Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historic Park

Considering I couldn’t get into the museum, this will seem like a rather weak review. Still, I tried!
The name «Historic Park» is something of a misnomer. This location is a National Park Service (NPS)-run information center and museum; the actual battlefield is a few minutes down the road. NPS only owns a small slice of the battlefield, most of which is managed by the non-​profit Cedar Creek Battlefield Foundation. But NPS does offer periodic Ranger programs of the battlefield.
Call ahead — during the winter the museum is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. And there is only so much you can see thru the windows.

Unimposing in a strip mall, it is a good little museum offering a quick overview of the history of the Shenandoah Valley and 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek.
Exhibits do a nice job of setting the stage for the battle and telling you about its participants, and a multimedia battlefield map helps put it in perspective so you can understand how it played out before venturing out to the actual site.
Audio tours are available given that the park itself is unusual in that it isn’t self-​contained like most NPS battlefields; it is a joint partnership between several preservation organizations with a mix of public and private land.
A definite first stop for anyone wishing to tour the battlefield or learn more about the significance of the Battle of Cedar Creek.