One Weekend in Harpers Ferry + Antietam National Battlefield

 

Harpers Ferry (West Virginia)

Friday April 18th - Sunday April 20th 2025

Usually with my posts, black is research done prior to the trip & pink is what we learned from our trip.

I did not do a ton of research prior to this trip, as I was just starting a new job and pretty busy. The majority of this post should be pink, but to save your vision, (and my sanity), I kept it mostly black.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (Lower Town Visitor Center):

Address: 171 Shoreline Drive Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

Harpers Ferry is a National Historical Park managed by the National Park Service (NPS). It’s not one of the 63 national parks with “National Park” in their official title (like Yosemite or Zion), but it's part of the National Park System, which includes over 400 sites—historical parks, battlefields, monuments, and more.

Friday:

Grab dinner and check-in

Matt took the day off work, and I worked until noon, so we headed out after I got home from work. about 2.5 hr drive from Lancaster. It sits right on the border of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

We stopped in-town at Harpers Ferry when we arrived, to explore the town and grab some food, before checking in to our Airbnb.

All the warnings were correct. Parking in Lower Town was PACKED! 

We did a couple laps, and luckily found a spot. 

More on parking below, but pro tip for street parking: you can use an app/texting service to pay to park. This was a bit tricky bc you need wifi, and the town is a dead zone (we have Verizon). I took a picture of our parking zone number, and then bummed wifi off a random restaurant, to quickly pay-to-park, before the meter-maid could ticket us. 

We ate outside at the Rabbit Hole. The drinks were disappointing, as we ordered speciality cocktails off the menu, to realize everything was premade in a can, but it was a neat spot! It overlooked the river and train station.

We then found ourselves doing 1-2 laps around town, and loving how pretty St. Peter's Catholic Church was. 

Since we were already part of the way up, we kept going to Jefferson Rock. I did this in sandals, and it was a neat overlook while the sun was starting to set, but nothing crazy if your heart is set on it.

Perfect time to share about the bugs. It was the first warm weekend of the season, but the locals say it's a thing. The bugs were HORRIFIC! 

Not like mosquitos on the island at Chincoteague, but gnats. Lots of them. You could look around and every single person in your view was swinging their arms swatting. 

In your mouth. Eyes. Ears. Nose. at some point during the trip. 

They were relentless and at times I thought I was going to hit my breaking point. 

To put into perspective: during a Live Photo with my iPhone, you can see 5-10 fly in and out of the frame. 

Can you spot the one in the picture above with Matt at Jefferson Rock?

But at least they don't bite!

Harpers Ferry reminds me a lot of Jim Thorpe. Quaint. Historic. The railroad and train station. Hilly with lots of steps. Houses built into the mountain. Old building made of stone. Restaurants. Old timey shops with folklore things. Hiking trails. Along the river. If you've been to one, you catch the same vibe/feel at the other.

Time to leave Lower Town, and drive to the upper part of Harpers Ferry.

In Harpers Ferry, "Lower Town" is the historic area where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet—home to shops, museums, and scenic views. The "Upper Town" isn’t officially called that, but it's often referred to as:

• "Bolivar" (pronounced BAH-lih-ver) — This is technically a separate town right next to Harpers Ferry, up the hill from Lower Town. Many locals and visitors just call this the upper part of Harpers Ferry.

• Sometimes it’s also called the "Camp Hill" area — especially the part near the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, historic homes, and churches.

We hit up the Barn of Harpers Ferry for a quick drink before checking in to our Airbnb since it was on the way. They were charging a cover for the live music that night, so we took a pass, but the venue looked neat!

Airbnb: River Chase Cottage

• Very neat place! 10-15 min outside of downtown Harpers Ferry. Deff off the beaten path, but we loved that to get away and be in nature some more. 
• Check-in: 3p
• Address: Duncan Road Cottage, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 (not exact location)

It is tucked back on the owner's property with a good bit of land, butting up to the river, which we walked down to just to explore. 

We heard so many bird while at our Airbnb! We love our Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab to identify all the ones we hear and see. Here are just some of the ones that surrounded us during our stay. 

Saturday:

Hike

Hike the Maryland Heights Trail – The classic Harpers Ferry hike with stunning overlooks of the town (4.5 miles round-trip).

Parking:

1. The National Park website parking rec: "The main parking lot at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is located at 171 Shoreline Drive, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425 and can accommodate several hundred vehicles. At this location is also the park’s Visitor Center and starting point for the shuttle bus service to Lower Town."  It's recommended to park here at the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Visitor Center and use the shuttle service to Lower Town. The parking fee is approximately $20 per day. 
2. Another option is to still park here, but skip on the shuttle and just hike down to Lower Town via the Visitor Center to Lower Town Trail. The trail is Moderate due to one steep section, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) one way, 45 min. While it's a great option for visitors with dogs, we said no thanks and went with option #3
3. If you are like us, and like to get an early morning start, the shuttle is not an option. 
• "Shuttle bus: Riding the bus is included in the park entrance fee. During Daylight Saving Time (March 10, 2025 - November 2, 2025): Start at 9 a.m.; last bus runs at 7 p.m." 
• The shuttle buses don't start running until 9am, and we did not want to add on an additional 45 min hike each way, so we risked it and parked at Lower Town. We ended up sleeping in a bit, and getting a late start (started our hike at 8am) and the parking was still no issue at all.

