|
Viewing on a mobile device? Click on the three horizontal lines at the top left of your screen to view and use our site navigation.
|
|
|
HELP THE PARKS YOU LOVE!
|
Join us for the Friends Annual Meeting
on June 10th, 2:30 pm!
The Annual Membership Meeting of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks will be held at the picnic area adjacent to South Cumberland State Park Headquarters on US 41 in Monteagle on Saturday, June 10th, at 2:30 pm. The meeting will include election of new officers and Board of Directors members as well as recognition of FSC's amazing volunteers and outgoing leadership. FSC will provide the dessert and beverages. The meeting is free and is open to all FSC members and supporters.
on June 10th, 2:30 pm!
The Annual Membership Meeting of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks will be held at the picnic area adjacent to South Cumberland State Park Headquarters on US 41 in Monteagle on Saturday, June 10th, at 2:30 pm. The meeting will include election of new officers and Board of Directors members as well as recognition of FSC's amazing volunteers and outgoing leadership. FSC will provide the dessert and beverages. The meeting is free and is open to all FSC members and supporters.
FSC announces search for first-ever Executive Director
Acting on one of the major items in its Five-Year Plan, the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, Inc., is announcing the search for its first-ever Executive Director. Applications are now being accepted online; application window closes June 1, 2023. For complete information, and to apply, please read the official announcement document, which you can download here.
Thanks to everyone for making Trails & Trilliums 2023 one of the most successful ever!
FSC's 19th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival, held this year in historic Beersheba Springs, adjacent to our new Savage Gulf State Park, set records for attendance, programs, and in funds raised to help continue the mission of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
Mark your calendars for April 19-21, 2024, when Trails & Trilliums will once again be held in historic and beautiful Beersheba Springs. Check the Trails & Trilliums website next spring for updates as plans are finalized for the 20th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival!
Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, organized, sponsored and supported this amazing event! Special thanks to all of our Tennessee Naturalist Program partners from across the state who came to participate in our T&T programs and hikes! Thanks also to Heather Lose and our other photographers for their wonderful photos of the event! To view the photo gallery, click here.
FSC's 19th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival, held this year in historic Beersheba Springs, adjacent to our new Savage Gulf State Park, set records for attendance, programs, and in funds raised to help continue the mission of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
Mark your calendars for April 19-21, 2024, when Trails & Trilliums will once again be held in historic and beautiful Beersheba Springs. Check the Trails & Trilliums website next spring for updates as plans are finalized for the 20th Annual Trails & Trilliums festival!
Thank you to all who attended, volunteered, organized, sponsored and supported this amazing event! Special thanks to all of our Tennessee Naturalist Program partners from across the state who came to participate in our T&T programs and hikes! Thanks also to Heather Lose and our other photographers for their wonderful photos of the event! To view the photo gallery, click here.
|
Congratulations, SCSP!
For the month of April, Tennessee State Parks, in partnership with the Tennessee State Parks Conservancy, offered the annual My TN State Park Fundraiser. And thanks to all of you, South Cumberland State Park was named the TOP Tennessee State Park in Group 2, for parks with 350-750,000 annual visitors! The $3300 you helped raise for SCSP will be used to enhance the aviary for its Birds of Prey program and to repair several wooden footbridges and other structures on the Fiery Gizzard Trail System. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!
|
A "must read": New Book Chronicles the History of the Parks
Latham Davis, past president of FSC, has just published a fascinating history of the Parks. The book launch is scheduled during Trails & Trilliums (April 21-23). Copies will be available for purchase and signing. (Following T&T, copies may be purchased by contacting the Friends.) The beautiful book is filled with photographs and maps of the parks and wilderness natural areas.
Davis' history of what became the largest state park in Tennessee (before being split in two) begins with a prehistory of Savage Gulf wilderness area and continues with the growth of the park through the efforts of the people and organizations that campaigned for the park's protection. Special emphasis is given to the founding of the Friends of South Cumberland and the actions and strategies the Friends used to protect bluffs and watersheds of what today are important parts of Tennessee's two most spectacular State Parks!
