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HELP THE PARK YOU LOVE!
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Did South Cumberland State Park Help You Make it Through 2020?
There were so many strange things about last year, but one of the best things to come out of 2020 was the increased love for the outdoors. Many of you chose South Cumberland State Park as a place of refuge at a time when so many other things felt uncertain in life. We hope SCSP was helpful to your physical, mental, and emotional care. Now, Tennessee State Parks are launching a donation drive for the entire month of January -- a friendly competition to determine which state park meant the most to its visitors over the past year. So please vote here, all month long, for South Cumberland as your favorite Tennessee State Park! Every dollar given here will directly support South Cumberland. This friendly contest will give you the opportunity to show your love and appreciation for South Cumberland as "the place that kept you going in 2020". Your donation will help repair, maintain, and prepare South Cumberland to bring joy to more visitors in 2021! |
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— Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities --
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Help us smooth, widen and repair the
Grundy Forest Day Loop Trail! One of the most popular (and also the oldest!) trail in SCSP is the Grundy Forest Day Loop. However, time has taken its toll on the trail, and now, exposed roots and rocks have made parts of the trail hazardous, so the Friends' Trails Team, working with SCSP Ranger Dan Wescoat, is undertaking a series of repairs to some of the most challenging portions of the trail. Ranger Wescoat has planned a series of trail work days, weather permitting. If you can help, please email FSC Trails Committee Chair Bruce Blohm and he will make sure you are included in the upcoming communications on this ongoing project! Generally, 3-5 people are all we need for each work day. Please remember that social distancing, and masking when working in less-than-six-foot proximity, is required on all Trails Team projects. |
A particularly "rooty" section of the Grundy Forest Day Loop, near Hanes Hole Falls.
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PS -- Much of the Grundy Forest Day Loop was constructed nearly 80 years ago by the young men of Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1475, whose base camp location you can visit and learn about when you walk the CCC Camp Tour interpretive loop, next time you're in Grundy Forest!
FSC Trails Team lead Bruce Blohm places the first of more than 400 mile markers at the
Fiery Gizzard North trailhead, marking "Mile 0.0" for the Grundy Day Loop trail.
FSC Mile Post Marking Project
Now underway!
The Tennessee Trails Association (TTA) awarded an Evan Means Grant to the Friends of South Cumberland State Park, helping fund an FSC initiative to install custom mileage marker/location identifier medallions on nearly 87 miles of trail in South Cumberland State Park (SCSP).
The medallions improve hiker locational awareness and safety, while assisting in Rangers’ rescue efforts. This system of color-coded markers will also make possible more detailed trail maps.
FSC volunteers are installing Mile Post Markers every half-mile on SCSP trails. As of early January, 40% of the park's trails have been marked, and teams will continue to work to complete this project over the next two months.
If you're interested in being a part of this project, please email FSC Trails Committee Chair Bruce Blohm and he will make sure you are included in the upcoming info about installation teams & dates!
Now underway!
The Tennessee Trails Association (TTA) awarded an Evan Means Grant to the Friends of South Cumberland State Park, helping fund an FSC initiative to install custom mileage marker/location identifier medallions on nearly 87 miles of trail in South Cumberland State Park (SCSP).
The medallions improve hiker locational awareness and safety, while assisting in Rangers’ rescue efforts. This system of color-coded markers will also make possible more detailed trail maps.
FSC volunteers are installing Mile Post Markers every half-mile on SCSP trails. As of early January, 40% of the park's trails have been marked, and teams will continue to work to complete this project over the next two months.
If you're interested in being a part of this project, please email FSC Trails Committee Chair Bruce Blohm and he will make sure you are included in the upcoming info about installation teams & dates!
