
Our Town
This is Gettysburg—a classic college town with a vibrant downtown that’s just a five-minute walk from campus and within three hours from Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Washington, D.C., where you can visit with your friends or through a College-sponsored trip. In town, grab a latte at an alumni-owned coffee shop or dine with friends at historic taverns and farm-to-table restaurants. Go for a run through the battlefields, watch a movie at the Majestic Theater, hit the slopes at the neighboring Ski Liberty resort, or hike the nearby Appalachian Trail. History is brimming at every corner.

The First-Year Walk
During our time-honored tradition, the First-Year Walk, our students, faculty, and staff recreate a defining moment in American history, walking together toward the hallowed grounds of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. There, together, the Gettysburg community hears an oration of the Gettysburg Address, originally delivered by President Abraham Lincoln following the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War—a speech that is as powerful today as it was in 1863. It will serve as a poignant marker of the start of your four years here.
