Visitor Center At Valley Forge — Attraction in Upper Merion Township

We have been visiting Valley Forge National Park since I was a child. There are 3,500 acres of meadows, woodlands and monuments of the Revolutionary War. It is the encampment site of General George Washington and the Continental Army during the winter of 1777-1778. You can drive through yourself, bring your own bike or rent one there, run, walk or take a trolley tour. The trolley tours are about 90 minutes. The Visitors Center is free to walk through to explore the Valley Forge Encampment museum exhibits full of knowledge and artifacts. It is child friendly. There is even a free informative short film of the encampment. The Visitors Center has a gift shop for souvenir collectors. You will see log huts where the soldiers in the "life guard" camped, cannons, statues, the grave of the unknown soldier and the beautiful structural Arch, the horse stables and the covered bridge. There is a path to walk aside of the covered bridge along Valley Creek. Slightly off that path, for the adventurous, you can climb up to an old Spring Bottling Plant that still has running water! The Washington Memorial Chapel is located inside the park. You can walk through or even attend during service times. Valley forge is located in Pennsylvania. Be prepared to spend the day. You can bring or buy snacks. There is a picnic area along with bathrooms located through the park. You can find many restaurants or fast food places located close by in King of Prussia, Pa. The only disappointment we found is the grass and brush on the many acres are not as well maintained as they use to be. We feel it takes away from the beautiful views. There is plenty of free parking lots to choose from. A must see when visiting...

I was really let down by our experiences at the visitor center. We went specifically to pick up a supposed “free” historical comic book for my son that was reported by the regional news channel. No one knew what we were talking about. The park rangers were the only folks super friendly, helpful, and empathetic. They weren’t sure where to go, so they sent us to the gift shop. The gift shop sent us back to the rangers and then we told her we were just there, then she was condescending and asked where did I “supposedly” hear about it and I said a news article on the internet and she rolled her eyes and said “you know you can’t believe everything you read on the internet” (Really, Lady???) and then she wanted me to PROVE it by showing her the article...then she said “oh, maybe that’s the folks at the tourism desk but they aren’t here on Saturdays”. Why would they not be there on Saturdays??? The place was packed!!! Needless to say, I left without a comic book for my son, and lucky for the gift shop lady that I left without busting her teeth out. The shining light was the park rangers spoke kindly to both my children and engaged them in some other activities so our trip was not all for naught. I also voiced my complaint to the Montgomery County Bureau of Tourism and they did not respond. Very...

This was a Boy Scout Troop historical trip to Valley Forge. We drove from Suffolk County, NY and left at 5:30 am on a Saturday and did not hit any traffic.

We stayed at a Boy Scout camp that is owned and operated by a local troop, it was great!

We arrived at Valley Forge at 11 am, was able to watch a quick historic movie that gave an overview of Valley Forge. We toured the museum, purchased a couple of items and then we went on a short hike of just over 6 miles. The hike brought us around the grounds and through some of the fields, Muhlenberg Brigade which featured cabins, multiple monuments such as the Maine Memorial, the National Memorial Arch, ate lunch at the Wayne’s Woods picnic area, the Artillery Park,School house the Statue of General Friedrich von Steuben, passed by Varnum’s Quarter and the Waterman Monument. Then we were greeted at the Washington Memorial Chapel and had the pleasure of a special introduction history lesson of the chapel by the pastor. The stained glass and the stories they tell are amazing! We then passed by Maurice Stephens House (it was under renovations), the headed back to the campgrounds to cook dinner. Camped in tents for the night 27deg, woke early ate a quick breakfast and headed back home by 12:30. Great day and a half trip. Highly...