The current study determined if inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus impairs the retrieval of newly formed context fear memories. This region was silencing by activating inhibitory neurons or by hyperpolarizing pyramidal cells directly. When inhibitory neurons were stimulated with ChR2, memory retrieval was significantly impaired. In contrast, when the same neurons were activated with the excitatory DREADD hM3Dq, retrieval was not affected. This dissociation was not due to differences in inhibition, as both manipulations activated interneurons and reduced excitation throughout the dorsal hippocampus. Therefore, we hypothesize that the retrieval deficit caused by ChR2 stimulation is due to an immediate reduction in hippocampal activity that does not provide enough time for other brain regions to compensate. Stimulation of DREADDs, on the other hand, produces a gradual loss of excitation that takes several minutes to reach asymptote. This appears to be a sufficient amount of time for extra-hippocampal structures to become engaged and express context fear. Implications for theories of hippocampal function, systems consolidation and memory retrieval are discussed.