Category: Explore

WHAT’S RIPE WHEN

As seen in the 2026 Destination Gettysburg Getaway Guide

In Adams County, the calendar is best read by what’s in season. One week it’s berries, the next it’s peaches, and before you know it, apples steal the show.

Orchards and fields in these parts follow a delicious rhythm shaped by sunshine, soil, and tradition. Knowing what’s ripe makes it easy to plan your visit, shop in local markets, and enjoy each season’s freshest flavors at their peak.

For more than two centuries, Adams County’s fertile soil and rolling hills have supported one of Pennsylvania’s most productive fruit-growing regions. Best ... Read This Story

Blossom Belt Beauty

As seen in the 2026 Destination Gettysburg Getaway Guide

Immerse Yourself in the Adams County Blossom Belt: A Scenic Spring Drive Through Orchard Country

Each spring, the Adams County Blossom Belt transforms the rolling countryside into a ribbon of pink and white blooms. Beginning near Fairfield and Cashtown in or around early April, then spreading to the orchards of Biglerville, Aspers, and Gardners, this scenic route celebrates the region’s apple-growing heritage at its most beautiful. Visitors are invited to drive, bike, and immerse themselves in flowering trees, farm markets, and the fleeting magic of blossom season. Lasting only a few ... Read This Story

50 WAYS TO EAT YOUR APPLE

As seen in the 2026 Destination Gettysburg Getaway Guide on page 14

More Than Just Pie

If there’s one thing Adams County knows how to do, it’s apples, with the National Apple Harvest Festival proving it deliciously.

This beloved fall tradition, held the first two weekends in October, isn’t just about apples on trees: it’s about apples everywhere, in every form imaginable. In fact, there are at least 50 separate ways in which to find, eat, sip, drizzle, bake, fry, pickle and indulge in apples during the festival.

Most are comfortingly familiar.

Others may stop you mid-bite with a ... Read This Story

Rooted In Tradition

A sixth-generation family farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania, where commitment, tradition, and fun keep the Peters orchard thriving year-round.

By Destination Gettysburg Staff, from interviews with Katie & Amelia Peters, November 2025

Keeping the Orchard Growing

In Adams County, Pennsylvania, fifth-generation farmer David Peters and his wife, Katie, have helped expand an already thriving family orchard business that grows much more than fruit. Their sixth-generation daughters, are learning the rhythm of the land and the reward of working side by side. Together, they balance long hours, community connection, and a heritage that reaches back to 1870.

“We’re in this together,” Katie says. “We figure it out ... Read This Story

Places to Get a Chill in Gettysburg

by: Tinsy Labrie

Over the past several decades, Gettysburg has been included among the most haunted destinations in the world, with travelers arriving from far and wide to get a glimpse of the Civil War town’s “night life” through ghost tours and haunted investigations at historic landmarks, taverns and inns across the region.

Whether you have a passion for ghost hunting or are a skeptic through and through, these places have a reputation for sending a shiver down your spine. Find out for yourself, if you dare.

Gettysburg Orphanage

A building where children without families were taken after the ... Read This Story

Best Buds

Bring your best bud to meet our best buds and introduce yourself to the magnificent blossoms in Adams County.

It’s always great to make new friends and spring’s the perfect time to open yourself up to new possibilities. Count on our best buds to entice and delight you at every turn. April and May temperatures in south-central Pennsylvania are mild, the air is fresh with the scent of blooming fruit trees, and there’s so much to see and do when you get there.

Gettysburg serves as home-base for an annual visit (or two visits a year, one in the ... Read This Story

Flora and Fauna in Gettysburg

Millions of visitors flock to Gettysburg each year, and while thousands of people reside here year round, this historic destination is also home to scores of plants and wildlife.

Native trees and flowers beautify the landscape, offering stunning views every season. Evergreen trees blanketed with snow, vibrant orange leaves in autumn, and fruit blossoms during spring are just a few of the sights you can expect around Gettysburg.

Wildflowers can be spotted throughout Gettysburg National Military Park. Virginia bluebells and violets pop up during the spring, according to the National Park Service. Expect aster and goldenrod in the summer ... Read This Story

Solo Travel in Gettysburg

By Tinsy Labrie

I am a lifelong visitor to Gettysburg who decided to make this charming little town my home, like so many other travelers who fall in love with this community.

And, like a lot of those visitors, I find great passion in traveling solo – experiencing destinations on my own schedule, and sometimes, my own whim.

Solo travelers have been coming to Gettysburg since the battle ended, to tend to the wounded, to learn of their loved ones who fought there, or to understand the magnitude of what happened on July 1, 2, 3, 1863.  

People ... Read This Story

A Girls Weekend Away

A Girls Weekend Away

In this chaotic, crazy world, sometimes a getaway with your closest girlfriends is just what the doctor ordered. With unique experiences, ... Read This Story