Visiting Valley Forge, Not Your Usual National Park Visit

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When you hear about Valley Forge, most Americans will know that it has something to do with American independence. But fewer people know what happened at Valley Forge and how important it was to the war. Unlike many historical sites, Valley Forge wasn’t the site of a major battle. It’s where the American army went when they were on the defense and needed a place to regroup and learn how to fight against the British.

I didn’t know much about Valley Forge before my visit. In fact, I didn’t realize that my hotel in King of Prussia was only a few minutes’ drive from the entrance to the park.

Valley Forge National Historical Park

Valley Forge is designated by the National Park Service as a National Historical Park. (Here’s a breakdown of the different types of national sites.)

This designation generally applies to historic parks that extend beyond single properties or buildings.

The first thing I learned about Valley Forge is that it’s huge, covering 3,500 acres. There’s a loop road that leads through the park, so most guests drive from site to site. In the summer, an open-air trolley gives tours to visitors.

Most guests start at the visitor center.

Besides being the place where you can get maps and talk to a park ranger, there’s also a gift shop. Located inside a building next to the visitor center is a movie theater showing a 19-minute film about Valley Forge.

This is where I learned that from 1777-78, Valley Forge was the fourth largest city in the colonies with 12,000 soldiers plus families and supporting personnel.

Since there are no guided tours for most of the year, the park service has a service where you can call a phone line to get additional information about the sites around the park.

I only had a short amount of time at the park so I hit the major sites. The National Memorial Arch was built in 1917 to honor the soldiers’ perseverance during their stay at Valley Forge.

One of the major sites at Valley Forge is Washington’s Headquarters and office.

This stone house was the residence and office of Washington and his staff while they were at Valley Forge. The headquarters was the only place in the park where there is an NPS ranger to answer questions.

There was a sense of history as the staircase and banister were original. This means you’re holding the same handrail and walking on the same steps as George Washington.

Outside the residence were several buildings that housed Washington’s guard.

Last was a statue of George Washington. While he’s dressed in his military uniform, he’s holding a walking cane instead of his sword.

From Washington’s Headquarters, there’s another 1/2 of the park that I didn’t get to visit. It took me two hours just to see what I did and I was rushing for most of the time. Valley Forge would make a nice day trip from Philadelphia. You could combine it with a visit to Independence Hall for an educational road trip.

With it being so close to Philadelphia, I can’t believe that I’d never visited before this. Valley Forge is an interesting place since it doesn’t have the somber overtones when you visit a battlefield.

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