Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Located on the borders of Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia, Harpers Ferry is absolutely stunning in the fall.
If you were educated in the United States, the name Harpers Ferry should be a very familiar one. You may not know what it stands for exactly, but you’ve definitely heard it before in your middle school history classes and beyond. Having grown up in Maryland, I had proximity to several major Civil War battlefields during my youth, and even when to Gettysburg one year as a middle school field trip.
Harpers Ferry was the very first conflict that sparked the beginning of the American Civil War when John Brown led a raid in Harpers Ferry hoping to inspire a major revolt against slavery in the South. It was a failure, and almost every one involved in the plot was killed or executed, but it is now considered a prelude to the American Civil War over slavery.
Nowadays, the historical town is considered a National Park in the United States. It is located in a corridor of West Virginia that touches Maryland and Virginia; if you’re driving up from north in Maryland, you’ll even move through each of the three states in a span of three minutes.
From Baltimore, Maryland, this is an hour and ten minute drive, making it a perfect day trip for hiking or just walking around the town. We chose to walk around the town, but my sister has been hiking on the Maryland Heights and described the actual act of hiking up the mountain brutal for unexperienced hikers.
Harpers Ferry is a National Park, but there’s more to do than hiking.
We came to Harpers Ferry on October 31, 2021, in hopes that everyone was going to stay at home so we could beat out the usual fall crowds in these parts.
We arrived at 9:30 am and the parking lot was almost empty; we parked in the one you had to pay $20 for (but you get access to it for three days so it’s not too bad if you’re planning to stick around) and take a five minute shuttle to the main part of the town. 100% wear your walking shoes if you didn’t know about this town—it’s all steep steps and major hills if you want to go and actually see everything.
The first main stretch of the town are the bookshop and buildings you can enter that serve as museums. Not all of them are open all the time; the last time I came to Harpers Ferry, in the winter, there was nothing that was actually open. But this time almost everything was open; do be aware that some of the shops do open a bit later (looking at the famous candy shop that we took our time getting to).
We first wandered in the bookshop, which sells the classic National Park gear with the Harpers Ferry image on it and old history books about the Civil War. We then wandered in and out of the museums, learning about how the town was completely destroyed multiple times by floods, that the local Black college served as an education place for the entire Black community, as well as viewed the types of guns that were made in the area during the 1850s.
This town is surrounded by railroad tracks that are actually still used today; we were in one of the museums when one of the closest tracks to the town were occupied, but you could definitely hear it reverberating through the small building.
A quaint town full of artisanal crafts lies in the heart of this beautiful town.
The main drag of the town is filled with local artisan shops and places to eat. We wandered in and out of the shops that were open, looking at handmade jewelry and local moonshine. We didn’t buy anything since these were indeed pricy, but they were nice to look at. The shopkeepers all tended to be quite kind as well. My favorite shop on the main drag is the candy shop: True Treats Historic Candy. They’ve gotten major press from almost all American major outlets, and, walking in, I can see why.
They sold all these candies with meticulously done research behind them; they were sorted by era. So in the 1700s section you could find Native American herbal blends explaining how they were used, as well as candies that were eaten in the colonies, England, and France. Then you could move to the next century and find out an entire new wealth of information. This was the most crowded store out of them all, so try to get there at opening (their sign says they open at 11-ish) if you can.
Speaking of crowdedness, as we moved our way up the hills and towards the historic church, it started getting very crowded. I recommend arriving early to beat these crowds, because just as we were leaving for the day, so many people started turning up. You do have to wear a mask inside all of the National Park buildings, but because these are narrow streets and sidewalks, I did not feel comfortable being so close to people all of the time. Lots of cute dogs though. They were all terrified as the trains whirled past because they were so loud.
Up a very steep hill (or some steep stone sets for those less faint-of-heart) lies the church. It’s a Catholic church that has services every Sunday morning, but I love the stained glass windows in there. Turn around at the church square and you’ll find an awesome view of the river, railroads, and mountains surrounding the area. I also really recommend going in fall—it was just so beautiful seeing the leaves changing. Although this year the leaves were a bit later, we still got to see hints of that beauty.
Past the church lies the remains of the old church, the vast cemetery, and the college where Black students were educated at. There’s a small hike to get there, where you pass Jefferson’s Rock. Thomas Jefferson once stood at that spot and said that the view he saw in that spot was worth traveling across the Atlantic for (he lived in Paris for a good chunk of his life, as he was the ambassador to France).
My mother and I, both of whom are out of shape, promptly died on this hike and a hiker guy laughed at us as we wheezed. We were very unprepared and dressed in warm clothes, okay?
After that we walked over to the small bridge you can walk across over the water, then chose to head out. It was starting to get grey and overcast and we had decided to eat in nearby Charles Town. I had picked out a restaurant ten minutes away that served both American classic and Peruvian food: it's name is Rossy’s Place.
I was weary of the places in Harpers Ferry because they were mainly delis or pubs and I wanted options besides sandwiches, and I was not disappointed by Rossy’s. I ordered the pan con chicharón. I’d never had Peruvian food before, but I liked what I got, so I’d recommend it! But like many other places affected by the lack of workers due to COVID, the service was a bit slow.
I’d go back again! I’d prefer to go on a day when it’s not crowded, and, one day if I’m ever in shape, to go on the hiking trails. I know that the hikes here are intense but that’s only motivation to get better, isn’t it? But even if you’re not into hiking, Harpers Ferry has a little bit for everyone: beautiful sights, history, and some exercise to get your muscles moving. We went on a day when it was cold at first, warmed up, then got cold again, which was perfect because we weren’t sweating too much. All in all, I recommend Harpers Ferry if you’re ever in the area.
