Fort Negley Visitors Center

This (free) historic park is definitely worth a visit! The visitor center was nice and gave a introduction to the area. The walking paths were peaceful and easy to follow, and along the way I got to enjoy an amazing view of the city. A perfect spot to learn a little history, get some fresh air, and take in the scenery!

Very nice historic fort. Much of the upper fort is closed off and many of the placards are sun bleached to the point of illegibility. The lower visitor's center is very nice and the folk at the desk very informative.

Fort Negley is a self guided tour along a marked path. No charge for the fun located in the Visitor Center either. We carried a group of home schoolers and the Visitor Center helped us with films and some special interactive activities. Donations are welcome. Be generous if you are able. Every staff member we met were all friendly and made us all feel welcomed. Clean restrooms available.

Visiting Nashville and wanted to check out some history. There was a self guided tour and a short 20 minute film as well. Very nice walk and view

No charge for Admission ... Donations accepted. The Desk Clerks were very helpful describing the field of the Battle of Nashville. The fort had cannon batteries but most of the battle was along Confederate lines south of the "town".

Amazing site and very interesting and necessary history of our country in my opinion! Great learning experience and place to bring family and kids.

Best sunrise and sunset spot in Nashville. A cool walk to a peaceful historical venue. This is the hidden gem of Nashville’s parks. Even though the Visitor’s Center doesn’t open until noon, I was able to walk the park much earlier!

I made a promise to visit and support historical parks. The place was beautiful. Sheep eating the lawn. Archeology students looking for artifacts. Wild flowers and a view of nashville. Unfortunately, their website QR onthe signs were not working, but QR on the handout was with the history of the place and the contributions of the African American refugees from slavery has been taken down. But you can get hardcopies of the info which I did. And the signs are there but getting worn out. Support your local and national parks. Your government won't!

This was more of a moderate urban hike than a historical open air museum. It was interesting but. It a must see when visiting Nashville. The goats herding the pasture were pretty cool. Bring water and sunscreen.

Fort Negley Park and Visitors Center remembers the Union fort of Fort Negley. Nashville was occupied by the United States Army after the surrender of Nashville, Tennessee on February 25, 1862, Nashville became a fortified stronghold, second only to Washington D.C. Nashville was a strategic asset to the North because of its proximity to the Cumberland River and networks of turnpikes and railroads. Fort Negley was such a key Fort that it was the largest inland stone fortification built during the Civil War. Fort Negley was a hub for supply and transportation. It was used as a hospital hub and was a base for military operations in the western theater. Fort Negley covered four acres and measured six hundred feet long by three hundred feet wide. It is amazing to walk the park and realize that you are walking in the footsteps of history. I would definitely recommend a visit here. We must remember history, we must remember the footsteps that led us to today. I will give here five stars overall and it definitely has my recommendation to visit.

This mound sticks out in an otherwise area, and the partially preserved remains of a fort now overlook a trendy tourist town. Historically, there is some intrigue, as it seems this was a Confederate stronghold in the Civil War, albeit one that fell to the Union fairly quickly. On the spring day I stopped by, the color mix of flowers on the hill was quite splendid. There was a little visitor center with limited hours, but I was mildly surprised to find the restrooms still open after the rest of the building had closed. There was plenty of free parking. It isn't a huge site; you'd struggle to spend an hour there unless you brought lunch for one of the picnic tables. But it was interesting and pleasant and worth a visit.

It's a bit maddening to read some of the more tone deaf reviews about this site but, unfortunately, such has become par for the course in this moment in our national discourse. I don't have much of an answer to the observation, though, that these reviews are not recent. People, I guess. I should be far more enthused, however, by the majority of people who get it, understand what this is, why it's here and why it's important. I am a bit ashamed that it's taken me so many years to come here. Part of it was due to the fact that I don't spend a lot of time in this part of town. Part of it has to do with perceived parking issues (there are none; park away). Most of it had to do with residual pain/frustration of yet another monument to/of bad treatment of people who look like me. I'll spare the James Baldwin quote for now but compounded tales of wrongdoing are exhausting. Choosing to try and find an upside, I appreciate that the visitor's center is committed to telling the story and throughout the green space are plaques and monuments to the men whose blood, sweat and tears made the Fort possible. I came here for some introspection and to commune with long gone spirits in hopes of making some decisions and holding on to a decisive vision. If such is not your reason for coming here, no worries. The space boasts some impressive views of Downtown Nashville (only to get better as the skyline expands). In addition to the views, depending on how you look, the landscape resembles a beach walkway. At the top of the space is a small canopy of trees and a few tables at which one might sit, eat a meal/snack or read a book. Selfishly, I enjoyed the sparse attendance. It helped me to concentrate on why I came. More broadly, though, I hope more Nashvillians come to read about and experience Fort Negley (outside of the obligatory elementary school field trip). More an historical landmark than a spot for recreation, Fort Negley is an important part of Nashville/Tennessee/American history that deserves your time and attention. Thanks to climate change (boo!) you have two more months to come here and enjoy the scenery. Take advantage of it.

