Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant was becoming quite famous as he wrote these words following the surrender of Confederate Fort Donelson on Sunday, February 16, 1862. The Union victory at Fort Donelson elated the North, and stunned the South. Within days of the surrender, Clarksville and Nashville would fall into Union hands. Grant and his troops had created a pathway to victory for the Union.
About 1.5 hours from Nashville by car.
Alerts
- InformationFort Donelson NB Park Fall Hours
Visitor Access to Fort Donelson NB Park Lands: Pedestrian Access is from sunrise to sunset. Automobile Access to Fort Donelson NB Park Roads 8:00 am – 6:00 p.m. daily.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Fort Donelson National Battlefield | Daily · 8:00AM - 4:30PM |
Hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hours | 8:00AM - 4:30PM |
| Sep 6 to Nov 2, 2026NowLabor Day to Fall Time Change | 8:00AM - 6:00PM |
| Nov 2, 2026 to Mar 8, 2027Fall Time Change - Spring Time Change | 8:00AM - 4:30PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Thanksgiving Day | Closed |
| Dec 25, 2026Christmas Day | Closed |
| Jan 1, 2027New Year's Day | Closed |
| Mar 11 to May 29, 2027Mid-March to Memorial Day | 8:00AM - 6:00PM |
| May 31 to Sep 6, 2027Memorial Day to Labor Day | 8:00AM - 8:00PM |
When to go
May draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Fort Donelson Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Visitor Center is at the main park entrance, just off Highway 79. Museum exhibits, a gift shop, handicapped accessible restroom, and information are available for visitors.
Explore
Things to do
- Pets60-180 Minutes
Pets in the Park
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Trails at Fort Donelson NB45-90 Minutes
Immerse yourself in the beauty of the historic site by hiking the park trails. You may see migratory birds, bald eagles, and lovely native wildflowers. Lovely views of the Cumberland River/Barkley Lake may be seen as well.
Opens on the Park Service site - Stop by the Fort Donelson NB Visitor Center15-45 Minutes
Visitor Center
Opens on the Park Service site - Want to Become a Junior Ranger?30-90 Minutes
Junior Rangers
Opens on the Park Service site - Fort Donelson NB Autotour Route30-60 Minutes
An excellent way to understand the historic site include the self-guided auto tour.
Opens on the Park Service site - Fort Donelson: Then and Now30-90 Minutes
Fort Donelson: Then and Now
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 7Hide
- Quilt Trail30-180 Minutes
Quilt Block: Joseph's Coat
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- “Blow everything you know”: Civil War Bugle Calls10/2411:00 AM · freeLower River Battery, Tour Stop 4.
- A Surgeon’s Dilemma: Life, Limb and Loss10/2402:00 PM · freeDover Hotel, 101 Petty Street, Dover, Tour Stop 10
- Pillow and Buckner: Command Decisions and Consequences10/3102:00 PM · free418 Cedar St., Dover
- Waiting at the Landing10/3111:00 AM · free
News
- Fort Donelson National Battlefield Moves Forward with Visitor Center ↗2026-05-26
The National Park Service will resume rehabilitation of the Fort Donelson Visitor Center this summer, advancing efforts to improve accessibility, safety and visitor services at Fort Donelson National Battlefield while…
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Mt. Zion Church and CemeterySite · Elkhorn · 10.5 mi
- Great Western FurnaceStructure · Dover · 10.7 mi
- SeclusavalBuilding · Murray · 14.1 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Forest Service trails nearby
These trails are outside the park on National Forest land, within 15 miles of Fort Donelson. Each one opens on Trailhead Atlas.
Distance is measured from the park's reference point to the nearer end of the trail.
Guidebooks for the South
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthBald Eagle 1× · Eastern Screech-Owl 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 155 birds, 36 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Black Vulture · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Great Horned Owl · Hen Harrier · Mississippi Kite · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Black Duck · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Black-crowned Night Heron · Blue Goose · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Common Loon · Common Teal · Double-crested Cormorant · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Green Heron · Hooded Merganser · Little Blue Heron · Northern Pintail · Pied-billed Grebe · Ring-necked Duck · Ruddy Duck · Wood Duck · Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Woodcock · Black Tern · Bonaparte's Gull · Caspian Tern · European Herring Gull · Forster's Tern · Greater Yellowlegs · Killdeer · Ring-billed Gull · Semipalmated Plover · spotted sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Pigeon · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · American Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · Baltimore Oriole · Barn Swallow · Belted Kingfisher · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Blackburnian Warbler · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Bobolink · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Starling · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed Junco · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Wood Pewee · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Lincoln's Sparrow · Mallard · Marsh Wren · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Waterthrush · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Philadelphia Vireo · Pine Siskin · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rusty Blackbird · Sand Martin · Savannah Sparrow · Scarlet Tanager · Sedge Wren · Song Sparrow · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tree Swallow · Tufted Titmouse · Veery · Warbling Vireo · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-throated Vireo · blue grosbeak · worm-eating warbler
Small mammalsAmerican beaver · cotton mouse · eastern chipmunk · eastern cottontail · eastern gray squirrel · eastern mole · hispid cotton rat · least shrew · muskrat · prairie vole · southern bog lemming · southern short-tailed shrew · white-footed mouse · woodland vole
Predatorsbobcat · coyote · raccoon · red fox · striped skunk
Hoofed mammalswhite-tailed deer
BatsIndiana bat · Rafinesque's big-eared bat · big brown bat · eastern red bat · eastern small-footed bat · evening bat · gray bat · hoary bat · little brown bat · northern bat · silver-haired bat · tri-colored bat
Also on the checklistVirginia opossum · domestic cat · domestic dog · woodchuck
Activities
Activity guides for this park Hiking in the national parks
Weather & climate
Fort Donelson National Battlefield traditionally experiences mild to moderate winters and hot summers with an average high of 90 degrees in the summer and 40 in winter; average lows in the winter are 30 degrees but single digits are not unusual. Rainfall in the area averages 53 inches a year with an additional 6 inches of ice/snow. Violent thunderstorms and severe weather can take place at any time of year but are most common in December and spring time.
Questions people ask
Does Fort Donelson charge an entrance fee?
No. Fort Donelson is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Fort Donelson?
Standard hours are 8:00AM - 4:30PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Fort Donelson right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Fort Donelson NB Park Fall Hours.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Fort Donelson?
151,151 recreation visits in 2025, number 191 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
What is the weather like at Fort Donelson?
Fort Donelson National Battlefield traditionally experiences mild to moderate winters and hot summers with an average high of 90 degrees in the summer and 40 in winter; average lows in the winter are 30 degrees but single digits are not unusual. Rainfall in the area averages 53 inches a year with an additional 6 inches
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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