Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Wilson's Creek was the first major Civil War battle fought west of the Mississippi River, and where the first Union general was killed in action. The costly Southern victory on August 10, 1861, focused national attention on the war in Missouri. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield commemorates and interprets the battle within the context of the war in the Trans-Mississippi West.
active
Alerts
- InformationNPS ↗America the Beautiful Pass not Issued at Wilson's Creek
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is a fee free site. No pass or charge is required to visit. Due to being a fee free site, America the Beautiful Passes are no longer issued. To learn about different pass types and where you can obtain them, including new digital passes, please visit the provided link.
- InformationNavigation Warning
Some navigation systems on devices misdirect visitors driving to Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. Please note that the entrance to the park is at the visitor center located near the Southeast intersection of Hwy ZZ and FR 182.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| STANDARD HOURS (TOUR ROAD) | Daily · Sunrise to Sunset |
When to go
August draws the most visits here and January the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Wilson's Creek Visitor Center & Museum ↗Passport stamp
The recently renovated visitor center contains a staffed contact station, exhibits housing items from our extensive museum collection, a twenty-eight-minute film, an eight-minute fiber optics troop movement map, a bookstore, and the John k. and Ruth Hulston Civil War Research Library.
No campgrounds, no webcams or events in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Report for Duty at Wilson's Creek NB2-4 Hours
Become a Junior Ranger at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield!
Opens on the Park Service site - Seek and Find1-8 Hours
Seek and Find nature and plant species as you visit the battlefield.
Opens on the Park Service site - In the Steps of Soldiers2-3 Hours
Hike in the footsteps of Federal and Southern soldiers.
Opens on the Park Service site - Let Nature Surprise You1-8 Hours
Let Nature Surprise You! Bring a notebook to journal about the nature you find at Wilsons Creek.
Opens on the Park Service site - Ponder on the Porch2-8 Hours
Visit the Ray House and imagine how their family home was trasformed by battle into a field hospital.
Opens on the Park Service site - Moving on the Tour Road1-8 Hours
Choose a method of exploring the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Tour Road that works best for you.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 12Hide
- Explore with your Animal Companion2-8 Hours
Explore with your Animal Companion. Wilson's Creek National Battlefield has over 10 miles of designated trails.
Opens on the Park Service site - Reflect at Wilson's Creek1-8 Minutes
Relax by the waters of Wilson’s Creek and transport your mind to a place of reflection.
Opens on the Park Service site - Battlefield Museum
Let your curiosity be your guide while visiting one of the nation's finest publicly held Civil War museum collections.
Opens on the Park Service site - Tour a Family Farm Turned Field Hospital15-45 Minutes
See the battle of Wilson’s Creek through the eyes of a farming family caught up in combat and its aftermath. The Ray family not only lost much of their property to foraging soldiers, but they witnessed the horrifying toll of battle when their home…
Opens on the Park Service site - Travel the Tour Road at Wilson's Creek15-120 Minutes
A 4.9-mile paved road for driving, walking, or cycling loops through Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, once of the most pristine Civil War sites in the nation.
Opens on the Park Service site - March with the Missouri State Guard25-90 Minutes
Follow in the footsteps of Missouri State Guard soldiers! Cross Wilson's Creek on a historic bridge and peek into a cabin near where Major General Sterling Price set up his headquarters.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield Announces 165th Battle Anniversary Programs ↗2026-08-03
Republic, Mo. – From Saturday, Aug. 8 through Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield will observe the 165th anniversary of the Battle of Wilson’s Creek with special programs honoring the Union and…
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- Elijah Teague Anderson HouseBuilding · Republic · 4.1 mi
- HeercleffBuilding · Springfield · 6.1 mi
- Rock Fountain Court Historic DistrictHistoric district · Springfield · 8.9 mi
- J.E. King Manufacturing CompanyBuilding · Springfield · 9.3 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.
Missouri guidebooks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Local history books for Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
- Wilson's Creek National BattlefieldAnita L. Roberts and Savannah G. Roberts, 2012Find at Bookshop.org
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Full checklist: 132 birds, 47 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Barred Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Peregrine Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersBlack-crowned Night-heron · Canada Goose · Great Blue Heron · Green Heron · Green-Winged Teal · Wood Duck · Yellow-crowned Night-heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Woodcock · Common Snipe · Killdeer
Gamebirds & dovesMourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Dove · 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 Crow · American Goldfinch · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-billed Cuckoo · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-winged Warbler · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Common Grackle · Common Nighthawk · Common Yellowthroat · Dark-eyed Junco · Dickcissel · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Wood-pewee · European Starling · Field Sparrow · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Greater Roadrunner · Harris' Sparrow · Horned Lark · House Sparrow · House Wren · Indigo Bunting · Kentucky Warbler · Lark Sparrow · Least Flycatcher · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Louisiana Waterthrush · Mallard · Nashville Warbler · Northern Cardinal · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Oriole · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Oive-sided Flycatcher · Orchard Oriole · Philadelphia Vireo · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-sided Towhee · Savannah Sparrow · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Solitary Vireo · Song Sparrow · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tufted Titmouse · Vesper Sparrow · Warbling Vireo · Whip-poor-will · White-breasted Nuthatch · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-bellied Flycatcher · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · northern waterthrush
Small mammalsAmerican Beaver · Brown Rat · Common Muskrat · Deer Mouse · Eastern Chipmunk · Eastern Cottontail · Eastern Fox Squirrel · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern Mole · Eastern Woodrat · Elliot's Short-tailed Shrew · Fulvous Harvest Mouse · Hispid Cotton Rat · House Mouse · Meadow Jumping Mouse · Pine Vole · Prairie Vole · Southeastern Shrew · Southern Bog Lemming · Southern Flying Squirrel · Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse · White-footed Deermouse · bee shrew
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Black Bear · American Mink · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Cross Fox · Long-tailed Weasel · River Otter · Striped Skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Eastern Pipistrelle · Eastern Red Bat · Evening Bat · Gray Bat · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat
Also on the checklistGroundhog · Virginia Opossum · long-nosed armadillo
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Summer months are frequently hot and humid, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. Winter months (especially January and February) are frequently cold, with occasional ice and light snow. Spring and fall months are generally pleasant, with occasional showers.
Questions people ask
Does Wilson's Creek charge an entrance fee?
No. Wilson's Creek is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Wilson's Creek?
Standard hours are Sunrise to Sunset, every day.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Wilson's Creek right now?
2 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: America the Beautiful Pass not Issued at Wilson's Creek; Navigation Warning.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Wilson's Creek?
370,558 recreation visits in 2025, number 133 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Wilson's Creek?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G and AT&T 5G. No reported coverage for T-Mobile. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
What is the weather like at Wilson's Creek?
Summer months are frequently hot and humid, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. Winter months (especially January and February) are frequently cold, with occasional ice and light snow.
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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