SCSP Introduces New Names for Trailheads
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SCSP Manager George Shinn has announced a new naming system for the park’s 12 trailheads, effective immediately. “We are such a large, spread-out park that it is difficult for new visitors to grasp where the trailheads are, in relation to the park’s major features,” he explained. “This new naming system, which we developed in cooperation with the Friends group, is more logical and geographically-based. It will make it much easier for visitors to quickly grasp where our trailheads are, in relation to each other, and in which part of the park each trailhead is located.” Shinn noted that it will take time to switch over all of the park’s existing directional signage and update maps, but steps are already underway to begin that process. “The Friends' website is the first resource that has been completely updated to reflect the new names,” he said. “The Tennessee State Parks website has also posted the new trailhead map, and should be fully up-to-date in the near future.” The new, official trailhead map also includes the park’s most popular features and highlights, listed below each of the new trailhead names. A free copy of the new map, which includes driving directions to each trailhead and other useful information, is also available for download from the Downloadable Maps page of this website.
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Click on the map to see an enlargement.
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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 State Park. The Trails Team also assists the park 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 of this site!
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In 2019, FSC's Trail Friends program had 27 active volunteers who donated their time at the park's most popular trail heads, offering assistance to hikers. The Trail Friends offer park visitors a cheery welcome and useful 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 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.
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See what our Trails Team has been up to:
Email FSC Trails Team Chair Bruce Blohm to find out how you can help!
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Here's a new video about all the great trails, and things to see & do in South Cumberland State Park:
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Fiery Gizzard Trail Reopened for hikers to “travel at own risk”
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Due to the March 24th collapse of the footbridge over Little Gizzard Creek, the Fiery Gizzard Trail is open, but hiking the trail now requires a creek crossing at Little Gizzard Creek.
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Don’t let South Cumberland State Park be the place
you caught, or shared, the Covid virus!
Help us keep the Park safe for all to enjoy by following these simple steps:
— Please wear masks any time you are in the presence of other Park visitors
— Please maintain six-foot social distancing from anyone not in your immediate group
— Please bring hand sanitizer and be virus-aware at all times during your visit
— Please bring a trash bag and pack out whatever you bring into the Park!
— Enjoy the Park responsibly, and help us keep the Park beautiful!
If you find a crowd (or crowded parking lot) at the trail you planned to hike, remember that South Cumberland State Park has 12 amazing trailheads, waiting for you to explore!
you caught, or shared, the Covid virus!
Help us keep the Park safe for all to enjoy by following these simple steps:
— Please wear masks any time you are in the presence of other Park visitors
— Please maintain six-foot social distancing from anyone not in your immediate group
— Please bring hand sanitizer and be virus-aware at all times during your visit
— Please bring a trash bag and pack out whatever you bring into the Park!
— Enjoy the Park responsibly, and help us keep the Park beautiful!
If you find a crowd (or crowded parking lot) at the trail you planned to hike, remember that South Cumberland State Park has 12 amazing trailheads, waiting for you to explore!
- Check out the newly-released map of all South Cumberland trailheads, below, which also lists the most outstanding features you’ll be able to see from each trailhead.
- Be aware that Savage Gulf North (Stone Door); Fiery Gizzard North (Grundy Forest); and Fiery Gizzard South (Foster Falls) are the busiest trailheads in the Park; consider starting your adventure from one of our other nine trailheads, and discover something new about South Cumberland State Park!
- Get driving directions to any of the Park's 12 trailheads, and more info, by visiting our Trailhead Information Page.
- Please do not park along roadside or on adjacent private properties. Thanks!
Please join us in saying Thank You
to all of our Sponsoring Partners!
HERITAGE PARTNERS
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Mr. Doug Ferris & Dot Neale |
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SILVERBELL PARTNERS
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REDBUD PARTNER
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Mr. John Canale |
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South Cumberland celebrates 42 years!
On July 1, 1978, South Cumberland State Park was dedicated with less than 10,000 acres. Four decades later, it is the second-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! Please take a moment to join or renew your membership in the Friends of South Cumberland State Park!
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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; after the state-wide Cumberland Trail, South Cumberland is Tennessee's second largest state park, at nearly 31,000 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 nearly 31,000 acres, South Cumberland is the second-largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park. 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 Park, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state park!
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!
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 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 nearly 31,000 acres, South Cumberland is the second-largest State Park in Tennessee. Although this is great news, more land, and more visitors, creates new and urgent unmet needs for the park. 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 Park, a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization, working to protect, maintain and enhance Tennessee's largest and most spectacular state park!
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!
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.
