Visitors and Residents alike occasionally need access to free wireless internet. Occasionally we get asked where places are to work remotely, so we’ve compiled a brief list of all the free-wifi locations we know of in Gettysburg and around Adams County. If you know of another location not on this list, feel free to contact us 🙂
Coffee Shops
Coffee Shops are probably one of the #1 locations for free wifi. Who doesn’t feel more productive with a hot cup of coffee and a danish while digging down into the digital world? We have a couple coffee shops throughout the county that are perfect locations:
- Deja Brew Coffee Shop – Our top choice for a nice relaxed coffee shop remote working location. They have plenty of seating, the environment is artistic and clean, excellent for working, and they have amazing sweets to eat while working.
- Ugly Mug Coffee Shop – We love the Ugly Mug. It’s run by the local college, and their mexican hot chocolate is supreme. Their internet uses the college network, however, so it can be a little slow if you’re competing with a high traffic time with students.
- Ragged Edge Coffee Shop – Ragged edge is another beautiful location in town. Their seating is limited and parking can be an issue, but this is a high traffic hangout in downtown Gettysburg
- Starbucks – Plenty of Parking and amazing food. Granted it’s not a local company, but we felt it necessary to add them to the list anyway.
Libraries
- Adams County Library System – We love spending time in the library when needing to work remotely. You can check out books, their internet is average, and for the most part you can find seating. East Berlin has the most comfortable seating. Biglerville is gorgeous but has fairly uncomfortable seating. Gettysburg’s library always has parking issues, but it’s the largest so you can generally find a place to hunker down. East Berlin we haven’t been to yet so we’d have to check them out. Internet at all of the libary systems is about the same.
Tourist Areas
- Gettysburg Historic Lincoln Square – If you are downtown, most likely you’ve been in some of the buildings and noticed the difficulty getting a signal on your cellphone due to the age of the buildings. Gettysburg Borough offers free wifi around the square, which is helpful when you’re taking a night out on the town and want to conserve data. It’s fairly slow and not always reliable, but it works in a pinch.
Community Centers
- YWCA Gettysburg Adams – Even if you aren’t a member of the YWCA, they have their own little Ragged Edge Coffee and seating area that allows you access to the wifi. We always suggest making sure to buy something from them (or any of the vendors listed here) if you are going to use their internet. It’s just the right thing to do 🙂
Laundromats
- North Gettysburg Laundry Center – Offers free wifi while you are doing your laundry. How convenient 🙂
Gas Station Lounges
- Sheetz – Places like Sheetz that have little lounge areas are perfect for getting on some remote wifi connections.
Restaurants and Wineries
There are way too many restaurants and wineries to list here, but virtually all of them have free wifi. Nothing like a glass of wine and the soft glow of Netflix to make an evening of Netflix and Chill.
Hotel Restaurants
Obviously all hotels have free wifi, but if you’re a resident you’re likely not staying in a hotel. However, don’t discount the hotel restaurants. Most of them have decent food or a bar, so a relaxing evening with a snack and a cup of coffee is not bad if you need to use free internet.
Staying Safe on Public Internet
What all of these places have in common is you are using a public network to access the internet. It’s possible that more times than not you will be able to browse safely, especially if you aren’t entering in any private information like credit cards or passwords.
However, we ALWAYS recommend protecting yourself on all public networks, because you never know who else is on there with you.vast referral. This is where we recommend using a VPN on your phone and/or laptop.
What is a VPN?
VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network”. It basically creates a secure “tunneL’ that hides your IP address behind its protocols, encrypts everything you are doing and allows you to remain on a public network securely and anonymously. You are basically anonymous on the web and all of your data is secure.
Where can I get a VPN?
AVAST! is one of the top anti-virus companies available for its price. They provide a VPN for both desktop and mobile for a reasonable price. For you desktop/laptop you can get a VPN for $60/year, and for your cellphone you can get one for $20/year. Reasonable price to keep yourself from getting hacked on a public network at a restaurant, airport, library, etc. Simply install it on your phone and activate it when you’re on a public network and you are good to go 🙂
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