Avis makes it easy to explore PA Civil War Trails from Lancaster

12-17-2009

Amtrak arrivals and others can use special reservation code to jump in the car and go

 

Lancaster, Pa.  –  Now it’s simpler than ever to take a road trip along the new Pennsylvania Civil War Trails (CWT), thanks to an alliance between Avis, Amtrak, and the Dutch Country Roads (DCR) region in south central Pennsylvania.  The partnership identifies Avis as the official rental car and Amtrak as the principle national transportation carrier of the CWT program.

 

Travelers go to www.dutchcountryroads.com/civilwartrails for information on the trails and the rewarding CWT Passport program, then link to Avis with a special reservation code (AWD#G727100) that ensures they have a car waiting for them at the Lancaster, Pa., railway station, complete with printed trail information, maps, and a Passport to be stamped along the way.  They can also get a pre-programmed GPS unit of trail stops for a nominal add-on cost.  (This same Avis service may be added to the Harrisburg Amtrak station in the near future.)  Trail explorers can also link to Amtrak, for their rail reservations, from this same DCR Web page.

 

Lancaster is the eastern gateway to the trails area, which encompasses much of south central Pennsylvania and contains two different road trips that explore the momentous events of June 22^nd to July 4^th, 1863.

 

The first – The Road to Harrisburg – delves into the experience of different towns as they tried to resist the advance of Confederate forces.  The second – The Road to Gettysburg – looks at how, why, and when Union troops were sent in to defend the area, which eventually culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg.  These two vantage points are brought to life along the way through numerous Story Stop points of interest, each of which is connected to a nearby attraction, restaurant, or retail property in historic towns like Chambersburg, York, Carlisle, and Columbia.

 

“We’re thrilled to partner with Avis in making the Civil War Trails more easily accessible for everyone, particularly the region’s Amtrak visitors from throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic,” said Mickey Rowley, deputy secretary of tourism for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

 

“With a CWT-outfitted Avis rental car waiting for them at the doorstep of the Lancaster station, visitors can go from zero to 150 years an hour almost instantly and get a wonderful head start on their Civil War Trails adventure along the beautiful and historic Dutch Country Roads of south central Pennsylvania,” added Chris Barrett, president & CEO of the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau in Lancaster and current chair of the DCR executive committee.

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Welcome to Pennsylvania’s No. 1 tourist region, Dutch Country Roads!  The nine counties comprising the DCR region – Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, and York – offer visitors an inviting mix of rural beauty and urban chic, as well as a convenient central location for your Pennsylvania getaway.  For more information, visit www.dutchcountryroads.com.

 

Avis is the exclusive provider of rental cars for the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails (CWT), providing CWT maps and passports.  Additionally, Avis offers GPS units pre-loaded with 40 CWT “Story Stop” points of interest.  Avis operates twelve rental locations in and around the CWT region, including five near the CWT gateway entrances of Lancaster and Harrisburg.  For more information, visit www.avis.com.

 

Catch the Keystone!  Amtrak's Keystone Line runs between New York City and Harrisburg by way of Philadelphia.  The Keystone provides frequent daily service, affordable fares, competitive trip times, comfortable seating, and more.  For more information about the Keystone and other Amtrak routes, visit www.amtrak.com.

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