Hagerstown / Antietam Battlefield KOA Holiday Blog
Book Your RV Stay, Rates as Low as $64.00 a night
Whether you’re exploring the local area or hanging out at the campground, KOA Holidays are an ideal place to relax and play. There’s plenty to do, with amenities and services to make your stay memorable. Plus, you’ll enjoy the outdoor experience with upgraded RV Sites with KOA Patio® and Deluxe Cabins with full baths for camping in comfort. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring the whole group – there’s plenty of ways to stay and explore.
Whether you’re exploring the local area or hanging out at the campground, KOA Holidays are an ideal place to relax and play. There’s plenty to do, with amenities and services to make your stay memorable. Plus, you’ll enjoy the outdoor experience with upgraded RV Sites with KOA Patio® and Deluxe Cabins with full baths for camping in comfort. Bring your family, bring your friends, or bring the whole group – there’s plenty of ways to stay and explore.
There is signage from both I-81 and I-70. We are approximately 3 miles off the interstate.
PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS OR YOUR GPS! FOLLOW DIRECTIONS BELOW.
From I-81 N or S: the EASIEST way to get here is to take Exit 4 and Follow 70 W. From 70W take Exit 24.
Turn left onto 63 and take the VERY FIRST RIGHT onto Everly Rd. ( EVERLY PLAZA )
Take a left onto Rock Hill and then bear right onto Kemps Mill. We are straight ahead 1.4 miles.
The KOA Signs are at Exit 2. You can come this way BUT IT WILL TAKE YOU THROUGH TOWN.
From Exit 2 you will go South on Route 11 and North onto 63.
PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS OR GPS !
If you are coming East on I-70: you will need to take Exit 24. DO NOT TAKE EXIT 18!!
Make a right onto 63 and take the first right onto Everly Rd. ( EVERLY PLAZA)
Make a left onto Rock Hill and bear right onto Kemps Mill. We are straight ahead 1.4 miles.
PLEASE DO NOT FOLLOW GOOGLE MAPS OR GPS !
From 70 West: you will take Exit 24. Make a left onto 63 and take the VERY FIRST RIGHT onto Everly Rd. ( EVERLY PLAZA)
Make a left onto Rock Hill and a right onto Kemps Mill. We are straight ahead 1.4 miles.
A camping trip to western Maryland offers more than beautiful scenery and evenings around the campfire. Here at Hagerstown Antietam Battlefield KOA, we’re surrounded by places that witnessed some of the most important events of the Civil War.
From the fields of Antietam to the streets of Hagerstown and the river crossings at Williamsport, our region offers opportunities to learn, explore, and reflect. Whether you’re a history enthusiast or introducing your children to America’s past, there’s a story waiting beyond the campground.
Antietam: A Day That Changed the Nation
Near the town of Sharpsburg, Antietam National Battlefield preserves the landscape where Union and Confederate armies fought on September 17, 1862. About 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing after approximately twelve hours of fighting, making it the bloodiest single day in American history.
The battle ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, making Antietam significant to both the course of the war and the struggle to end slavery.
One particularly moving landmark is Dunker Church. Built for a congregation of German Baptist Brethren who practiced pacifism, the church became a focal point of the fighting. The reconstructed building stands as a reminder that the battlefield was also a community of families, farms, and places of worship.
Give yourself time here. Looking across the landscape and reading the stories of those who experienced the battle can leave a lasting impression.
South Mountain: The Fighting Before Antietam
Three days before Antietam, Union and Confederate troops fought for control of the passes through South Mountain on September 14, 1862.
Fighting at places including Fox’s Gap, Turner’s Gap, and Crampton’s Gap helped shape the Maryland Campaign. After the Confederate withdrawal from the mountain, Lee concentrated his army near Sharpsburg, setting the stage for Antietam.
Today, South Mountain State Battlefield preserves parts of this historic landscape. Its wooded slopes offer a different perspective from Antietam’s open fields, helping visitors understand how terrain influenced the movement of armies.
Hagerstown and Williamsport: The Retreat from Gettysburg
Our local Civil War history extends beyond the famous battlefields.
After Gettysburg in July 1863, Lee’s army retreated toward Hagerstown and Williamsport. Cavalry fought in and around Hagerstown, while the rain-swollen Potomac River delayed the Confederate army’s return to Virginia. With a pontoon bridge destroyed and Union forces approaching, the river crossings became critically important.
Confederate troops established defensive positions before eventually crossing the Potomac during the night of July 13–14. These events connect our nearby towns directly to the closing chapter of the Gettysburg Campaign.
It’s a reminder that history happened along town streets and riverbanks as well as on the large battlefields we know by name.
Harpers Ferry: A Strategic River Town
Harpers Ferry offers another chapter in the region’s wartime story. In September 1862, Confederate forces under Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson surrounded the Union garrison there.
On September 15, approximately 12,500 Union troops surrendered—the largest capture of Federal forces during the Civil War. Coming just two days before Antietam, the surrender shows how closely connected the region’s military events were.
Including Harpers Ferry in your travels helps put the Maryland Campaign into a broader geographical perspective.
Make Time for History—and Time for Camp
You don’t have to explore everything in one day. Choose a historic destination, take your time with its stories, and leave room to reflect on what you’ve learned.
Then return to Hagerstown Antietam Battlefield KOA for a quiet evening along Conococheague Creek. Gather around the campfire, share what surprised you, and enjoy time together.
Our family-owned campground welcomes you to experience the beauty of western Maryland while discovering the history that surrounds us. Bring your curiosity, comfortable walking shoes, and a sense of respect for the people whose lives shaped these places.
That doesn't mean this area has to always be empty. When you start reviewing camping options, your history will display here to help compare sites and find the best stay. You will be able to share your stay information with friends or family and save it for a later time if you have a KOA Account.
Make checkout easy by booking all your reservations at once. Add your sites from different campgrounds into your shopping cart* and then choose checkout.
