DOI, NPS - Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Review

The staff and volunteers know the park and it's history.

Very hard to get a scooter in and out of there on that sidewalk by The Visitor Center

A must place to visit, beautiful country, well worth the trip.

You can park your car, pay the entrance fee and get the free shuttle to the point.

A great place to begun your visit to a surprisingly diverse park. Take the bus down to the village and plan on a full day's visit. This is of interest to those who wish to learn more about early American history, early industrial development, railroad history, civil rights, or if you just want to take a long walk in a beautiful setting.

I dearly love these stores. I have souvenirs from each park. Now exceeding 150. But they are short lived . With all the neighborhood angels selecting what they like. Hat Pins , Pamphlets Sew on Patches. Reeses and Coca Cola are mine. Enjoyable.

Nice town with lots of cafes and ice cream shops. However this town is not even close to being ADA compliant. There are side walks but are blocked with signs posts and bike racks. With our stroller we kept having to enter the road. And the ramps for sidewalks range form even to a 2 inch drop.

Simply love the history and the Nostalgia of the place the visitor centre was very informative but being a wheelchair user I found that access a little bit difficult and the space between these exhibits was rather restrictive and I was unable to see them all

Really a great place, the guard and visitor center were really nice

Stop by the visitor center for the Junior Ranger Badge book!

Really interesting location, very significant in the civil war as well as munitions manufacturing in the 1800s!

It's a really nice park. They handle the traffic really well. there's a lot of people here, all the time

Disappointed that they tore the structured done. This will be a very important lost history

Great view. Awesome activities. Great historical site.

Rangers there know Civil War history. Harper's Ferry was the largest surrender of Union troops during the war.

Harper's Ferry is very fun. What a great piece of history.

Very helpful staff. There's a free, prompt shuttle that takes visitors to the old town.

Great historical tour. Very interesting and informative.

We did the Auto tour, did not know you could take bus from visitor center to see Jefferson rock. They have a great bus system to see the rock after we did the auto tour.

Nice little historic town to wander through small museums and shops, but not much to do outside of that unless you're an outdoorsman. Parking is atrocious on a busy day. The train station parking lot is only half used for visitors leaving you to use the Visitors Center parking lot with shuttle service. Of course, there's a charge to park, use the shuttle and visit the free museums (?) if you arrive before 5pm. Also, the shuttles only run until 6:45 so you're out of luck if you want to eat a later dinner there and you aren't staying at one of the inns in town. Definitely worth a day trip of you're a history buff!

Very nice national park. Fun little hikes from the main lot.

This is were you start your trip to the Harper's Ferry National park . It cost you about 15.00 dollars per car and 10 dollars per motorcycle and there is lots of history here and on top of that there are free shuttles in to the park .that take you to the town.

Enjoyed. Strolling, learning important historical information and the opportunity to feel like I was back in time. .

Guess John Denver really knew what he was singing about when he was talking about West Virginia! This is the place where the Blue Ridge Mountains meets the Shanandoah and Potomac Rivers. Historical Harpers Ferry town was really interesting to walk through with all the old buildings still intact that you can go into. They also did a wonderful job highlighting the history of this town. Appalachian Trail goes straight through Harpers Ferry and the conservancy for it is not too far away. Jefferson Rock is a view that Thomas Jefferson himself said he would sail across the Atlantic just to see. Blown away by how beautiful the scenery is and this is in the winter, can't imagine how much more gorgeous it would look if the trees were more full.

Used to be open to the public; now they charge - what a shame. It s a beautiful place with not much to do but walk around and buy food but it used to feel like a family town instead of a museum.

Beatifull park with a lot of history, hicking trails, museum and free entrance on Veterant day.

Parking for ALL visitors to Harpers Ferry is at the NPS (National Park Service) center. There are a lot of parking spaces. No personal cars are allowed into the town unless you're staying at one of the inns or taking the MARC or Amtrak train. For those folks, there's parking at the station on a first-come first-served basis. If at all possible be on the first bus into town. It's wonderful to walk the streets and see the sights before the crowds sock the town by noon.

There is a shuttle bus (the size of a standard city bus) that runs you back and forth from the Visitors Center to the town. The trip takes five minutes, or you can walk it in about forty minutes.

The town itself is a step back in time. Lots of stone streets and brick sidewalks, uneven and weathered stone stairways (be careful here), and several shops, museums, and stores reflecting back to the early residents of this quaint town. Take the time to step inside some of the historic shop and store displays. Be advised those most all of these shops and museum buildings have no air conditioning. You'll find some relief inside the few small restaurants which also have very nice umbrella-covered outdoor seating areas. The book shop is very nice. The John Brown Wax Museum in town is an extra fee not included in the park admission.

