Valley Forge at 250

What happened at Valley Forge for America's 250th?

A free three-day commemoration over the Fourth of July weekend, with living history at the huts, a family festival at the National Memorial Arch and readings of the Declaration of Independence.

The weekend opened on Friday at Muhlenberg's Brigade, the rebuilt soldier huts, with a ribbon cutting and a musket firing demonstration. The park also dedicated a new storytelling fire pit there, which now hosts its evening campfire programmes. On the Fourth itself the focus moved to the Arch, where a festival called Valley Forge Then and Now brought live music, hut building, a replica cannon, a Conestoga wagon and reenactors. WHYY reported crowds around the Arch, bands, and reenactors reading the Declaration aloud.

A few extras made it feel like a proper birthday. The Valley Forge Park Alliance, the park's partner group, ran a House of Declaration at the Maurice Stephens House, with colonial games and two public readings. Courts-martial dramas played in the theater, and a free shuttle linked the main stops. Pennsylvania's House of Representatives named the day Valley Forge National Historical Park Day. The weather had its own say: extreme heat ended the outdoor programmes early on all three days.

Why is 2026 the park's 50th anniversary?

President Gerald Ford signed the law that made Valley Forge a national park on 4 July 1976. Before that it had been a Pennsylvania state park since 1893.

The ground had been protected long before the National Park Service arrived. Pennsylvania made Valley Forge its first state park in 1893, and the state ran it for more than 80 years. The Bicentennial handed it to the federal government, and the Valley Forge Park Alliance, then called the Friends of Valley Forge, was founded the same day.

The park has spent the 50th year collecting memories. A project called My Valley Forge Story gathers visitors' own stories, and temporary exhibits went up in the Visitor Center for the anniversary. The timeline below puts the two sets of dates side by side.

What can you still see of the anniversary year?

The 50th-year exhibits and stories, a last fall campfire, the March-In commemoration around 19 December, and the Declaration exhibition in Philadelphia until early January.

The anniversary was never only one weekend. The National Park Service set out commemorative exhibits for the whole year and shares 50th-year stories on its app and website. The Saturday evening campfire talks at the new fire pit run into early November, and the park holds its March-In commemoration around 19 December each year, with details posted by the park closer to the time.

In the city, about 20 miles away, the Museum of the American Revolution has a major exhibition for the 250th, The Declaration's Journey, on show until 3 January 2027. The museum also holds Washington's own war tent, the one he slept in during the war. A visit there the day before or after Valley Forge makes the two halves of the story fit together.

The museum with Washington's war tent and the 250th exhibition, valid for two days in a row, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 4.8 · Own pace, 2 days · from $27

Explore the Museum of the American Revolution ticket → Tour details

What is Encampment 250 at Valley Forge?

The park's commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the encampment itself, running from 19 December 2027 to 19 June 2028, with three headline days.

This is the anniversary Valley Forge was made for. The six months of 1777-78 turned a tired, half-supplied army into a trained one, and the park will mark them day for day. The National Park Service has named three key dates and plans more programming online and in the park between them.

There is good news on the building side, too. Washington's Headquarters, the Isaac Potts House, closed in May 2026 for a restoration that repairs flood damage from Hurricane Ida and stabilises the structure. The park expects the work to finish in 2027, in time for the 250th of Washington's arrival.

How do you see Valley Forge well during the anniversary years?

Go with a guide if you can. The park is free, but its stories are spread over a 10-mile loop, and a good guide joins them up.

From Philadelphia, the Valley Forge half-day tour is the simple choice. It leaves from 48 N 12th St, takes 4 hours 30 minutes, and includes the round trip, the guide and a donation to the park, from $149. Guests name Tom, Jason and James as their guides. Rita, who toured in September, said Tom "brought it all to life, fielded every question, and told us so many interesting stories".

For a family or a group, the private Valley Forge tour picks you up anywhere in Philadelphia, from $745 per group, and the pace is yours. If you drive yourself, the Encampment Tour is free and the trolley runs on set dates, sold by phone at the park. More on that in our trolley tour guide.

Should you wait for Encampment 250 to visit?

No. Go now, while it is quiet, and come back for the big days if you catch the bug.

The headline dates of 2027-28 will bring crowds, road changes and full shuttles, much like the Fourth of July weekend. A normal day at Valley Forge is the opposite: wide meadows, rebuilt huts you can step inside, and long views from the Arch. That calm is the best way to grasp how a city of 12,000 soldiers lived here through a winter.

There is also no ticket to wait for. The park is free every day of the year, and a guided visit now gives you the background to enjoy the commemorations later. Our guide to whether Valley Forge is worth it covers who will love it most.

Your own guide and car from any address in Philadelphia, shaped around your group, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

★ 5.0 · 4 hours · from $745

Explore the private Valley Forge tour → Tour details

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