The Revolution stretched from a Boston customs house in 1770 to a Virginia surrender field in 1781. These ten sites, most preserved by the National Park Service, are the ones to prioritise on a first trip through the founding-era east coast.
No. 01 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Independence Hall
Where the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were both signed.
Standing in the Assembly Room, six feet from the actual Rising Sun chair Washington sat in, is the closest you get to 1776.
Tip · Free timed tickets from the Independence Visitor Center; reserve at 8:30 a.m. for same-day entry.
No. 02 · Boston, Massachusetts
Boston's Freedom Trail
2.5 miles of red brick linking 16 Revolutionary sites from Boston Common to Bunker Hill.
The Old North Church, Paul Revere's house, and the Old State House balcony are all on one walkable route.
Tip · Start at the State House and walk north; the trail ends downhill at the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown.
No. 03 · Williamsburg, Virginia
Colonial Williamsburg
301 acres of restored 18th-century capital, with costumed trades and political reenactments.
The Revolutionary City programme stages Patrick Henry's speeches and the 1776 Virginia independence vote in real time.
Tip · Buy the multi-day pass; one day is not enough to see the Capitol, Governor's Palace, and the trades shops.
No. 04 · Yorktown, Virginia
Yorktown Battlefield
The October 1781 siege site where Cornwallis surrendered and the war effectively ended.
The earthworks of Redoubts 9 and 10 — stormed by Hamilton's light infantry — still stand and can be walked.
Tip · Drive the 7-mile battlefield tour loop with the NPS audio guide; takes about 90 minutes.
No. 05 · King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
Valley Forge National Historical Park
Washington's brutal winter encampment of 1777–78, where 2,000 soldiers died of disease.
Reconstructed log huts, Washington's headquarters, and a 10-mile loop drive through rolling Pennsylvania countryside.
Tip · Free entry; the trolley tour runs weekends April–October.
No. 06 · Middlesex County, Massachusetts
Lexington and Concord
The 19 April 1775 'shot heard round the world' battlefields, 30 minutes west of Boston.
Walk Battle Road from the North Bridge in Concord to Lexington Green — the original 5-mile running fight is fully traceable.
Tip · Park at Minute Man Visitor Center; bike rentals nearby make the full route comfortable.
No. 07 · Stillwater, New York
Saratoga National Historical Park
The 1777 American victory that brought France into the war.
The 'turning point of the Revolution' battlefield is uncrowded and beautifully signposted across a 9.5-mile auto tour.
Tip · Visit the Boot Monument — the only war memorial in America that deliberately omits the honoree's name (Benedict Arnold).
No. 08 · Mount Vernon, Virginia
Mount Vernon
George Washington's plantation home on the Potomac, 16 miles south of DC.
The mansion, working farm, and Washington's tomb make this the most complete founding-father estate in America.
Tip · Add the Distillery & Gristmill ticket; few visitors bother and it is genuinely interesting.
No. 09 · Concord, Massachusetts
Old North Bridge
Where colonial militia first fired back at British regulars on 19 April 1775.
Daniel Chester French's Minute Man statue and a quiet wooden bridge over the Concord River — the symbolic birthplace of the war.
Tip · Walk the half-mile path from the North Bridge Visitor Center; benches by the river are a perfect picnic stop.
No. 10 · Ticonderoga, New York
Fort Ticonderoga
The star-fort taken by Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys in May 1775.
The cannons hauled from here by Henry Knox forced the British out of Boston — and the fort itself is the best-restored in North America.
Tip · Open mid-May to late October only; the Mount Defiance overlook adds a 15-minute drive for the best photo.
Plan an itinerary by chronology, not geography: start in Boston, move to Philadelphia, finish in Virginia. The war reads like a story when you visit the sites in order.