Monuments and artillery pieces at the Chickamauga unit of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
RANGER GUIDED TOURS
The National Park Service offers a Ranger-guided Car Caravan Tour of the Chickamauga Battlefield each day from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and on weekends the rest of the year. The tour departs at 2 PM and lasts approximately two hours. The way it works is that you follow the park Ranger in your own car. Be sure to sign up at the Chickamauga Visitor Center, because it takes at least four adult participants to hold the tour.
There are also Special Topic Tours held each day at 11 AM. These may include additional battlefield tours and hikes, as well as living history presentations. The day’s topics are listed each morning at the Visitor Center.
Times and tours can always change, so before making travel plans be sure to visit the National Park Service’s Tours web page for the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.
SELF-GUIDED TOURS
For those who cannot make the Ranger-guided Car Caravan Tour, you can visit eight key sites on the Chickamauga Battlefield on your own along a seven-mile loop road. Wayside exhibits, memorials, and monuments help tell the story of the events that took place here from September 18 – 20, 1863. In addition, you can utilize the park’s Cell Phone Tour, which is accessed by dialing a phone number and entering your tour stop number (the phone number is posted at each stop). You then listen to a recording about the events that took place at a particular stop. Each message is 3-5 minutes in length. The battlefield is in a rural area, so depending on your cell phone company, you may not be able to listen to the messages due to a poor connection.
Plan to spend at least 10 minutes at most stops, except at the Wilder Brigade and the Horseshoe Ridge/Snodgrass Hill stops, where you could spend up to a half hour at each one. I don’t see doing the Auto Tour in less than 1.5 hours, and if you want to do it right, plan to spend at least 2.5 hours.
You can take a virtual tour of the battlefield here on National Park Planner beginning at the first stop, Breckinridge’s Assault. A navigation menu that takes you to the next and previous tour stop is located at the bottom of each page.
Stop 1: Breckinridge’s Assault
Stop 2: The Battle Line
Stop 3: Poe Field
Stop 4: Brotherton Cabin
Stop 5: Heg Memorial and Viniard Field
Stop 6: Wilder Brigade
Stop 7: Rout of the Union Right
Stop 8: Horseshoe Ridge and Snodgrass Hill
Note: If you plan to hike the Hybrid Trail, you will pass all stops except for #6 and #7. If you hike any of the other park trails, you may also pass some of the stops. In order to limit the duplication of effort, if possible, do your hiking before the Automobile Tour, make a note of which stops you covered, then visit the other stops by car. It is not essential to visit the stops in order.
Tour Stop #1: Breckinridge’s Assault
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Last updated on May 29, 2023
