment. Enjoy walking down Main Street full of craft vendors. Fun for kids located on Steelman Street. The Festival is held rain or shine.

Click HERE for more info!

National Apple Harvest Festival

Oct 4-5 & 11-12, 2025

Located in the heart of Pennsylvania Apple country, The National Apple Harvest Festival has been celebrating the fall season with beautiful handmade crafts, delicious food, and jam-packed entertainment for 57 years!

The Festival has something for everyone with special attractions ranging from steam engine displays, live music, antique cars, orchard tours,  pony rides, tastings, craftsman demonstrations, and nearly every apple food that comes to mind from apple pie to nontraditional treats like apple guacamole!

Click HERE to learn more!

Museums

Jennie Wade House

Experience the historic tale of Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed during the Battle of Gettysburg. Authentically furnished from cellar to attic, the Jennie Wade House is a shrine to Jennie and her life during the American Civil War. Guides in period attire who are well-versed in the history of the home will captivate visitors with passionate retellings of the battle and Jennie’s fate. Artifacts from that fatal day in 1863 are on display to illustrate the events that befell Jennie and her family. History comes alive, as seen through Jennie’s eyes.

Click HERE for more info!

Shriver House Museum

Dedicated to civilian experience. Guided tour of Shriver family’s home and business: Shriver’s Saloon & Ten-Pin Alley. One of the wealthiest families in town, their home was occupied by Confederate sharpshooters; two soldiers killed in the house. Live civil war bullets discovered during 1996 restoration. Period garden; bullet holes. Allow 1 hour.

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Seminary Ridge Museum

Gettysburg’s Seminary Ridge Museum features three areas of emphasis not focused on anywhere else in Gettysburg including the First Day Battle, July 1, 1863, on the very site where it happened, Civil War field medicine in the building that was the largest Field Hospital at Gettysburg; and the larger issues of Faith and Freedom.  Closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

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Gettysburg Heritage Center

Witness the town of Gettysburg through the eyes of the civilians. Interactive displays, 3-D videos, artifacts and storyboard panels tell the story in a way that will entertain and educate the entire family!

Included is the Civil War Trust’s award-winning “Gettysburg: Animated Map,” movie; the perfect orientation to the battle and the battlefield!

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Gettysburg History Center Presents The Gettysburg Diorama

Stand face to face with those whose roles shaped and created the Battle of Gettysburg. Enlighten your senses with a walk-through of Pickets Charge as the battle unfolds around you. See the famous Gettysburg Diorama presenting the Battle of Gettysburg in a fully narrated, truly unique and original light and sound experience.

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Gettysburg Beyond The Battle Museum

The Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum is located inside the new home of the Adams County Historical Society, a 29,000-square-foot complex. It features twelve galleries of immersive exhibits exploring more than three centuries of American history, all from the perspective of one very famous community.

In addition, the museum hosts frequent history programs for all ages inside a stunning event venue and education center overlooking the battlefield. The complex also includes an extensive  library and archives where researchers can access some of Gettysburg’s rarest archival holdings, including hundreds of civilian accounts from the Battle of Gettysburg and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Click HERE for more info!

The WWII American Experience

This museum and education center strives to educate the public about American sacrifices made during the world’s largest conflict of the 20th century, both on the battlefield and on the Homefront. Here you can experience a wide variety of authentic WWII vehicles, uniforms and artifacts, arrayed in realistic dioramas and exhibits that portray not just the battlefield, but the Homefront as well.

Click HERE for more info!

Visit Gettysburg in Person

Plan your next excursion with us! Our bus tours of the historic Gettysburg Battlefield are active and ready to show you the sites of the historical battleground. Reservations can be made by calling our toll-free number at 877-680-8687. You can also purchase bus tour tickets online.  Tours depart from the Gettysburg Tour Center located at 778 Baltimore St., Gettysburg.