Valley Forge National Historical Park — Attraction in Upper Merion Township

We visited on a late Sunday morning in late June 2025. There were plenty of parking spots in the visitor center parking lot. There were a few spots that were shaded under trees. There is also a restroom facility here with water fountain and a Bike Rental shed.

It was kind of a hike from the parking lot up to the visitor center. We got our NPS passport cancellation stamps first when we walked in. Then we were told the park film was about to start in the adjacent building so we ran up the stairs and outside to the next building. There were a bunch of signs to point you in the right direction but it was not intuitive. The park film is 19-mins long and plays on the hour and half-hour from 9:30AM to 4:30PM. It's a fairly large theater it plays in. We also grabbed our Junior Ranger books for the kids from the info desk so they were working on it during the film.

After the film was over we walked back over to the visitor center and back down the stairs. There were some exhibits at the top of the top of the stairs as well but not many. Then explored the gift shop which was quite large and to the left when you walk into the visitor center. They had a lot of merch specific for Valley Forge National Historical Park which was great. We grabbed some pins and a rubber duck.

If you walk to the right when you enter the visitor center there is a large exhibit area. It's pretty huge. One of the largest indoor ones I've seen. There are a number of interactive exhibits to keep the kids entertained as well. We walked around and explored and took pictures in here while kids finished junior ranger and played. We turned junior ranger books in and got the badges before we headed out to see some of the sites.

We first stopped at the winter encampment which had a number of log huts each with exhibits inside. There was also a reenactor/interpreter in one of them. Good for a 10 min stop.

Then we stopped at the National Memorial Arch. We where hear close to noon and it was hard to get a nice photo. The best place was actually form underneath in it's shadow. Sadly there were a number of people here and hard to get a photo with no one else in it. You park at the bottom of the hill and have to walk up to the arch. It is a caved walkway.

We stopped next at Washington's Headquarters. There was restrooms here next to parking lot. You walk down the winding path to the Valley Forge Train Station which had a number of exhibits inside. You continue down the path to Washington's Headquarters. There are multiple rooms here to explore and up stairs. The trail is a loop so you goa round and make your way back to the top.

The last stop we made was at Washington Memorial Chapel. It just looked so cool on the outside. You are able to walk into the bottom of the tower and look around. There are some signs. There is also a store and cafe in the back of the church but this is an actual church and has services and we were there on a Sunday.

Overall this place was huge and we skipped so many things but we were on a tight itinerary and we need to head out. We spent over 2 hrs exploring Valley Forge National Historical Park and I feel we barely scratched...

A very extensive outdoor park with lots of wide open space of approximately 3,000+ acres in total.

Miles of walking & hiking paths. Extensive bicycling opportunities. A plethora of ideal picnicking spots. Your dog will love all the wide open spaces for playing & running.

There is an app that can be used to do a driving tour through the park. We found it very informative.

The main "attraction" (at least for us) is George Washington's actual Winter Headquarters building. There is complete access to all three of its interior floors. A docent is on hand to give a brief overview and answer questions.

The Visitor/museum is minimal and sparse. It was somewhat underwhelming, especially when compared to other national parks. This may have to with the "young'ness" of the park. It only became a part of the National Park Service/NPS in the mid 1970s.

There is a theatre that has several films that run continuously. The main film is 19 minutes long. During the films one gets the impression that the entire history of Valley Forge is predominantly about slavery and not about the birth of our country. When in fact the main crux of Valley Forge is mostly and should be about how the civilian militia became a trained professional army and the extreme hardships/sacrifices they endured in order ro be able to win independence from a tyrannical monarch. The films also overly stress the point that women at Valley Forge & during the Revolutionary War did not get equal or the same pay as men in the 1700s. We found it strange to stress a social construct of the late 20th century upon an 18th century event/time period. We agree that equal pay for the same job is the right thing to do regardless of sex-but this is non sequitur as relates to the 1700s. Social Construct=an idea that has been created and accepted by the people...

Another historical park?  Nope.  Sure, this is a beautiful place with a lot of history.  It is kept up beautifully.  It is family and pet friendly with many sidewalks and paths to follow. Do not pass up the Washington Memorial Chapel. This is not something you see every day. It is extraordinary. Along with interesting signs and plaques to read tidbits of history that one may not know, there are historical houses, monuments and buildings to explore... but try going off the beaten path.  You may run into things that you didn't expect.  We became turned around and crossed a field trying to get back to our car.  It was slowly becoming dusk and the walk was becoming long.  My husband turned towards me all of a sudden with his eyes opened wide and a stunned look on his face.  He started looking around and stated that the temperature just dropped... drastically.  I caught up with him and it was like I just crossed a line.  A straight line across our path and the temperature dropped.  It was freezing!  Of course, he tried to explain it off but he finally gave up.  A few short steps and the temperature went back up to normal.The scenery was breathtaking.  Birds of all types and different plants.  I've been on several hikes and so noticing a couple of deers wasn't surprising.  Then we noticed a couple more and more... I've never seen such a large herd of deers.  It was amazing.  So look and notice what the park has to offer but don't forget to go off the beaten path.  Get more than you expect.  I also have it on good authority that there are cold spots in some of the historical...