Battlefield and Military Park · NPS · KY, TN
Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Photo: NPS, Upper River Battery
Alerts and conditions
Information Fort 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.
Overview
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.
From the National Park Service
History
The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.
What to see and do
Activities
- Auto and ATV
- Scenic Driving
- Guided Tours
- Self-Guided Tours - Auto
- Hiking
- Junior Ranger Program
- Park Film
- Museum Exhibits
Plan your visit
Hours
Fort Donelson National Battlefield: Fort Donelson NB Visitor Center is open daily 8:30 am - 4:00 pm CST. Dover Hotel hours are 8:30 am - 4:00 pm CST daily. The park is closed Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. Hours change seasonally. The park tour route is open: Spring time change to Memorial Day: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm CDT Memorial Day to Labor Day: 8:00 am to 8:00 pm CDT Labor Day to fall time change: 8:00 am to 6:00 pm CST Fall time change to spring time change: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm CST
Getting there
The main entrance is at 120 Fort Donelson Park Road, in Dover Tennessee. It is advised to start a visitor experience here. Brochures and information are available at this location. Physical address for the park's Fort Heiman unit, in Calloway County, Kentucky: 654 Fort Heiman Road, New Concord, Kentucky. This site is not staffed daily, but exhibits and information are available for visitors.
Visitor centers
Weather
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.
Phone: 931-232-5706
Whose lands these are
These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.
Photos
Pair it with
- Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 11 miles
- Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area USFS · 19 miles
- Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 39 miles
- Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 41 miles
- Shawnee National Forest USFS · 75 miles
- Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge FWS · 78 miles