Olustee Battlefield State Park

This is a small state park, but it’s close to home so I am a fan. Google the Olustee Battle for the history. But if you’de rather come out, then there is a small visitor’s building that plays a video on repeat all day. And there are a few pictures with a little history explanations. There is a small hiking trail. Now this trail can be a bit confusing. It is rather wide, so that is cool. and there are little history signs along the way. What I mean about confusing is, it does not offer enough arrows to point the way. And with several other ‘trails’ that intertwine ‘the’ trail’, it can be very confusing. I ended up taking a ‘wrong’ right turn along the way and hiked about .5 mile outta the way. Not that I minded that at all because it was a beautiful day and I could use the exercise. So I suppose it is okay to get a little lost because you will eventually get outta there! I would avoid going just after any rain… unfortunately for me, it had just stormed the day before so much of the trail was under water. I wore my running shoes, and quickly regretted that! Wear your hiking boots/​shoes just incase there is standing water! I managed to skirt the edges and even walked through some brush to avoid the water. Although that really wasn’t enough because my poor running shoes got a little wet :(It is a quick hike, so if you are looking to really spend some time sweatin, this probably will not do it for you. Oh and at the visitors center, there are a few statues that have some history so don’t miss checking those out.
Also… they do have a reenactment of the battle once a year. And that my friends is definetly worth going to. The next reenactment will be February 13 – 15, 2015. So mark your calendars and go! The cost is $ 10 per adult and $ 5 for school age kids… preschool is free.
They go all out for this battle reenactment, so go learn some history!!!

It’s the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War, so get out there and see some cool reenactments!
I went to Olustee with my daughter’s school group, and we had a blast. This is an annual event, so you’ll have to wait until next year, but it is well worth the drive. (And odds are it is a drive from anywhere.)
We started our day by visiting the various tents where vendors were selling civil war memorabilia, costumes, toys, you name it. We spent easily an hour in this area and picked up some pretty cool things. The whole time we met people in costume who were all more than happy to talk to you about anything war related (or costume-​making in general).
The battle itself was very interesting. We made our way to the battlefield about an hour before it was scheduled to start and were lucky to get seats on the bleachers, they filled up very early. During the battle there was an announcer explaining the action which made it easy to follow.
It was noisy and explosive and a pretty good time.
My only complaint… the food vendors. Oh dear, I just had the worst «Korean» egg roll of my life (however the «Korean» cannoli was surprisingly good). But anyway, that’s just a tiny glitch in an otherwise lovely day.

The battle reenactment is pretty darn cool.
This park commemorates the site of Florida’s largest Civil War battle, which took place February 20, 1864. More than 10,000 cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops fought a five-​hour battle in a pine forest near Olustee. Three U.S. Colored Troops took part in the battle, including the now famous 54^th Massachusetts. The battle ended with 2,807 casualties and the retreat of Union troops to Jacksonville until the war’s end just 14 months later. In 1912, when many living Civil War veterans still attended reunions, the battlefield became the state’s first historic site. Olustee Battlefield has a visitor center with historical information and artifacts. A reenactment is held every February and a Civil War Expo takes place in late summer. Scenes for Civil War movies, including the 1989 movie Glory, have been filmed during the reenactments. Visitors can enjoy a meal at the picnic area or take a walk along a mile-​long trail that has interpretive signs describing the events of the battle. Located two miles east of Olustee on U.S. 90.