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Hike With Your Dog On America's Most Famous Battlefield

By Doug Gelbert 
Experienced canine hikers are all too aware of the prohibitions against dogs on national park trails but not so many know about the hidden gems the national park service reserves for dog owners: historical parks and battlefields. Dogs are typically allowed anywhere outside buildings in these places and hikers will often find the same mountain views, verdant forests and refreshing streams familiar in national parks. All with the added bonus of engaging in our shared heritage along these tail-friendly trails.

Gettysburg National Military Park, where Civil War Union forces halted a Confederate invasion commanded by Robert E. Lee, in south-central Pennsylvania is America’s most-visited battlefield. A good way for dog owners to digest the most analyzed three days in American history - and escape the crowds - is to leave the auto tour and explore the grounds on foot. The battlefield swallows the town of Gettysburg although most of your walking will take place in quiet farmland and boulder-studded hillsides south of the village where the climactic fighting took place.

A full day to hike with your dog can be crafted on the 9-mile Billy Yank Trail and the 3.5-mile Johnny Reb Trail. Part of the Gettysburg Heritage Trails Program, printed guides lead the way on these rambles. Shorter canine hikes include the one-mile High Water Mark Trail that interprets the final desperate Confederate race across nearly one mile of open ground by the 12,000-man “Pickett’s Charge” and an historic climb that twists through the woods to the summit of Big Round Top, a crucial Union position on the top of Cemetery Ridge.

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