After lunch make the effort to climb up to Jefferson Rock (about five minutes behind the church and ruins on the hill). The views are quite nice. Also, after crossing the railway bridge to view the train tunnel, climb down to the bottom of the circular staircase and check out one of the old C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) canal lock #33. Lock 32, much further down (10-15 minute walk in the other direction) is not really worth the effort unless you want the exercise. However, the views of the river are nice so it may be worth it just for that. Also, walk the short trail from The Point back along the Shenandoah River heading back in the direction of the bookstore and bus stop. Grab a bottled drink on the way back to the bus stop at the end of your day.

For photographers, the best pictures of the church on the hill are in the morning (as well as for the store fronts along Potomac Street), the downriver views of the Potomac River from The Point (and the shops High Street) in the afternoon. That's pretty much based on the fact that the sun rises downriver from Harpers Ferry and then sets behind it. Walk along And don't leave your camera in the car as one tourist that I met had done.

A final note: if you're arriving in the morning by way of Highway 340 (from the Maryland side) ***as soon as you cross the Potomac River*** there's a pull-off place (slow down and be ready for it or you'll miss it!!!) where you can walk back across the bridge for a superb view up the river towards Harpers Ferry. It is well worth the stop.

This was a wonderful place to visit. The staff is so knowledgeable and helpful.

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
Rangers were very knowledgeable and personable. Their interaction with my extremely inquisitive kids should be commended. The cannon demonstration was very nice, along with the picture painted by the rangers on the history.

Rich in history, Americana, and abundant natural beauty and awe.

There is a $10 fee, which covers parking and shuttle service to and from the historic center of Harpers Ferry. Amenities are typical of other Visitor Centers, except there are no restaurants. The nearest ones are at the historic center. The map that they hand out is very informative and useful, especially for those who have not made detailed plans of their visit.

The shuttle bus leaves every 20 minutes and the trip takes 10 minutes. From the drop-off point, it's a short 5-minute walk to the historic center. It is also possible to walk the entire way, which would have probably taken 45 minutes.

There is an alternative paid parking lot at Shenandoah Street, which is closer to the historic center but without the shuttle service and restrooms. Visitors will have to walk maybe 20 minutes from there to the historic center.

Helpful staff. Park there and hop on the free shuttle to Harper's Ferry. Bathrooms available.

It is well worth the admission fee to come and explore the beauty and history of Harper's Ferry. They have a shuttle from the visitor's center that takes you downtown into the heart of the town.

Beautiful views and a quaint little town. Been coming here since I was a little kid. Happy to be able to come here now with my children and have the same experience. Some of the restaurants are alright but on a nice day it's a great picnic spot. Bus will take you from the parking to the river.

My son had so much fun becoming a junior ranger. You can pick up a booklet at the visitors center and answer the questions throughout your visit. Then, head back to the visitors center for your badge or mail it in.

The visitor's center is some distance from the town of Harper's Ferry. There is very little there - restrooms and a park service person handing out maps and answering questions (we had better questions once we were in town and we stopped at the park office there.) This is where you catch the busses to the Old Town. There is a cost to park here (seniors - make sure you get a US Parks Pass because you get to park for free.) The busses kneel but the next two steps are really high, so I'm not sure what good the kneeling is.
The old town is very interesting - it is well worth the visit. However, it is not handicapped accessible. The streets are steep, the sidewalks are uneven (brick and cobblestone) and VERY narrow in places, and there are steps into most of the buildings. These items make the area very quaint and lovely.

Service there was great, they were all very helpful

The whole Harper's Ferry historic park underwhelmed me. I did enjoy the exhibit about how they excavated an old building and sleuthed its history.

A great place to visit and we enjoyed the cannon demonstrations as well as hiking the trail to the cliffs. We stayed close by and returned twice during our stay to see all there was to see and enjoy a little history.

The National Park Service does an excellent job of presenting this important historic gateway to the west and center of manufacturing achievement. The location is unique in that it represents multiple venues that cross here not only the armory but also the Appalachia Trail to mention a few.

15 dollars to get in. Free shuttle to town because no parking in town. Not handicapped accessible. Must walk through town. Nothing to do there or see. No refunds in entrance fee.

Clean restroom facilities. Very friendly shuttle bus driver!

Impressive and worth a visit to see entire site...... plan for 1/2 day minimum trip!!

Nice place, they have shuttle service as well. It would be great if they had more picnic benchs. Lot of nice trails

Beautiful area with some great trails and scenic river views. Good for wildlife watching too.

Very helpful if you want to plan your visit to Harper's ferry

It is quite a nice drive to get here. I wish I had more time to dedicate to seeing more of this historic park.

Thank you to the National Park Service for preserving our history

Most disappointing visitors center in a park that I have been to. I expected an interpretive center about the area. Very little information. Mostly a ranger staffed parking lot.

Harpers Ferry is AWESOME. take the shuttle down into oldtown and walk a small portion of the appalachian trail into another state. Learning about the lewis & clark expedition was my favorite part, The Invisibles art exhibit was my second.