Begin your battlefield tour at the visitor center. The visitor center, located on Highway 79, is open daily, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. All visitor center facilities are handicapped accessible. The visitor center contains gift shop/book store, a museum with Civil War artifacts, and an exhibit about the Underground Railroad in America. The park’s orientation film  Fort Donelson: Gateway to the Confederate Heartland engages visitors with a storyline that draws on the lifelong friendship between Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Simon B. Buckner. Park visitors also learn a couple of new facts: Confederates actually built three earthen forts, one named Fort Heiman, and these were eventually used as refuge sites by freedom-seeking slaves.

 

 

The tour at Fort Donelson National Battlefield is self-guided.  A park brochure explains the six-mile, self-guided tour. Park Rangers are available for questions. Interpretive programs are offered for schools, civic groups, and military groups.

 

 

The park has 5.7 miles of hiking trails for nature lovers to enjoy. Visitors can pick up a trail guide at the visitor center.