Visitor Center - Black River Center

exterior of the visitor center

restroom symbol

The Black River Center is a great place to stop on your way into the park. Here, you can watch videos the "A Billion and a Half Years in a Nutshell," "The Power of Water" and "Rebuilding Johnson's Shut-Ins." You can also view programs on prescribed burns and feral hogs. Exhibits include "Songs of the Shut-Ins Song Birds" and "The Johnston Family History," both of which are interactive, as well as "Water Life of the River," "How the Shut-Ins was Formed," "Glade Life" and "Landscape of Voices."

A conference room within the visitor center can be rented for $150 for a full day or $75 for a half day.

interior exhibits inside the visitor center

Hours

April through October (on-season)

April
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
May through Wednesday before Memorial Day
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday
Thursday before Memorial Day through Labor Day
10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday
Tuesday after Labor Day through September
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday
October
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

November through March (off-season)

Closed

Weather

Check Weather

Coordinates

37.548056, -90.847500

Park Hours

For temporary closures related to weather, stewardship activities and maintenance, as well as temporary trail closures, click here to visit our Park and Site Status Map.

On the following days (actual or observed), staff will not be available and park buildings will be closed: Thanksgiving Day; Nov. 29, 2024; Christmas Eve; Christmas Day; New Year’s Eve; New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King Jr. Day; Lincoln’s Birthday; and Presidents Day.

Valley Day-Use Area

The main park gates open and close at these times.

March 1 through the Wednesday before Memorial Day
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily
Thursday before Memorial Day through Labor Day
8 a.m. to 8 p.m., daily
Day after Labor Day through Oct. 31
8 a.m. to 6 p.m., daily
November through February
8 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily

Park Office hours

8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday

Closed Saturday and Sunday

Store - Campground hours

April 1 through the Thursday before Memorial Day
4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday
12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday
8 a.m. to noon Sunday
Closed Monday through Thursday
When the store is closed, firewood may be purchased with only cash or check near the campground store.

Friday before Memorial Day through Labor Day
8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily

Tuesday after Labor Day through Oct. 31
4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday
12:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday
8 a.m. to noon Sunday
Closed Monday through Thursday

November through March
Closed – Firewood may be purchased with only cash or check near the campground store.

Store - River hours

April 1 through the Friday before Memorial Day
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Closed Monday through Thursday

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily

Day after Labor Day through Oct. 31
10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
Closed Monday through Friday

Nov. 1 through March 31
Closed