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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > National Parks > Harpers Ferry National Historical Park |
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P.O. Box 65, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Phone: 304-535-6298
Fax: 304-535-6244
Open All Year
Overview. Covering 2,300 acres in West Virginia, Maryland, and Virginia, this park offers insight into crucial periods of United States development between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. George Washington selected Harpers Ferry, strategically located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, as a national armory in 1796. For the next few decades, citizens took advantage of the rushing rivers by using new water-powered technologies. In 1859, John Brown thrust Harpers Ferry into the national eye when he conducted his raid on the armory in order to arm a slave revolt. His trial and execution inflamed already tinder-dry North-South tensions. Virtually destroyed by successive occupations during the Civil War, the town became home to Storer College, one of the first predominantly black schools to open after the Civil War. Here at Storer, the Niagara Movement, an early civil rights organization led by W.E.B. DuBois, held its 1906 conference. Today thousands of visitors flock to visit this national park site, which offers not only museums and tours but also extensive outdoor activities.
What to see and do. Thoroughly exploring this park's historical and outdoor possibilities can take as many as two days. Plan on at least four hours to visit key points in the town. Start your visit at the visitor center on Cavalier Heights. Harpers Ferry is divided into Upper and Lower Town; Lower Town contains most of the museums and exhibits. A special van transports wheelchair-bound visitors to Lower Town (and wheelchairs are available). If you arrive between Memorial Day and Labor Day, join at least one of several hour-long ranger-led tours, such as "Stonewall's Brilliant Victory" or "The Guns of Harpers Ferry." Otherwise, stop in the many museums and restored buildings, like the Black Voices Museum or the Alfred Burton Jewelry Store, that dot Lower Town. A steep stair-climb brings you to Harper House, the oldest surviving building, and Jefferson Rock, both situated on a hill overlooking Lower Town. Together the many sites steep you in Harpers Ferry cultural, social, and political history. Make sure you leave time to browse the Harpers Ferry Historical Association's Bookshop.
Many visitors look forward to the outdoors. The Appalachian Trail and other paths beckon adventurers into the woods. For a less arduous undertaking, walk along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath. Fish the rivers (with a license) and scale rock faces. Rappellers will need to register.
The park is open every day except Christmas from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (until 5 p.m. in winter). Educational groups should make reservations at least three weeks in advance.
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