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JOIN US on Saturday, June 22nd
The Friends Annual Meeting and Family Fun Day in the Park!
Hike during the day, then join us for the Annual Meeting, Awards and Celebration
from 4-6 pm at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle!
-- FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL FRIENDS MEMBERS • SNACKS & BEVERAGES PROVIDED --
The Friends Annual Meeting and Family Fun Day in the Park!
Hike during the day, then join us for the Annual Meeting, Awards and Celebration
from 4-6 pm at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle!
-- FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL FRIENDS MEMBERS • SNACKS & BEVERAGES PROVIDED --
Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities
This past winter was wet, wet, wet -- and very tough on the Park's trail system (the photo you see here is not a stream -- it is one of our trails during one of February's worst storms!). The damage from this past winter is only the latest chapter in Mother Nature's ongoing assault on our trails -- and they need our help!
Summer is full of opportunities for you to give back to our amazing Park! Pick a trail day from the liste below -- support and work with our Rangers, and learn the principles of sustainable trail design and construction, all while enjoying a day in the beauty of South Cumberland State Park!
Below is a schedule of upcoming trail day activities. Not all trail work involves moving rocks or dirt -- there are jobs for everyone! Please be prepared with sturdy footwear and plenty of water and high-energy snacks and/or lunch. Hydration is important! Trail-building tools will be provided; however, if you have favorite tools or work-gloves, feel free to bring them. If you have questions, please feel free to call the Park office at 931-924-2980.
Sun Jun 9 - 12 noon Foster Falls Trailhead [map] with Ranger Ryan Harris
Thu Jun 13 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf East Trailhead [map] with Ranger Mark Greenwood
Tue Jun 18 - 9:00 am Savage Gulf South Trailhead [map] with Ranger Dan Wescoat
Sat Jun 22 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf South Trailhead [map] • Tennessee Promise Day! •
Wed Jun 26 - 8:00 am Sherwood Forest Trailhead [map] with Ranger Jason Reynolds
Mon Jul 8 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf East Trailhead [map] with Ranger Mark Greenwood
Summer is full of opportunities for you to give back to our amazing Park! Pick a trail day from the liste below -- support and work with our Rangers, and learn the principles of sustainable trail design and construction, all while enjoying a day in the beauty of South Cumberland State Park!
Below is a schedule of upcoming trail day activities. Not all trail work involves moving rocks or dirt -- there are jobs for everyone! Please be prepared with sturdy footwear and plenty of water and high-energy snacks and/or lunch. Hydration is important! Trail-building tools will be provided; however, if you have favorite tools or work-gloves, feel free to bring them. If you have questions, please feel free to call the Park office at 931-924-2980.
Sun Jun 9 - 12 noon Foster Falls Trailhead [map] with Ranger Ryan Harris
Thu Jun 13 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf East Trailhead [map] with Ranger Mark Greenwood
Tue Jun 18 - 9:00 am Savage Gulf South Trailhead [map] with Ranger Dan Wescoat
Sat Jun 22 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf South Trailhead [map] • Tennessee Promise Day! •
Wed Jun 26 - 8:00 am Sherwood Forest Trailhead [map] with Ranger Jason Reynolds
Mon Jul 8 - 8:15 am Savage Gulf East Trailhead [map] with Ranger Mark Greenwood
State zoologist recognized for Sherwood Forest work
State zoologist David Withers, center, received the 2019 Recovery Champion Award on Friday, May 17, for his efforts to protect the endangered Painted Snake-Coiled Forest Snail, which lives exclusively in Sherwood Forest. With Withers, from left, are Jeffrey Powell and Geoff Call, both with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Photo by Susan Campbell
His work to save a tiny, endangered snail native to Franklin County has earned a state zoologist a national award.
David Withers, a zoologist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), received the 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ (USFWS) Recovery Champion Award during a ceremony held Friday, May 17, at the South Cumberland State Park’s Sherwood Forest. The award is given to two individuals each year across the nation.
Withers was recognized for his work to protect the Painted Snake-Coiled Forest Snail, known to live exclusively in the Sherwood area of Franklin County and on the federal endangered species list.