So much history! Stumbled upon this by accident ! I did now know the union had a fort in the South during the civil war. There is a very informative self- guided walking tour with speaker kiosks throughout and the ranger was very informative as well

An ongoing side-quest of mine is to visit every park in Nashville. Recently while on a separate quest of determining who has the best burger in Nashville, we were at nearby Gabby's (a strong contender was our verdict on that quest) and noticed the sign for Fort Negley Park. So despite having spent the morning at Radnor Lake State Park (not the first time either but if any par requires regular return visits it's that one), we decided to stop in for a quick after lunch walk at Negley. It's a worthwhile stop, though there isn't a ton of walking to be done here and at the time of our visit (May 2022) a large chunk of it was under maintenance construction. What you get is a bit of history regarding the role this plot of land played in the civil war and for freed slaves who opted for rather dire living conditions here in their pursuit of freedom. You also get a magnificent view of the city. Bonus, at least when we were here, you get to see the "Chew Crew"-- fenced off area of natural maintenance performed by a squad of goats and sheep!

Cool place! Right in the middle of Nashville. The city noise was next level but what can one expect in the middle of a city like Nashville. Cool views from the top and a pretty clean spot. Would recommend for a break with the kids to walk a little.

I don't want to negleyct to mention that Nashville has a lot of cool unheralded spots around and about - especially on the west side of town - and this fort is one of them. I came upon it by accident, which is also the story of my first night with my first girlfriend. It's a lot prettier and more interesting to visit then some of the reviews make out. Speaking of making out... never mind. I'm not much of a historical and nature type person but if I was with someone who was I would bring them back here and show them around.

Visiting Fort Negley has been on my Nashville bucket list since we moved here almost 5 years ago. Fort Negley has a fascinating history! I was a history major and am a history buff, but I learned a lot from my visit to Fort Negley. It was a fort built by the Union after the capture of Nashville during the Civil War. Its history is too complicated (and interesting!) to fully dive into in a Yelp review, but Fort Negley was built by Black residents of Nashville - by slaves who flocked to Nashville after it was taken by Union forces with the understanding that they would be freed if they worked for the Union and by free Black residents who were conscripted for the work. According to a sign at Fort Negley, 2,768 men were official enrolled as laborers at Fort Negley and "by the time the fortifications around Nashville were completed, between 600 and 800 of Morton's Negro laborers had died. Of those who remained, only 310 received pay for their work." The fort is in ruins now (it was abandoned after the Civil War), but there is a paved path (about a mile long) that takes you around the remaining stones that made up the fort. There are several signs that explain various areas and themes of history relating to the fort and the Civil War in Nashville. The park and path are open year-round from dawn to dusk. There is also a visitor center which has varying hours depending on the season. The visitor center is not open on Sundays, so we just walked the path and took in the history on the signs around the park. We parked at the parking lot at the visitor center and then walked the loop around the park. (FYI: There are bathrooms at the visitor center, but they're only open during open hours at the visitor center.) Aside from the amazing history, its location atop St. Cloud Hill means that it also has some great views of Nashville as you explore. If you're a resident of Nashville that follows local news, you might recall that there has a been a lot of talk of developing St. Cloud Hill - the area that the ruins of the fort stands upon. There's been a lot of politics and campaigning on this issue, and I won't go into my thoughts on the issue here other than to say that Fort Negley represents important and fascinating history - Nashville history, Civil War history, African American history, the history of slavery and emancipation, and more. It's worth a visit now, but I personally would love to see the city spend some money to protect the site and increase and improve the signage explaining the fort's history. If you're interested in Nashville's history, Civil War history, or African American history, take some time to visit this fort. We visited on a terrible weather day (in the 20s and gray and wet), and it was still a great visit. Put it on your Nashville bucket list and then check it off with a visit.

