pea ridge national military park

Having driven to NW Arkansas to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of Art and the Museum of American Indian, my husband and I decided to go to Pea Ridge NMP after reading a brochure about it. We're certainly glad we did. The displays and video at the Visitor's Center were quite interesting and a great introduction for our drive through the park. To see the open field where 10,000+ soldiers lined up to battle for our country's future was riveting. But the Elkhorn Tavern site which depicts not only Civil War encampments, but also the Trail of Tears path as well as the first trans-continental mail delivery route, is indeed thought-provoking!

Interesting place to visit. Be sure to see the free presentation. It is a great place to do the tour of the battlefield by bike and it is not a strenuous ride and provides for a lot of stops along the loop.

Not a lot know about this battle, but it was a decisive battle that if the Union had lost, it might have meant a totally different outcome. Many, many cannons sit out in the fields showing the direction of the battle. You tour yourself and it an easy thing to do. You go up to a lookout point that you can see over to the Boston Mountains where the Missouri troops came from that turned the tide of the battle. Locals had to care for the wounded soldiers. Worth the stop.

Being a history buff, particularly the Civil War, my wife and I have visited many of the Civil Wa sites. The reality is unless you are really versed in the details of the battle, most of them don't offer much to see beyond the visitor center. Gettysburg, Antietam, and Fredericksburg are different, but Pea Ridge is not. So appreciate it for what it is, a well preserved battle site, just don't expect too much.

If you enjoy history pea ridge national military park is worth the stop. With so much of the civil war being fought in the south I had lost the fact that Arkansas became a focal point. This park has a wonderful museum full of little known facts about the civil war. The short film about the battle is well presented. The park itself is well maintained. It offers a short driving tour, or there is hiking trails, biking and to our delight horse trails. I would like to see the Arkansas dept. of transportation put up a few more signs showing how to get to the park, but non the less we found it and so can anyone else who is a history buff.

This is a beautiful place along the way to Eureka Springs, outside Rogers, AR. Like the other Civil War parks and battlefields I have visited, it is a place to envision the sacrifices of our ancestors and appreciate the country we inhabit. I was not familiar with this important and large battle, and the exhibits are very interesting and informative. There is a driving tour of the landmarks of the battle, and a very interesting museum if you do not have the time to devote to the drive. Worth the stop!

Any battlefield is somber and this one is too. It is well done. The movie is informative and the drive around the grounds is beautiful with very descriptive information panels.

A small but significant military park with a nice visitors centre. We thoroughly enjoyed this visit. Informative, nicely recreated and we met a tour guide at the reconstructed Elkhorn Tavern, who was terrific and informative and in period costume. This house is open to visitors and I found the display of "severed limbs" both ghoulish and interesting, all at once. Very interesting place indeed. They also have horse trails you can ride on which would be fascinating, well worth stopping in.

I ride in the Pea Ridge Military Park at least every month. Always fun and I can count on seeing 12+ deer on every ride. If you are interested in the civil war, this is a good park to visit. It is well maintained and has many civil war artifacts.

the visitor center is first class and the rangers are very helpful and friendly. be sure and watch the 25 (or so) minute film in the nice comfortable theatre, you'll be much more informed when you take the drive thru the different points around and thru the battlefield site.

Only thing that bothered us was the inability to figure out troop movements, was confusing to all of us there. I wish the US Park service had an app to explain the battle to you without a ranger.

I found this one of the most interesting parts of the trip we took. There is a drive you can take around the battlefield with signs to read and very informative information. Loved this stop!

This was a huge park with lots of battlefields and cannons. The displays inside were interactive and very well put together. Watch the movie. It is well made and a great way to learn the history. We also were excited to see a demo of the rifle loading. The Ranger had on a Union uniform and explained all the parts of it. My kids were on awe of her. She was nice enough to pose for pictures with my kids. The drive around the battlefield is nice and has 10 sites to stop and learn. We saw lots of deer and bicycle riders. This would be an awesome place to ride horses and there is a trail for that. We ate our picnic lunch at the Elkhorn Tavern grounds. The tavern was open during our visit. Lots of open grounds. Good learning experience for our kids. They earned the Jr Ranger badge and got paper Jr Ranger hats and stickers. Also can be part of the three part civil war junior historian program.

You don't think of Arkansas that much as far as Civil War battlefield sites but a fairly significant battle was fought here and the battlefield is said to be the most intact site of our Civil War. Viewing the display and watching the short film in the visitors' center gives an idea of how the battle unfolded. Then you can drive through the park and see the actual areas. It's also possible to hike or bike in the park. Today the area is one of scenic beauty with little evidence of the ferocious fighting that took place there- even resulting in the award of the Medal of Honor to one brave Iowan. You don't need to spend a lot of time to do do the tour.

One of the most in-tact Civil War battlefield sites in the US regarding actual battlefield acres and acres within the park today...about 4000 acres as I recall. Excellent museum and a 7 mile driving tour taking you all over the battlefield including a scenic overlook. Buy the CD for the driving tour....lots of battle details added. Must stop for the history buff!