According to Geoff Call, USFWS endangered species recovery coordinator, 840 acres in the Sherwood Forest region is home to 900,000 of the rare, air-breathing land snails.
According to the Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, the snail has long been thought to be native to one cove on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, near the town of Sherwood. The cove is heavily forested and studded with limestone outcrops, and it has a creek running through. The snail still occurs at this cove and it is abundant there. Recent surveys have shown that it also lives a few miles past the cove. Until recently, its entire distribution was located on privately owned land.
In 2017, 4,061 acres in Sherwood Forest came under state protection following a five-year project involving a partnership with The Conservation Fund, the state of Tennessee and The Land Trust for Tennessee; with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and help from the Open Space Institute. More than 980 acres of the tract were added to Franklin State Forest, with the remainder adjoining the existing 375-acre Carter State Natural Area in the Park.
In addition to the Painted Snake-Coiled Forest Snail, Sherwood Forest is home to the endangered Morefield’s Leather Flower, a population of Cumberland Rosinweed, a type of sunflower found only on the Cumberland Plateau, and two endangered animal species, the Eastern Small-Footed Bat and the Allegheny Woodrat. All of these species have been recorded on the property, along with Four-Toed Salamanders, Barking Tree Frogs, and Rafinesque’s Big-Eared Bat, which are all state-protected animals.
Sherwood Forest also now protects the Griffin Rock Shelter, presently the only excavated prehistoric rock art site in Tennessee. The Griffin site, estimated to be approximately 1,000 years old, includes four panels of elaborate and deeply incised petroglyphs, as well as artifacts used to carve the art and perform sacred activities.
A new, 3-mile loop trail which leads to the Crow Creek Valley Overlook is now open to hikers. The Sherwood Forest addition was honored by former Gov. Bill Haslam and TDEC as one of the winners of the 2017 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards To learn more about Sherwood Forest, or the South Cumberland State Park, visit www.friendsofsouthcumberland.org, or www.tnstateparks.com.
David Withers, a zoologist with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), received the 2019 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ (USFWS) Recovery Champion Award during a ceremony held Friday, May 17, at the South Cumberland State Park’s Sherwood Forest. The award is given to two individuals each year across the nation.
Withers was recognized for his work to protect the Painted Snake-Coiled Forest Snail, known to live exclusively in the Sherwood area of Franklin County and on the federal endangered species list.
According to Geoff Call, USFWS endangered species recovery coordinator, 840 acres in the Sherwood Forest region is home to 900,000 of the rare, air-breathing land snails.
According to the Tennessee Ecological Services Field Office, the snail has long been thought to be native to one cove on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau, near the town of Sherwood. The cove is heavily forested and studded with limestone outcrops, and it has a creek running through. The snail still occurs at this cove and it is abundant there. Recent surveys have shown that it also lives a few miles past the cove. Until recently, its entire distribution was located on privately owned land.
In 2017, 4,061 acres in Sherwood Forest came under state protection following a five-year project involving a partnership with The Conservation Fund, the state of Tennessee and The Land Trust for Tennessee; with funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund and help from the Open Space Institute. More than 980 acres of the tract were added to Franklin State Forest, with the remainder adjoining the existing 375-acre Carter State Natural Area in the Park.
In addition to the Painted Snake-Coiled Forest Snail, Sherwood Forest is home to the endangered Morefield’s Leather Flower, a population of Cumberland Rosinweed, a type of sunflower found only on the Cumberland Plateau, and two endangered animal species, the Eastern Small-Footed Bat and the Allegheny Woodrat. All of these species have been recorded on the property, along with Four-Toed Salamanders, Barking Tree Frogs, and Rafinesque’s Big-Eared Bat, which are all state-protected animals.
Sherwood Forest also now protects the Griffin Rock Shelter, presently the only excavated prehistoric rock art site in Tennessee. The Griffin site, estimated to be approximately 1,000 years old, includes four panels of elaborate and deeply incised petroglyphs, as well as artifacts used to carve the art and perform sacred activities.
