Valley Forge Park To Open New Temporary Visitor Center

VALLEY FORGE, PA — With the $12 million renovation project at Valley Forge National Park's current visitor center set to begin, a new temporary center will open up.

The new 5,760 square foot center will allow for the renovations, scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2020, to begin. The current visitor center was built in 1976.

The new center will open on Dec. 14. It will be located just 800 feet from the current center, in the main parking lot. It will offer all the same services, ranging from basic interpretive information to maps, guiding services, ranger-led tours, bathrooms, an 18-minute orientation film, and The Encampment Store.

“We’re excited to open this new facility and begin renovations to our existing Visitor Center,” park Superintendent Steven D. Sims said in a statement. “Our staff and our park partners have been working hard over the last few months preparing for this relocation and the opening of the new Visitor Center on December 14th. This should be a seamless transition for park visitors. "

The changes will run on the folowing schedule:

• Dec. 9: last day to view museum exhibits in current visitor center
• Dec. 13: visitor center closes for good at the end of the day
• Dec. 14: new visitor center opens

The renovations to the main visitor center include new windows, flooring, carpets, and signage, along with expanded accessibility. There's also a new $2.2 million museum exhibit that gives visitors a more in-depth look at the park's heritage and history.

Visitors to the park looking to access the temporary visitor center can park in the same lot they normally would.

Image courtesy National Park Service