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News
Openings, closures, festival dates and beach notices for Harpers Ferry. Every item is dated, says where the facts came from, and points back at the pages that explain the practical side.
Front page
Travel alert
People decide on this hill over lunch. The published numbers are 4.5 to 6.5 miles and up to 1,788 feet of gain, with nothing to drink anywhere on the route.
Travel alert
The commuter railway carries people into Washington in the morning and home at night, which is the reverse of what a day-tripper needs. And it does not run at all on Saturdays.
Seasonal
Buses run every ten to fifteen minutes from nine in the morning. What changes is the end of the day, and it changes on a single night in autumn.
Travel alert
Twenty dollars a vehicle, valid three consecutive days, payable by card only. Visitors arrive with notes every week and there is nothing on site that will take them.
Seasonal
Eight dates carry no entrance charge this year. One of them falls in peak leaf season, which makes it both the best value and the worst queue of the autumn.
Archive
Event
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is presenting three public programs in October 2026 focused on John Brown's raid and its aftermath.
Event
The raid ran 16 to 18 October. The execution followed on 2 December at Charles Town. Visiting on either date is a different experience, for opposite reasons.
October 16 – October 18
Seasonal
A bright, warm day after heavy rain upstream is exactly when trips come off. The river here is fed by a long valley and it rises well after the sky has cleared.
Seasonal
Northbound walkers reach the Conservancy headquarters through spring and early summer, are photographed, and have the picture numbered in the order they arrived.