Gettysburg hopes Little Round Top will reopen before 161st anniversary events in early July. The site has undergone improvements over the past two years.

A new retaining wall is built at the 91st Pennsylvania monument (GNMP)

Gettysburg National Military Park estimates Little Round Top will reopen to the public in late spring or early summer, nearly two years after a massive rehabilitation project began, according to a park spokesman.

The popular site closed on July 26, 2022, to the disappointment of visitors who planned trips but welcomed by others who lauded the project.

The hill is where Union forces fought off a furious Confederate assault on July 2, 1863, during the three-day battle in Pennsylvania.

Park officials have said they are addressing ongoing problems at the overcrowded site. They cited erosion, overwhelmed parking areas, poor accessibility and related safety hazards, and degraded vegetation.

“This project will also enhance the visitor experience with improved interpretive signage, new accessible trail alignments, and gathering areas. These improvements will allow visitors to better immerse themselves into the historic landscape that is essential to understanding the three-day Battle of Gettysburg,” a 2022 news release said. 

A park page on the project says the aim is to “reestablish, preserve, and protect the features that make up this segment of the battlefield landscape.” 

Some 164 feet above the Plum Run Valley to the west, the hill became the anchor of the Union’s left flank and a focal point of Confederate attacks on the afternoon of July 2. The 4^th,15^{th and 47th} Alabama regiments made a series of legendary assaults against the 20^th Maine.

“The (Maine) regiment’s sudden, desperate bayonet charge blunted the Confederate assault on Little Round Top and has been credited with saving Major General George Gordon Meade’s Army of the Potomac, winning the Battle of Gettysburg and setting the South on a long, irreversible path to defeat,” according to the American Battlefield Trust.

Wednesday’s update on social media indicated Little Round Top may be open in time for 161^st anniversary programs and events in early July. The Picket reached out to park spokesman Jason Martz..

"Maybe. That is our hope, but it's too soon to speculate," Martz said in an email.

Little Round Top seen from Plum Run Valley (Library of Congress)

Little Round Top traditionally is the top destination for park visitors, he said, followed by the visitor center and museum and Devil's Den.

When asked about archaeological investigations during the work, Martz said a lot of battle material was found, including “a few unique items, but nothing that would move the needle too much one way or the other. The archaeological process is long and drawn out and final details won't be available for quite some time.”

A Dyer artillery round was found in February 2022, with park officials saying then they believe a Confederate cannon fired at Federal position and mistakenly dropped them on friendly Texas regiments trying to navigate the difficult terrain.

Martz said officials have enough details to largely close the loop on that story and will provide an update in the future.

Breaking news: Devil's Den will reopen Friday after six-month rehabilitation project, Gettysburg park officials say

The landmark in 1909, at the advent of the car era (NPS photo)

Devil’s Den, scene of fierce fighting during the July 1863 battle, will reopen on Friday after a six-month project that tackled erosion and unauthorized trails that created safety hazards, Gettysburg National Military Park announced Thursday.

“The project reestablished the features that make up this segment of the battlefield and will allow visitors to better immerse themselves into the historic landscape that is essential to understanding the three-day Battle of Gettysburg,” park said in a social media post.

The work tripled trail access to those with disabilities, increased overall greenspace by trimming some trail space and added features that will help with water runoff. Slip-resistant steps replaced uneven and worn stone steps, officials said.

“Although the area will reopen to visitors, one central area will remain fenced to allow more time for further vegetation growth. The fencing in this area will remain until native grasses have fully established. This process may take up to two growing seasons – up to 2024. In the interim, all non-native vegetation will continue to be treated within the entire project area.”

View of Devil's Den from Little Round Top (Wikipedia, Wilson44691)

The reopening comes amid similar work on Little Round Top, which closed to visitors in July. “The rehabilitation of Little Round Top will address overwhelmed parking areas, poor accessibility and related safety hazards, significant erosion, and degraded vegetation,” the park said.

After the park earlier this year announced the Devil's Den closure in a Facebook post, critics and supporters weighed in. One said the need for work at both areas has been known for years and the public will be disappointed that two landmarks would be closed at the same time. Others said people should be grateful the work is happening to perpetuate the memory of those who fought there.

Park spokesman Jason Martz told the Picket in a March email that the timing of the projects was a coincidence, but they are both meant to address problem areas.

Devil’s Den was the scene of fierce fighting on July 2, 1863, during the decisive battle. The boulder-strewn hill was the object of forces under Confederate Lt. James Longstreet. Rebels took the position and engaged in fire with Union troops on Little Round Top.

Volunteers recently assisted the park with clearing vegetation overgrowth at Devil's Den as it neared reopening. Park officials then treated stumps to prevent sprouting.

View of Devil's Den after volunteers cleared vegetation (NPS)