Escapees Harpers Ferry Hangout

Escapees Harpers Ferry Hangout is coming to Harpers Ferry/Civil War Battlefields KOA Holiday in Harpers Ferry, WV!

Step back in time in the Shenandoah River Valley

Located at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, directly across from Maryland and Virginia, the West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry is rich in history and stunning scenery. During the seven-night Harpers Ferry Hangout, hosted by Lifetime Members Amanda & Jesse Hess SKP# 148418, you’ll learn about the town’s role as a strategic transportation hub during the Civil War and explore the area’s rugged topography and beautiful rivers.

It’s one thing to read about the area’s history, but it’s another thing to walk it. On a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, led by a certified guide from the Harpers Ferry Park Association, you’ll visit many significant historical locations that tell the story of geography and natural history, the John Brown Raid–a flash point that ignited the Civil War, Meriwether Lewis at Harpers Ferry, Storer College, the Niagara Movement, transportation, waterpower, and industry.

You’ll visit the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland, the site of the bloodiest day in American history, when 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after 12 hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederacy’s first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

During your visit to the 50th Annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival–one of the largest festivals of its kind, celebrating all things sheep from hoof to handwoven–you’ll get to witness the Sheep to Shawl Competition and other contests, attend fiber arts and crafts workshops, shop more than 250 vendors of wool yarn and other fibers, watch a parade of breeds and border collie demonstrations, enjoy live music, dine on delicious lamb dishes, and view lamb cooking contests and demonstrations.

The Shenandoah Valley teems with outdoor recreational opportunities. You’ll get to take advantage of several of them during this Hangout, including hiking the Murphy-Chambers Farm Trail in Harpers Ferry NHP and a section of the Appalachian Trail that passes through the area, and bicycling on the historic C&O Canal Towpath near Shepherdstown, where mules once towed canal boats along the scenic 184-mile waterway (bike rentals are available in the area if you don’t have your own).

After your bicycle ride, you’ll have time to explore Shepherdstown, West Virginia’s oldest town and “one of America’s coolest small towns”. Here, you’ll be treated to a private blacksmithing history talk and demonstration by veteran blacksmith and metalsmith Dan Tokar, followed by an included farewell dinner and an evening Ghost Tour of the historic town.

You and your Escapees friends will also celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a salsa throwdown (benefitting Escapees CARE) and taco potluck dinner, share everyone’s personal favorite craft beers from around the country during a “pub-luck” tasting, enjoy some of the local breweries, socialize around the campfire, and much more, all during the Harpers Ferry Hangout!