Fort Negley was the largest inland fort built in the U.S. during the Civil War. Built mostly by slave labor, freed slaves were forced by the Union, plus free blacks under the impression they'd be paid for their work on the fort. They were no paid. Nashville was under Union control very early in the war. The Union had the fort built offering them a bird's eye view of the town along with the surrounding area. The fort was constructed on St. Cloud's Hill. I have been here twice. Chances are most native Nashvillians who went to public school probably came here on a field trip at some point in their lives as well. For s number of years the park was closed due to neglect and not much activity. Over time, they ultimately cleaned it up and opened it to the public. I really liked the visitor center. It was very informative and I watched the 20 minute film that gave details of its history. The associate working there was also insightful on providing info on what is to become of Greer Field and the demolition that is to come over the next six months. The stadium is part of the park and had leased land for the ball park. The same applies for the Science Center; they lease land as well. As far as the fort itself, I love it for its history and splendid views. I am a sucker for cityscapes and serene environments. This is the place to come for both. It is an easy walk uphill even for those who might not be able to hike up small inclines. It is paved with asphalt and well kept. The vegetation is well maintained. It was recently cut back so native vegetation could grow back and it removed a lot of invasive species of vegetation overgrown on the fort trail. It is considered handicapped accessible. Being the lover of history that I am, this easily will become a spot I will bring guests when visiting me. Plus, it is free! 5 stars for Fort Negley.

So worth a visit. Friendly staff to help answer questions and there is a good movie about the fort's history. The views of Nashville from the top are great. Good for date night ... and free!

A nice place to walk around and learn some history about the region. Free to enter, video inside is about 20 minutes long but is very dry and unless you're a big history buff, you may get drowsy. There are plenty of posted readings with photos along the walking path that also provide an interesting history of the area, and that is probably sufficient for most people, especially if you bring young children. Once you reach the top, a beautiful view of the city. Imagining the people who were forced to carry the enormous rocks up the hills to build these walls, and what happened to so many of them is heartbreaking.

Fort Negley is a treasure and is an example of the contribution of formerly enslaved people to fight for our democracy during the civil war. The view from the fort is beautiful and the atmosphere is peaceful. It is a great place to ponder the history of this nation.

Just off the airport and the history teacher in me knew this should be our first stop in Nashville. The fort is located in a weird location and parking is limited ( Note: Google Maps took us to a different place Children's Science Museum). The visitor center is small yet the employee there was positive and knowledgeable. You need to walk up a path and observe the layered structure and imagine the difficulty of taking the fort. Along the path you have different historical markers. At the top you can see all of the city and the trench system that existed within the fort. You can be there approximately one hour. This is a nice place to visit with your family.

Sunday March 3, 2013 Tony and I took a nice walk and hike up the trails at Fort Negley Park in Nashville. There are great views of Nashville from up there and the site is Historical. There are a lot of signs there to let you know all the details and the paths are marked very well. They are either paved, graveled or boardwalking over the ruins. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED to CLIMB or WALK on the ruins. I took a lot of photos and we enjoyed the hiking because it is uphill and burning more calories and points and fat...I enjoy the hiking here. You are allowed to have pets on this trail also there is ONE picnic table if you want to eat a picnic.. I would go back again and again and again!!!

At 57 acres, this park is a beautiful historic site. It was originally constructed in 1862 as a Union fortress, with 62K cubic feet of stone in a large star shape on top of St. Cloud Hill. With a beautiful wide view overlooking the entire city, the fortress was a formidable site in the city, and the largest inland stone fort built in the civil war.. It was abandoned after the war, and went into ill repair; since it was a symbol of the North, the city of Nashville wasn't very interested in preserving it. Due to changing times, the city of Nashville purchased the land in 1928. The 1930s saw the restoration of Fort Negley at the cost of $84,000. While the restoration was completed, WW2 dried up the national budget and they were unable to open it to the public. In the early 2000s, the city decided to make Fort Negley a priority, and it was reopened to the public December 10th, 2004. $1million was set aside in city money to build the visitor's center. One corner of the land houses the Adventure Science Center (which will always be the Cumberland Science Museum), and another corner of the land housed the Greer Stadium, which fell out of use after the Nashville Sounds got a new home at the First Tennessee Baseball Park. A plan was in place to demolish Greer Stadium and envelope it into Fort Negley Park, but 100+year old remains of African Americans were found, and that halted those plans. There will be a new redevelopment plan, but it's currently still being hashed out. In the meantime, the park that exists is beautiful. It feels like a step into history. There's a little over a mile of paved walkways, spotted with placards describing the history of the site. The views alone are stunning. There is a museum and visitor's center, but it was closed when we arrived. Exploring the park, we walked a little over a mile, and spent about an hour there.