Davis' history of what became the largest state park in Tennessee (before being split in two) begins with a prehistory of Savage Gulf wilderness area and continues with the growth of the park through the efforts of the people and organizations that campaigned for the park's protection. Special emphasis is given to the founding of the Friends of South Cumberland and the actions and strategies the Friends used to protect bluffs and watersheds of what today are important parts of Tennessee's two most spectacular State Parks!
|
New Greeter Falls Staircase
|
See the complete photo-chronicle of the creation of the new access trail and staircase on our Trails Team Progress Report page...!
Join our Trails Team!
The FSC Trails Team assists Park Managers and staff with assessment, design, construction, maintenance and/or rerouting of nearly 100 miles of world-class trails and trail structures in South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks. The Trails Team also assists the parks with SCSP wayfinding (directional) signage and mile marking. The Trails Team welcomes all volunteers, and has opportunities for adults of any age and physical ability! Learn more by visiting the Trails Team page.
See what our Trails Team has been up to:
Email FSC Trails Team Chair John Collins to find out how you can help!
|
The Trail Friends offer park visitors a cheery welcome and useful information about the parks, the natural surroundings, and the specifics of the trails. Trail Friends staff five of the busiest trailheads in the parks, and also walk these trails, answering questions and providing assistance as they go. The Trail Friends team is always looking for enthusiastic new members! Learn more by visiting our Trail Friends Initiative page.
Here's a video about all the great trails, and things to see and do in South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks:
|
Please join us in saying Thank You
to all of our Sponsoring Partners!
|
TRAILS & TRILLIUMS SPONSORING PARTNER
|
WINE & WILDFLOWERS SPONSORING PARTNER
|
|
|
FRIENDS OF SOUTH CUMBERLAND SPONSORING PARTNERS
|
|
WINE & WILDFLOWERS BEVERAGE SPONSOR
Click to view larger!
A new way you can share your love for the Parks!
Make a donation in someone's honor.
New this year, the Friends are offering these attractive gift cards, allowing you to make a donation to the Friends in the name of a family member, friend or colleague. Give the people you know who love Nature the gift of Nature this holiday season! A set of five "in-your-honor" cards are just $50, and include matching envelopes. You can order your cards here. Cards will be mailed to you. Donations to the Friends may be tax-deductible, but the awareness and knowledge these honoraria will spread to others is priceless!
Make a donation in someone's honor.
New this year, the Friends are offering these attractive gift cards, allowing you to make a donation to the Friends in the name of a family member, friend or colleague. Give the people you know who love Nature the gift of Nature this holiday season! A set of five "in-your-honor" cards are just $50, and include matching envelopes. You can order your cards here. Cards will be mailed to you. Donations to the Friends may be tax-deductible, but the awareness and knowledge these honoraria will spread to others is priceless!
South Cumberland celebrates 45 years!
|
On July 1, 1978, South Cumberland State Park was dedicated with less than 10,000 acres; today, that has grown to more than 31,000 acres of protected wilderness, now divided into two parks, South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks. Today, these two parks are visited by nearly 650,000 people each year, and thanks to your support of the Friends, are as wild and spectacular as ever, with new trails and new ways to enjoy the parks now available through the hard work of our Friends volunteers! Please take a moment to support the work of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks!
|
|
|
QUICK LINKS
|
The Friends are now on Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter!
Follow and friend us! Share your adventures in the Park on these Friends of South Cumberland pages: 
|
Learn about the newest areas of the Parks
|
South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Click on any of these links to learn more about recent land areas that have been protected and added to the parks, and what work is underway to make these areas accessible to the public: |
Our Mission:
To aid and assist the managers and staffs of South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks in meeting their objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire our members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the parks.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks now protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for these parks. Trails must be maintained or upgraded. Trail bridges require maintenance or replacement. Additional interpretive and wayfinding signage is needed. Guided hikes, seminars and workshops, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete. Your support makes possible the many initiatives of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance two of Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state parks!
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks will always be safe, well-maintained and amazing places to experience world-class natural beauty!
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible.
To aid and assist the managers and staffs of South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks in meeting their objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire our members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the parks.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks now protect over 31,000 acres of pristine Tennessee wilderness. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for these parks. Trails must be maintained or upgraded. Trail bridges require maintenance or replacement. Additional interpretive and wayfinding signage is needed. Guided hikes, seminars and workshops, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete. Your support makes possible the many initiatives of the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance two of Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state parks!
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland and Savage Gulf State Parks will always be safe, well-maintained and amazing places to experience world-class natural beauty!
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible.
