Pennsylvania: Valley Forge, Valley Forge Park, Storytelling Benches, Archeological Finds, and Outdoor Carillon Concerts. 
From storytelling to biking, campfires to trolley tours, bird watching to concerts and historic reenactments, visitors will find it all this summer at Valley Forge National Historical Park in King of Prussia. It is definitely a place to relax with your kids and sample tiny bits of history framed with natural beauty.
Valley Forge National Historical Park is a natural treasure. Bicyclists pedal hard up the hills and zip down, past rows of cannon and monuments to the American Revolution. Mothers wheel baby carriages along the paved paths; deer graze in the meadows blanketed with wildflowers; children duck in and out of huts, imagining they’re soldiers in George Washington’s Continental Army.
Hear a story. A new addition to the Park this year is the “Once Upon A Nation” storytelling benches, located at the Welcome Center, National Memorial Arch and Washington's Headquarters. Short, engaging tales of the encampment will be shared daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by trained interpreters.
Stay after closing. Valley Forge After Hours allows you to spend an intimate Saturday evening with key figures from the Valley Forge encampment, like General George Washington and Alexander Hamilton. Take a trolley from the Welcome Center to Washington’s Headquarters for a picnic supper. Continue the fun with a campfire on the Grand Parade, where Continental soldiers tell tales of the winter.
Ride a bike. Visitors may explore the Park on rented Hybrid bikes on their own or with free ranger-led bike tours. The guided, 90-minute Weekend Bike Tours are offered on Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. Bike rentals are available at the lower Welcome Center parking lot daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at the Betzwood Picnic area Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Labor Day, weather permitting. The bikes for rent are “path” bikes which have frames and gears like a mountain bike with an upright seating position, a wide comfortable saddle, a less aggressive tire set, and seat post suspension. With 21 speeds they’re well suited to the paved bike paths at the Park. Two sizes of kid-friendly bikes are available, as well as buggies that tow behind an adult bike for the little ones. Also available is a Tag-a-long, a half bike that goes onto the back of an adult bike, for children up to 80 pounds who just want to sit back and enjoy the ride. Helmets are available for everyone and are included in the rental price.
Need to know: Bike rentals are available from the lower Welcome Center parking lot Labor Day through the end of October on Saturdays and Sundays. Two-hour rentals are available and family discounts are available.
Follow a ranger. 
Daily 40-minute ranger-led walking tours at 11:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. allow visitors to hear about the Park’s natural history, and learn what features led General Washington to choose it for the Continental Army’s six-month encampment during the winter of 1777-78.
Experience 20 minutes of history. Visitors at the Welcome Center gallery can wiggle their way into 18th-century garb, touch and learn about artifacts discovered in a recent archeological dig, or consider a doctor’s medical training as they handle surgical tools and learn about medical practices during the encampment era. The 20-minute talks are held Monday through Friday at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.
Ride a trolley. Guided, open-air Valley Forge Trolley Tours present the encampment experience in a whole new way. Ninety minutes in duration, they depart from the Welcome Center daily at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m., and stop at key landmarks. For prices and reservations call 610.783.7503.
Count the birds. Valley Forge National Historical Park is also one of the best bird-watching places in the region, attracting some 216 species. Naturalists from the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove will be at Varnum’s Quarters Saturdays, June 9 through August 11, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help visitors spot rare raptors.
Enjoy the music. 
The Washington Memorial Chapel hosts a series of outdoor Carillon concerts every Sunday afternoon in June and July, from 12:30 p.m. through 3:30 p.m., and on Wednesday evenings during July and August at 7:30 p.m. All concerts are conducted rain or shine and are free to the public. Blankets, lawn chairs and refreshments are permitted.
Discover off-road trails. Steeped in history, 3,600-acre Valley Forge is the largest expanse of open space in Southeastern Pennsylvania. It’s also the gateway to a region jam-packed with recreation and outdoor fun. Within Montgomery County alone, there are more than 12,000 acres of forests and park land, rivers, lakes and streams, plus miles of dedicated off-road trails. More than 15 miles of paved trails run throughout Valley Forge and connect to a well-maintained system of recreational trails criss-crossing the entire five-county region.
Rent a boat. Newest of paved trails is the 19-mile Perkiomen Trail, which wends its way from Valley Forge, along the Perkiomen Creek, through Montgomery County’s countryside, and out to the 3,400-acre Green Lane Park. Here, you’ll find grills, picnic areas, tennis courts, playgrounds and open fields for a variety of sports. Visitors may rent electric boats in the Reservoir, and row boats are available to rent at the Walt Road Launch and Deep Creek Lake.
Bonus points: There are overnight campsites, and facilities for equestrian camping. Wintertime offers the heartier sports of ice skating, cross-country skiing, sledding and ice fishing.
Also in the area: Rent a horse. If you’re longing to go horseback riding but don’t have your own mount, try the Red Buffalo Ranch in Collegeville, where you can rent a horse for a guided trail rides through beautiful Evansburg State Park. Gateway Riding Stables in Kennett Square offers mounts for riders of all sizes and levels of expertise, from ponies to draft horses.
Boat, canoe or kayak. Fishing and boating enthusiasts will find the “blueways” accessible and welcoming. At Central Perkiomen Valley Park, there are launching areas designated for motorboats, canoes and kayaks to explore the scenic waterway. You may spot herons, kingfishers, and ospreys like those that first inspired wildlife painter John James Audubon, whose home you can visit nearby. Need to know: For thrill-seekers, planned whitewater releases from Bucks County’s Lake Nockamixon are carried out in late March and early November, raising the water in the Tohickon Creek and drawing experienced paddlers from across the Northeast in closed-deck canoes and kayaks. Enthusiasts become one with the water as they maneuver around obstacles and over drop-offs through the demanding course. Launching spots are located in Ralph Stover State Park.
Tube the Delaware. Bucks County River Country rents canoes, kayaks and rafts, and offers tubing trips down the Delaware River, the longest free flowing river east of the Mississippi. Nearby is the historic spot where George Washington crossed the river in an attack on Trenton during the American Revolution. Bring the children without worry as the current moves at a leisurely 1.5 miles an hour. Or you can explore Chester County’s rivers and creeks through Northbrook Canoe Company, a place specializing in fun along the Brandywine.
About Valley Forge National Historical Park. 
Valley Forge National Historical Park is located at Rt. 23 and North Gulph Road in King of Prussia, Pa. It educates present and future generations of Americans about one of the most defining events in our nation's history by preserving the natural and cultural resources that commemorate the encampment of the Continental Army at Valley Forge in 1777-78.
Make it happen: Valley Forge CVB at
www.ValleyForge.com.
Books for the Trip When Washington Crossed the Delaware: A Wintertime Story for Young Patriots. By Lynne Cheney, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (October 12, 2004) (Ages 4-8)
America: A Patriotic Primer. By Lynne Cheney, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, Simon & Schuster Books. Young an alphabet book intended for elementary school children and their families. (Ages 3-7)
The Winter of the Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart. By Christina Gregory, Scholastic Parade, 1996. (Ages 9-12)
Valley Forge (Places in American History). By Libby Hughes, Dillon Press, 1993. (Ages 9-12)
Paul Revere, Valley Forge, Molly Pitcher, Nathanial Hale (Living Adventures from American History). Volume II Audio Cassette, Independent Publishers Marketing, 1995. (Ages 9-12)
Valley Forge (Cornerstones of Freedom). By Richard Conrad Stein, Children’s Press, 1997. (Ages 9-12)