River Access Parking Lot has 36 spots, but is more for ppl that need water access. The train Station parking lot has 81 spots.

Maryland Heights Trail: The trail offers two main options:​

• Overlook Cliff Trail: Approximately 4.5 miles round trip, considered moderately challenging.
• Stone Fort Trail Loop: Extends to about 6.5 miles, offering a more strenuous hike with additional historical sites.​

We went with Overlook Cliff: This vantage point provides stunning views of Harpers Ferry and the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.​

Trailhead Location: Follow the train tracks (stay OFF of them, using the path beside them, bc it is still a working railroad) to head up to the Point.  

The Point, which is basically a nice viewpoint where the Potomac River and Shenandoah River meet. 

You'll cross over the footbridge (over the Potomac)...

and down a spiral staircase...

... to the C&O Canal Towpath. 

This was a nice flat rail trail with lots of bikers and walkers.

You'll head upstream for .3 miles, then cross a small wooden footbridge over the canal bed, to Harpers Ferry Road. This starts the Maryland Heights Trailhead.

Using the map below, we went from 1 to 2 to 3 to 12. We skipped the extra mileage bc there were other things we wanted to do that day, and the historic sites along Stone Fort Trail did not call our names. 

Matt used AllTrails while we hiked, which was helpful.

A bit of a rock scramble at the end, but the view was amazing! 

It didn't even feel that high, but just being able to see the entire town was such much to look at to sit and watch.

Downtown

After we hiked, we grabbed bfast sammies (and coffee for Matt of course) at Battle Grounds Bakery & Coffee 

We walked around town a little bit to shop at some of the shops that were closed the night prior.

We wanted to go further on some of the trails near the water, but this is where the bugs intensified and we were ready to be rid of them. 

We gave up our coveted parking spot to go winery hopping. Yes, by this time, parking was getting crazy, and it was only 11a.

Wineries

We routed these out to go the farthest away first, since they were all South of Harpers Ferry. Then we passed through the town of Harpers Ferry again on our way back to our Airbnb.

• Breaux Vineyards
• Purcellville, VA
• A 400+ acre estate with over 100 acres planted in 17 grape varieties, offering internationally acclaimed wines and scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
• We just missed an adult Easter Egg Hunt here! So bummed!

• Doukenie Winery
• Purcellville, VA
• Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, this winery offers estate-grown wines with a focus on hospitality and scenic beauty.

• Hillsborough Vineyards & Brewery
• Purcellville, VA
• A family-owned vineyard specializing in small-batch production of complex wines that harmonize with Virginia's terroir.

• 868 Estate Vineyards

• Purcellville, VA
• A unique destination vineyard combining wine and food experiences, featuring a full-service restaurant on-site.

• Two Twisted Posts Winery
• Purcellville, VA
• A boutique winery offering a variety of wines in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Breweries

We tapped out after 1, but it was the best one to go to. Harpers Ferry Brewing is
HUGE with prime real estate, sitting up high overlooking the river. 

This place is a money maker. This is right across the river from Lower Town Harpers Ferry.

I wish I would have taken more pics, but just check out their website. This place is insane.

We wanted to eat at the Coach House Bar and Grill for dinner (reminds me of a restaurant at the beach) but the food trucks at Harpers Ferry Brewing looked too good to pass up.

Ice Cream

Next we headed to the upper part of Harpers Ferry and stopped at Kelly Farm Kitchen for some ice cream. This is All the vegan options, which means dairy-free for me!

Matt was looking for regular ice cream, but everything in town was Hershey's. I think we are spoiled living in Lancaster with so many dairy-farms and creameries around hahah. 

We stopped in Snallygasters next door, which was such a neat spot. I'd have loved to grab a food or drink here.

Sunday:

Sunday we checked out of our Airbnb, and headed to Antietam.

We stopped on the way to safely transport a turtle off the road!

On the way, we tried to stop at Country Café (classic diner vibes) for breakfast, but they were closed. I am guessing bc it was Easter Sunday. So we went back to Battle Grounds Bakery & Coffee. Everything "in town" is still open, even on holidays a shop owner told us, bc they are a "tourist town.

Antietam National Battlefield wasn't too far out of the way, for our drive home. A couple ppl told us this was a must while we were in the area. I am not a history person, or a war person, but Matt wanted to check it out so we added it on. We really learned a lot from the Visitor's Center and the Self-Guided Driving Tour.

We started off the Visitor's Center with a 10 minute video in the auditorium, which was very educational.

Then we walked around the museum.

"The Bloodiest Day in American History. 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation."

This was the North vs the South. These were all Americans losing their lives. 

We then hopped in our car and drove along to the side-guided tour to see the battlefields.

There is a winery at the end of the tour, that friends have rec'd but we didn't stop.

We stopped at Branded Chophouse on the way home for lunch. I didn't snap any pics, but atmosphere and food was great! 

National Park Maps was so helpful.