A new, 3-mile loop trail which leads to the Crow Creek Valley Overlook is now open to hikers. The Sherwood Forest addition was honored by former Gov. Bill Haslam and TDEC as one of the winners of the 2017 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards To learn more about Sherwood Forest, or the South Cumberland State Park, visit www.friendsofsouthcumberland.org, or www.tnstateparks.com.
CCC Interpretive Area Now Open!
The new CCC Interpretive Area at South Cumberland State Park is now open. The Interpretive Area, consisting of a new 1/3-mile trail connecting 13 graphic panels, tells the story of Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1475 in words and historical pictures. The trail, in the Grundy Forest area of the Park, is a project of the Friends of South Cumberland State Park, funded by a generous grant from the South Cumberland Community Fund. It takes visitors past the foundations and other remnants of the "village" that housed 200 young men and their leaders between 1935 and 1938, and the interpretive panels weave together the amazing story of the mission and contributions of the CCC to the South Cumberland Region.
The site is approximately 1/4 mile from the Grundy Forest trailhead, along the Grundy Day Loop Trail. The walk to, through and back from the site totals approximately one mile. The trail is generally easy, but there are sections with roots and rocks; sturdy walking shoes and walking sticks are recommended! Special thanks to Friends' CCC Team Lead Rob Moreland and Interpretive Area Designer Rick Dreves, as well as the dozens of volunteers, Park Rangers and others who worked diligently over the past 2-1/2 years to bring this fascinating piece of area and Park history to life! Can't make it out to the site? Click below to learn about the amazing story of CCC Company 1475, as told on the 13 interpretive panels now on display in the CCC Interpretive Area:
A trail and interpretive signage, part of a recently-completed Friends' initiative, allows visitors to learn about the history of the Civilian Conservation Corps at the newly-opened CCC Interpretive Area in South Cumberland State Park.
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A new outdoor classroom, named in honor of former CCC Superintendent and Tracy City leader Herman Baggenstoss, was dedicated at ceremonies opening the new CCC Interpretive Area. The classroom will be used by the Friends and Park Rangers for school programs, re-enactments, and other educational initiatives.
Friends of South Cumberland State Park CCC Project Team Lead Rob Moreland, left, and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Acting Deputy Commissioner Anne Marshall discuss the story of CCC Company 1475 during the dedication ceremonies opening the new CCC Interpretive Area at South Cumberland State Park in Tracy City, TN, on April 12, 2019.
Judy Phillips of the Franklin County Historical Society, left, with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Area Manager Chris Padgett discuss the story of CCC Company 1475 during the dedication ceremonies opening the new CCC Interpretive Area at South Cumberland State Park in Tracy City, TN, on April 12, 2019.
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Please join us in thanking everyone who made Trails & Trilliums 2019 happen! Click here to read a letter from T&T 2019 Chair Margaret Matens.
Now’s the time to enroll for the Spring Trail Friends team!
Trail Friends are volunteers who offer Park visitors a cheery welcome and much-needed information about the Park, the natural surroundings, and the specifics of the trails. Trail Friends staff five of the busiest trailheads in the Park, and also walk their assigned trails, answering questions and providing assistance as they go. Some also make detailed recordings of trail features and conditions using the Avenza mapping app. More than four thousand people have been helped by this enthusiastic team of volunteers. The group is accepting new members and on-line training is available now. The Spring Trail Friends season runs on weekends through June 30. If you're interested in volunteering as a Trail Friend for the Spring of 2019, the time to enroll and be trained is NOW! Learn more on our Trail Friends page.
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Trail Friend volunteer Barbara Braswell (right) helping out fall hikers at Savage Gulf.
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Ranger Aaron Reid Named Assistant Park Manager at Savage Gulf
Congratulations to Ranger Aaron Reid for being named the new Assistant Park Manager at Savage Gulf! He joins Assistant Park Manager Bill Knapp, who will now be able to focus on the central and southern areas of the Park (Fiery Gizzard and Sherwood Forest). Together, says SCSP Manager George Shinn, "Bill and Aaron are my “boots on the ground”, out on the front lines, leading and managing our talented staff, and carrying out our mission of having a beautiful, clean and safe park, so our park visitors can totally focus on having an amazing experience out in nature!" |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO THIS YEAR'S GOLDENROD GALA PARTNERS:
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South Cumberland celebrates 40 years!
