History aficionados of all types flock to Gettysburg all year to explore the battlefields, bustling downtown and surrounding rural regions. During my recent visit, I enjoyed a stay at the historic Baladerry Inn. With its Civil War ties, rumored hauntings and heart-warming hospitality, the inn was the perfect base for my Gettysburg adventures.

The property is one of the most historic in Gettysburg and consists of an original main house built in 1812, and a relatively new carriage house. Both provide multiple bed and breakfast-style guestrooms with private bathrooms, as well as additional seating and social spaces in the main house and private outdoor spaces for each carriage house guestroom.

The inn’s main house was a Civil War field hospital for the Army of the Potomac. That’s where its haunting rumors begin. While the inn may not blatantly advertise this, there have been plenty of prior news articles written on the fact, and there’s a binder discretely tucked away in the main house sitting room — a scrapbook filled with guest stories of ghostly experiences alongside photos of supposed ghostly figures and orbs, though these are both easily explained away as shadows and tricks of the light.

While my own penchant for hotels and inns with resident ghosts may have led me to put too much stock into the bumps in the night I heard during my stay, I can’t definitively promise a ghostly experience for any future guest. However, I can promise you’ll find a warm welcome and old-fashioned hospitality the moment you check into Baladerry Inn.

Thanks to the inn’s friendly cat, the hospitable inn owners and the overall cozy, homey feel of the place, you’ll instantly find yourself at ease. The guestrooms offer residential-style decor and plenty of space. My guestroom in the carriage house provided enough room for my husband and me to spread out with all our luggage and work items without any problems. Additionally, the carriage house guestroom offers a first-floor patio with seating, a wonderful spot to sit in the morning with a cup of coffee and a view of the fog-covered lawn.

The inn serves breakfast each day from a varying menu of sweet and savory items that the guests devour with gusto on the main house patio. After every breakfast, guests, including my husband and me, would often wander about the property, making stops at the gazebo on the lawn or the bench-encircled fire pit to sip a second or third cup of coffee while further enjoying the countryside scenery.

By the end of my two-night stay, I was thoroughly enchanted with the experience Baladerry Inn offers and, during my next visit to Gettysburg, you can be sure that’s where you’ll find me. Spooks or not, the Baladerry Inn gives guests an easy home away from home with a healthy dose of history.

The Baladerry Inn

40 Hospital Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325
tel 717 337 1342