Not much here. Good way to kill 20 min if you want to walk around outside. Nice view of nashville at one spot. It's a loop trail.

Fort Negley is basically a historic landmark that was turned into a free public park. I live in the neighborhood and sometimes walk up here when I want to decompress. The park has some excellent views of the Nashville skyline. If there aren't many people, I'll sometimes hang out for a little while at the top of the hill and soak up the views. Tennessee really is a very beautiful state, I think it's refreshing to take some time every so often and enjoy its beauty. It's fun to wonder what the soldiers at Fort Negley would've thought if they knew the fort would one day overlook a gorgeous city skyline.

This is a crying shame. An important piece of Nashville history and it's in ruins from recent neglect. The paths are closed and neglected. The lookouts over the city would be beautiful if the scrub and grass had been removed anytime in the last 10 years. Most of the paths are closed. All the wealth you see around yet they can't preserve their history - shame on Nashville- shame on Tennessee.

This is a really nice place. You can see just about all of Nashville just from here and get some great photos. I would definitely go here again.

Came here on a rainy day just to check it out. We were the only people there so we had it all to ourselves. The curator was very very helpful and informative. She even let us choose which film we wanted to watch about the fort. Afterwards we took a walking tour on her own. Great views of the city and a beautiful and peaceful walk in nature and history.

As far as calling this place a park, it's a scam. It's more like a cross between a historical landmark and a "Don't Touch" Museum. Taking kids below high school age is pretty much a waste of your time. There's almost no place for them to play. There's more "stay on the path" signs than are really needed, and the view is nothing to get excited about, and that's in the winter time, with all the leaves fallen off the trees. The fort can't really be seen from the ground at any angle, due to all the trees in the way, allowing for very little in the way of photography, and the raised wooden paths are all extremely antiseptic. Once you're at the top, all the raised platforms lead around the crest of the hill, but often dead end after going around blind turns, requiring a turnaround for no This place would be good for a group of adults who want a tour in civil war fort history (and it's not like this fort was in the middle of any battles, so there's nothing of that there), but there's almost nothing for young children, and almost nothing in the way of picnic tables for families. This is a park in name only. Don't expect a kid friendly environment.

I know this is called a fort, but currently there isn't much fort to take in. However, I would argue this park has the best view of the Nashville skyline. I always want to say East Nash does, but Fort Negley wins. The walk up and around is easy and short. You don't come here to get in an intense workout, you come to climb and see the city. Beyond the view it has a really cool history and I recommend stopping into the visitor center. It's a union fort, which makes me happy, but it also teaches you a lot about Nashville and a little about Salem, MA. The fort also inspired two Nashville bars, so there's that too.

I almost feel like I've gone to Ft. Negley, and now you don't have to. That would probably be a shame for you to miss this beautiful site. I think no matter what town you live in, there is probably some attraction or historical site that tourists go to all the time that you, yourself, probably have never been to. That was the case for me with Ft. Negley which sits right next to the Sounds' Greer Stadium. I have been to Greer many times for a baseball game, and have even parked in the drive leading up to Ft. Negley. Well, since I have some free time this summer (being without full-time employment), I decided to take a day to go see Ft. Negley. It is free, after all. They just finished building a beautiful new visitors' center for the park. (You can see it in the pictures.) It is very nice. I was at Ft. Negley on a Wednesday afternoon. It was a beautiful day if a bit warm. I walked in to the visitors' center were there was one man holding the fort, shall we say, manning the desk all by himself. There was a handyman in the building, so at least he wasn't totally alone. He was very eager to give me the spiel on Ft. Negley, which was fine. I am not much of a Civil War aficionado, so I wasn't terribly interested. I'm sorry. That's terrible to not want to know my own country's history. I did listen to the enthusiastic fellow. He offered to show me a video on the history of the Fort in an adjacent (and empty) theater. I politely declined and decided to just wander around what is left of Ft. Negley. It is a very nice trail with markers along the way to explain things to you. I just took it all in and wandered through. It may have taken me 20 minutes tops, to go all around the Fort. Obviously, you could stay a lot longer and study all of the materials that are in the park. It is a circular trail around the Fort, and there is a path that winds its way to the highest point where you can see the Fort up close. I was, if it hasn't been clear up to this point, entirely alone at Ft. Negley on a Wednesday afternoon in July. If nothing else, this is a nice spot to walk around. We all could use some exercise from time to time. Civil War buffs and school teachers are probably glad Ft. Negley is still around. If you are a Nashvillian, you should be proud this site is there for your enjoyment as well, whenever you decide to go.