On July 1, 1978, South Cumberland State Park was dedicated with less than 10,000 acres. Forty years later, it is the largest State Park in Tennessee, at nearly 31,000 acres. Today, the South Cumberland State Park is visited by nearly 750,000 people each year, and thanks to your support of the Friends, is as wild and spectacular as ever, with new trails and new ways to enjoy the park now available through the hard work of our Friends volunteers!
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Shop Online and help the Park with every purchase!
When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates a portion of your purchase directly to the Friends of South Cumberland! Bookmark this page, and use it whenever you shop at Amazon! 
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Learn more about the newest areas of the Park |
South Cumberland State Park continues to grow at a remarkable pace; it is now officially Tennessee's largest state park, at 30,837 acres. Click on any of these links to learn more about recent land areas that have been protected and added to the park, and what work is underway to make these areas accessible to the public: |
Our Mission:
To aid and assist the South Cumberland State Park management and staff in meeting its objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire its members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the park.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
Now protecting more than 30,800 acres, South Cumberland is the largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park. New trails must be built, and existing trails must be maintained or upgraded. New and expanded parking areas, restrooms, camping and picnic facilities, and directional signage are needed. Invasive pests, like the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and invasive plants must be controlled. Guided hikes, seminars and historical re-enactments, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete.
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland will always be a safe, well-maintained and amazing place to experience world-class natural beauty!
Your Friends membership directly supports the park.
The Friends of South Cumberland is a group of volunteer citizens dedicated to supporting the South Cumberland State Park, at 30,837 acres, Tennessee's largest state park. A 1993 law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly allows state parks to contract with and receive financial assistance from an organized friends group. As a result, private citizens can be involved with and support the park through both volunteer work and financial support.
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations. Our tax deductible status was approved in July 1994. As a 501(c)3 non profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible. Please join us in supporting and protecting the South Cumberland State Park!
To aid and assist the South Cumberland State Park management and staff in meeting its objectives, and to inform, educate, engage, and inspire its members and the public to protect, conserve, and enjoy all the resources of the park.
Why Should You Be a Friends Member?
Now protecting more than 30,800 acres, South Cumberland is the largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park. New trails must be built, and existing trails must be maintained or upgraded. New and expanded parking areas, restrooms, camping and picnic facilities, and directional signage are needed. Invasive pests, like the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, and invasive plants must be controlled. Guided hikes, seminars and historical re-enactments, including programs for area school children, must be prepared and delivered. And, the work of conserving additional environmentally-significant lands is far from complete.
By becoming a member of the Friends, you can help insure that South Cumberland will always be a safe, well-maintained and amazing place to experience world-class natural beauty!
Your Friends membership directly supports the park.
- Your membership supports the good work of the Friends of South Cumberland. You will become part of a group working to save great spaces in the South Cumberland and supporting this magnificent park with both funding and volunteer initiatives.
- You will receive the quarterly FSC Newsletter and monthly Trail Tracker emails to keep you updated on Friends and Park issues, events and volunteer opportunities.
- You will be eligible for members-only programs and events, such as the Tennessee Naturalist Program.
The Friends of South Cumberland is a group of volunteer citizens dedicated to supporting the South Cumberland State Park, at 30,837 acres, Tennessee's largest state park. A 1993 law passed by the Tennessee General Assembly allows state parks to contract with and receive financial assistance from an organized friends group. As a result, private citizens can be involved with and support the park through both volunteer work and financial support.
Funding for the Friends of South Cumberland is derived from individual and corporate memberships and from private donations. Our tax deductible status was approved in July 1994. As a 501(c)3 non profit public benefit corporation, your membership and gifts may be Federally tax deductible. Please join us in supporting and protecting the South Cumberland State Park!
