Cumberland Trail State Park – Grassy Cove Segment – Black Mountain Section (Crossville, TN)

I had no idea this was a thing. It is kinda like a little mini Appalachian Trail (for front country hikers). Hey…that’s me?!?! The Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park manages the Cumberland Trail (a State Scenic Trail). The Cumberland Trail follows a line of high ridges and deep gorges lying along Tennessee’s Cumberland …

Ozone Falls State Natural Area (Crab Orchard, TN)

This 110-foot tall waterfall has a pretty quick hike down to the bottom. For the more adventurous there is a 7-mile hike (as a part of Tennessee’s Cumberland Trail State Park) over to Black Mountain (where we hiked the next day). We opted for less adventure this afternoon but the waterfall was spectacular, regardless. If …

Cumberland Mountain State Park (Crossville TN)

Cumberland Mountain State Park (in Crossville, TN) was our first stop on Emily’s Fall Break. I almost lost her (not really) at the very beginning of our 12th RV trip (when our trailer unexpectedly shifted while unhooking). Molly came up from Chattanooga to join us for an afternoon (in between class/work). We hiked around the …

Henry Horton State Park – Kayaking the Duck River (AKA The Dirty Duck) – Chapel Hill, TN

We visited Henry Horton State Park, near Chapel Hill, TN. Our main goal was to kayak on the Duck River (which runs right through the state park). We soon learned the locals call it the Dirty Duck…even though it isn’t dirty at all?!? Weird?!?. We also explored the Tennessee humidity on bikes (as well as …

Kayaking The Harpeth! – Harpeth River State Park – Nashville, TN

The Harpeth River State Park covers almost 40 miles along the Harpeth River. There are 10 access points to put in/take out all along the west side of Nashville, TN. Our plan is to kayak the entire stretch (not all at once). We started off by doing two legs for about 10 miles. We started …

Burgess Falls State Park – Sparta Tennessee

On our family vacation, the entire extended family headed out for an afternoon at Burgess Falls State Park. We were the last few cars to make it into the parking lot before they filled up. Part of the adventure on a very busy Memorial Day weekend was finding a parking space. Once we accomplished that …

Cummins Falls State Park – Cookeville TN

During our Memorial Day family vacation with my family, Emily and I ventured out to Cummins Falls State Park. We hiked up the river to the bottom of the spectacular waterfall. We’d gone with the kids years ago but we didn’t wade up the river to the bottom on that trip (only saw it from …

Warriors’ Path State Park – Kingsport, TN

We are adding kayaking when we can to our trips from now on. We visited Warriors’ Path State Park for hiking, biking, and kayaking. There are also several other activities that we didn’t even get to do (mountain biking trails, horseback riding, golf, etc.) There is a very pretty lake with some great views at …

Davy Crockett Birthplace Historic State Park + Travel Day Food Adventures

On our way home from East Tennessee we stopped by Davy Crockett Birthplace Historic State Park. Humble beginnings for such a great American figure. We also stopped at a bunch of places to eat. We, obviously, do this very often but travel days evidently ramp up the intensity of our food search.

Hiking Roan Mountain – Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Ridge Bald

We saved the best for last! This was my favorite hike of our trip to East Tennessee (and one of my favorite hikes ever!). It is 360 degrees of absolute gorgeousness at around 6,184 feet elevation. We hiked from Carvers Gap up to Round Bald, over to Jane Bald, and then onto Grassy Ridge Bald. …