Fort Negley is a surprisingly pretty park, considering its not-so-pretty location next to Greer stadium. The park includes a visitor center, a trail around the fort (about 1/3 of a mile), and of course the fort itself. Along the trail, there are little signs every 50 yards or so that explain some detail of the landscape or relevant historical event, which I provided a neat little history lesson. If you're not interested in Civil War history, though, you can also just enjoy the trees and greenery around you, since most of the path is forested. If you're walking the path clockwise, take a left up the hill, and you'll end up on top of the fort, where you'll find a wooden observation deck and various raised wooden paths with more historical markers. There's a great view of the city up here, as well as some pretty shade trees and benches. I thought the mix of history (the fort itself), modernity (the cityscape), and nature (the trees and wild grasses) that you get on the top of Fort Negley was pretty neat. It would be a good place to take a date, a book, or visitor from out of town. When I was there, a couple of Moms and their kids were having a picnic at the top, and the kids were having a great time running around the fort.

Easy walk to the top of one of the largest fortifications during the Civil War and Battle of Nashville 1862

Enjoyed the little walk with my family. Beautiful site, scenery and view. We were restrained and didn't do all the climbing that we really wanted to do all over the stoneworks. My four boys were chomping at the bit. Very interesting history available on plaques all throughout. Beautiful visitor's center with interactive, touch-screen displays. The lady manning the desk seemed very caught up in something unimportant and was impressively unfriendly and unhelpful.

Beautiful and peaceful site, perfect for a picnic. I love looking out over the hills to look at the city.

We had time to kill and were in the area, otherwise we never would've bothered coming to this free attraction...quite frankly, we wouldn't have missed much. As Matt L. implied, it's not a park so much as a slab of land with a good view that they don't let you drive on, with the V benches and yellow globe fruits on the ground as the 2 coolest parts.

This is a really great spot to see some history of the civil war in TN. The fort is pretty much non-existent. Only in the last 20 years has the city made great efforts to preserve what's left. But this sport would be great for a picnic and to see great shots the the city. It has one the best views of Nashville available. Defiantly recommend. I was there in a Sunday afternoon and only saw 3 other couples..I will note to be iffy of going alone....one part of the land is untouched because geologists found mass graves under the land....the majority were blacks who flocked to Nashville once the Union took over (many build the fort and died or were left unpaid for their work).....Today, there are homeless communities with their tents prepped up for a Sunday night stay....while the people in that community didn't bother us....keep note that while you may look to be alone...you very well not be. My guess is the must stay when the center is closed on Sunday and Monday.

Free but waste of time. If you like to run, hike, or just get a low key view of Nashville (this may be the place for you). It is a big stretch and literally just couple of banners to read and no fort. I believe it just has ruins from the war of nashville. Anyways if you are a history lover and you want to get to know about civil war and stuff it needs to be on your must see list. But for me it was nothing!

This is an interesting little park perched high behind the Adventure Science Museum. During the Civil War, it was the largest masonry fort in the country. Now...it is a large block of bricks and grass on a hill. It's a nice enough spot for a quick hike, with plenty of informational stands placed, but...unless you are a history buff there is not much here. The views aren't great and it doesn't really have a gripping story to tell-no great battles here. There's a small museum nearby that is decently informative.

I've been to a few forts and this one though rich in history was visually disappointing. The information center is well designed for a small area, but the not worth battling the summer heat. We did appreciate the cool water.

This fort offers a lot of historical information, and a peek into the past. Due to age and weather it has fallen into disrepair, making it not a thrilling sight, but an interesting one nonetheless. Also, FREE! Volunteers in the visitors center are knowledgeable, and happy to answer questions. Artifacts found in the fort are on display. The walking path is about a half mile in length, and mostly paved.

This is a gem hidden in an unexpected area. Wonderful place to walk, let the kid run around, and see some lovely views.

Very cool interactive computer screens. Great view of the city from the fort.