This is a beautiful park to visit anytime but they have The Battle of Olustee reenactment every year in February. If you can make it to this you'll truly get an experience.
Super cool experience seeing the reenactment with my kids. Participants were really friendly and informative. Excellent pyrotechnics with the cannon fire. Recommend hearing protection if youre sensitive to loud noises or have young children. Bring your own seats if you dont want to sit on the ground.
Re-enactment seems smaller every year. Not enough food booths or sutlers. Can't buy powder or caps. Federal regulations cramp everything. Not enough seating at battlefield. Soldiers put forth their best efforts, my hats off to them!
Disappointing this year. We've been coming out and reenacting since before my son was born, and this was the first year he was old enough to participate. We always enjoy it and have been looking forward to him being able to participate as infantry. Come to find out during inspection, the registration park rangers messed up and gave him a card that says he is under 16, even after he showed his ID. The rangers at inspection didn't care that he is 16 and wouldn't let him participate. The insult to injury is that they said it was a registration thing but of course registration was closed (closed on Saturday so those who could only do Sunday wouldn't be able to participate at all). It was beyond disappointing that this mishap is 100% their park service's fault yet no one cared or would even own up to the fact that registration messed up, even though he was also given the workers compensation card for those participating. I've asked who di I make this known to so it doesn't happen again, and no one cared, literally ignored me and looked away. Sadly, this was one more reason why a few groups have been talking about not returning.
History! Such a cool place to feel the history around you as you hike around the battlefield with a handful of signboards that really make you think about what was happening around you. There is a decent visitor's center with clean restrooms as well.
Drove here so my dad could visit while he's visiting from out of town. Got here a little after 4 on a Wednesday and the visitor center/museum was locked up. Sign states open until 5 pm daily.
Edit: apparently even though a brown side says visitor center open daily, the small sign on the door says Thursday-Monday. Even the downloadable map mentions the center is open daily. Wish it was clearer or more obviously stated when the visitor center hours are. We assumed they were the same as the park hours.
Fantastic Sunday at Olustee Battlefield today. Park Ranger Kevin was amazing. The tour he provided of the battle grounds was fabulous and his knowledge of the area and details of the battle were illuminating. Highly recommend Park Service continue on weekly in person tours at this site. Thank you loads to Kevin who made our day and we definitely look forward to returning in February to the reenactment. Kevin is a credit to the Park Service and went above and beyond and made our day very special.
I enjoyed my time at the park. It was a bustle of activity because they were setting up for a reenactment this coming weekend but it didn’t take away from my experience. Best of all it was dog friendly. I captured some great photographs while hiking the grounds.
If you happen to be traveling through the area, I recommend that you stop and visit the park.
I was passing through and spotted the sign.S so I decided to pull in and check this place out.I'm glad I did because it's a beautiful area to walk around and explore and look at the old battlefield from way back in the day.
This was a fun little jaunt from nearby Ocean Pond campground. If you are not a hiker, it’s an excellent spot to stop, stretch your legs, learn a little history, and maybe have a picnic. If you are a hiker, there’s a scenic trail you should definitely check out! :)
Great park to visit. Had a small museum. We loved walking the path to read the informational signs all the way around. Cool to see they are building more for the future!
Staying at nearby Stephen Foster State Park and decided to visit this Park on the recommendation of the Ranger. Great decision, small museum, nice monument, and the battle field hiking trail with information signs is a must hike. The Park may have tent sites; we saw an area for tent camping with electricity and a central water point but no nearby restrooms. There was information on future expansion plans that include a new and larger museum and information center. There was no Ranger on duty during our visit. The Park represents a moment in history worth knowing.
Really a very well kept up site for a small park. Informative visitor center. Clean restrooms. Great leg stretch stop with easy on and off from Interstate 10. Highly recommend. Video to come soon on our channel on YouTube.
Visited for the first time for the reenactment on 02/19/22. It was such a great experience! The only negative about the reenactment event is parking but not much the park can do with so many people visiting. We decided to walk the mile or so back to the parking lot instead of waiting on the shuttle. It was actually a nice time for us all to reflect on the battlefield reenactment and the many things we saw and learned throughout the day. We are wanting to make a tradition of going to the reenactment and are planning on coming back to the park on a normal day to walk the trails.
This place is awesome! Ranger Jim Ellis and staff are the greatest. He came out and showed us on map exactly where in the park my families ancestor fought and pulled out record of who he fought with and how he was injured. The commitment and love of the staff for the site, the history and the visitors is real! I'll remember for rest of my life.
The museum was closed. There was a sign talking about a new one to be built. The Monument is a typical Confederate Monument. The union Cross Monument is located in the cemetery off to the left of the entrance. The trail was amazing. Well taken care of and the information markers were very informative about the battle.
Quiet state park with well marked walking path. Had informative displays. Unfortunately the battlefield museum, and 1930s CCC forest fire watcher tower overlooking the park built were closed.
It was a magnificent experience. Walking around seeing sutlers, reenactors dressed as the shows the time and effort . A piece of advice for the organizers: it was mentioned disabled could park close to the entrance yet we had to go a mile out and wait for shuttle. Also, there were carts bringing people to exit/ entrance yet when I requested a ride I was told no. Maybe personnel to make the day more easy for disabled would be better. The line at the end of show were almost a mile away. The reenactment itself was very well done and it showed a lot of participants. I loved the enthusiasm of volunteers.
Beautiful park for sure, serene. The museum was small but informative. No one was there to discuss the historical significance, but there were videos on a loop (I admit to not watching). The battlefield is just as described in the primary sources, which is really cool. The monuments are pretty clear in their support for the Confederacy and their victory after the Union retreat. I didn't see reference to the Union soldiers killed, particularly the two African American regiments that were the first on the battlefield. So, it tells a story, but not the whole story. Nor does it discuss the immediate aftermath of the battle, which was Confederate soldiers killing the wounded black soldiers on the battlefield, thus raising the kill count. Criticisms aside, I enjoyed my brief visit and would go back again to learn more and spend more time.
A very small peaceful historical museum. You walk the museum and view relics and pictures of the Civil War. Definitely a must do with family. I will return in February 2020 to see the actual reenactments of the Civil War.
This is such a must see! The history here is amazing. Knowing that right here is where the actual battlefield was. We just happened to be driving by and saw this. I was in awe of the details of the place. The historic center was super clean and even provided a movie to watch about the civil war. I never found history interesting until I came here to this place. The way everything was so detailed was amazing. Keep it up such an important piece of history. Also, dont forget to walk the trail - I didn't realize that was there at first and it was work the walk and to understand more - thank you for keeping this alive!
Went 2/17/19 for the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Olustee Civil War reenactment. Went with the mind set if this just another reenactment but left with a whole new perspective. With this reenactment you were up close and personal, not off in the distance somewhere. Easily a couple thousand people (everyone involved) and it did not feel claustrophobic by any means.
