The first time I went to Harper’s Ferry, I didn’t realize the historical significance of it. Have you heard of Harper’s Ferry? If not, you should do some research before visiting this beautiful place!
Harper’s Ferry was important during the Civil War. It also has significance to the Lewis and Clark Expedition – they spent quite a bit of time here. I am not a historian, so I won’t go into all the reasons this place is important – I’ll leave that up to the actual Historians.
You park at the visitor’s center and board a bus to enter the city. There is very limited parking in the city, so going by bus is the best way to go, and it’s free. There are several little museums, replica stores to look at, visitor’s center, John Brown’s fort, a few monuments, a replica collapsible Lewis and Clark boat, and much more to see. The Appalachian Trail and the C&O Canal meet here too!
The biggest problem with the little museums is they smelled VERY musty and mildewy. I opened the door of the Black Voices museum and I had to turn around and leave. It smelled terrible. My lungs hurt just opening the door. Which is a bummer because I really wanted to see that museum. Hopefully, they fix that soon. A couple others smelled badly too. The Lewis and Clark ones weren’t too bad.
We like to walk across the R/R bridge – a fun little walk that the kids enjoy. The entire town is cute and fun. A lovely way to spend a few hours in West Virgina (coming from Maryland, you drive through Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia in less than 2 minutes. So weird when we are used to the big states here in the West!)
You can earn 4 different Junior Ranger Badges here. Up to 3 for Harper’s Ferry and one for the Appalachian Trail. You have to complete the booklets to earn all 3 Harper’s Ferry Badges – you can earn less if you don’t have the time to complete the book. We were told by the Ranger there that they are changing their Junior Ranger program, so it could be different the next time we go! I guess we’ll see if he’s right! You need to visit the Appalachian Trail visitor’s center in Harper’s Ferry to get that badge as well (it has its own separate booklet)
