One hundred and eighty federally designated miles from Gettysburg down to Monticello, through ground the Revolutionary War, the Underground Railroad and the Civil War each crossed.
- The route
- Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway, a National Scenic Byway
- How long
- 180 miles end to end. The byway’s own record gives no suggested time, so we do not offer one — how many days this takes is yours to decide.
- How far apart
- Our stops on it sit within 139 miles of one another.
- Fees
- None to drive the byway itself; individual sites set their own.
Our guides along it
4 guides across 4 states. Where you start, where you stop and how long you stay are yours to pick.
HarrisburgPennsylvania
The northern end of the corridor, and the closest guide to Gettysburg.
FrederickMaryland
The middle of the byway, and the base for Antietam.
Harpers FerryWest Virginia
Where the Potomac and the Shenandoah meet, and where John Brown’s raid began.
Shenandoah CountryVirginia
The southern stretch, and the closest guide to Monticello.
What our guides already say about sites on it
Each of these is written up in the guide named beneath it. Nothing on this page is new text.
Gettysburg National Military Park
The site of the 1863 Civil War battle. The battlefield and national cemetery are free, with roads open from just before sunrise to just after sunset; tickets are required for the film, the cyclorama painting and the museum. The park’s own site carries the fuller history.
from Harrisburg
Antietam National Battlefield
A preserved Civil War landscape near Sharpsburg — rolling farmland, historic structures and monuments maintained by the National Park Service. About 40 minutes west.
from Frederick
Charlottesville & Monticello
Jefferson's home and the University of Virginia, just south down I-64 from where Skyline Drive ends.
from Shenandoah Country
In this corridor, and not in a guide yet
Listed so this page is not mistaken for a complete one.
- Monocacy National Battlefield — Three miles south of Frederick and in no guide yet. The Frederick guide is the one to add it to.
- Manassas National Battlefield Park — In the corridor’s lower half and in no guide yet; the nearest guide we publish is Frederick, 50 miles north.
Where these facts come from
- The byway’s length, designation, endpoints and corridor description — fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov, checked 2026-11-01