Things to do in TN's Cumberland Plateau Region

Fortes Restaurant on the Square

Forte's Restaurant is open Tuesday thru Friday 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and Friday & Saturday 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Forte's features Italian flair in a great atmosphere.

Catoosa Wildlife Management Area at the Devil's Breakfast Table

The Devil’s Breakfast Table is wonderful stopping point with a great view of Daddy’s Creek (home to the Tangerine Darter) as well as nice wildflower opportunities.

Obed River Park/Arboretum

A Class I Arboretum is featured along the course of the paved Obed River Trail adjacent to the Obed River. A paved surface multi-use trail is for public use by non-motorized traffic: walkers, runners, roller-blade enthusiasts and bicycle riders.

Cumberland Mountain State Park

This is a very historic state park. The site was part of the Cumberland Homesteads, which was a program of the New Deal in the 1930s. In addition to the incredibly scenic location along the dam of Byrds Creek, the park also features six hiking trails, totaling about 15 miles.

Cumberland Trail State Park at Black Mountain

Black Mountain is a high-elevation site that serves as midpoint of the linear Cumberland Trail State Park dered one of the crown jewels of the Trail. One hundred fifty miles of the Cumberland Trail are open and ready for exploration, including Black Mountain, considered on the crown jewels of the Trail.

Ozone Falls State Natural Area

Ozone Falls is a 43-acre natural area in Cumberland County. It receives heavy visitation because of its close proximity to Interstate 40. Ozone Falls plunges 110 feet over a sandstone cap rock into a deep blue, rock-strewn pool.

Roosevelt Mountain WMA Overlook

The Roosevelt Mountain Wildlife Management area is approximately 11,000 acres and virtually surrounds the town of Rockwood, TN.

Watts Bar Lake

Watts Bar Lake is one of the south's largest lakes,covering 39,000 acres at full pool with 771 miles of shoreline. 738 of those shoreline miles are located in Roane County. Here you will find boating, sailing, jet skiing, tubing, water skiing, knee boarding, swimming, fishing, and more. With mostly mild temperatures year-round many of these activities can be enjoyed all year long.

Piney River Segment of the Cumberland Trail

This 8.46 mile trail is a moderately rated hike starting from the picnic area on Shut-in Gap Road. The Twin Rocks Nature Trail takes off to the left about .1 miles from the picnic area. The trail continues up the slope, then follows the side of the mountain for another 3/4 miles, where a trail branches off to descend to the river.

Stinging Fork Falls State Natural Area

Stinging Fork Falls is a 783-acre natural area located in Rhea County. It is named for the 30-foot waterfall located within the Stinging Fork gorge that attracts hikers, photographers, and whitewater kayakers. The Stinging Fork Falls trail terminates at the bottom of the falls about 1.5 miles from the parking area, making this a 3 mile round trip hike.

Piney Falls State Natural Area

Piney Falls State Natural Area is a 440-acre natural area insulating the 80 ft. Piney Falls and a pristine forestland featuring creeks, deep gorges, waterfalls and old growth forest. This National Natural Landmark is an easily accessible waterfall requiring a short hike.

Catoosa Wildlife Management Area

The area has many deep cut canyons created by the rivers and streams, and offers access to beautiful scenery unlike anywhere else in the Cumberland's.

Obed Wild & Scenic River at Lily Bluff Overlook

The Lily Bluff Overlook is just a short walk through the woods from the parking lot and boasts an excellent boardwalk to the edge of the bluffs overlooking the river. The park also has opportunities for canoeing, kayaking, camping, many hiking trails and rock climbing.

Frozen Head State Park & Natural Area

Frozen Head State Park and Natural Area is situated in the beautiful Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee. Frozen Head, elevation of 3,324, is one of the highest peaks in Tennessee west of the Great Smoky Mountains and is home to small but photogenic and accessible - Debord Falls.

Lone Mountain State Forest

Lone Mountain State Forest is located on the Cumberland Plateau in east-central Tennessee, in Morgan County, about four miles south of Wartburg, just west of U.S. Highway 27. Recreational uses of the Forest include hunting, hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Approximately 15 miles of trails exist on the Forest, including an interpretive nature trail.

Fall Creek Falls State Park

A paradise of more than 20,000 acres sprawled across the eastern top of the rugged Cumberland Plateau, Fall Creek Falls State Park is one of the most scenic and spectacular outdoor recreation areas in America.

Bone Cave State State Natural Area

Big Bone Cave is a 400-acre natural area located in Van Buren County on the Cumberland Plateau escarpment. It is named for the discovery of the bones of a giant ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) in 1811.

Historic Rugby

Historic Rugby is a restored Victorian village founded in 1880 by British author and social reformer, Thomas Hughes. This would-be Utopia survives today as both a living community and a fascinating public historic site, unspoiled by modern development.

Cumberland Homesteads Tower Museum

As the largest historic district in Tennessee, the Cumberland Homesteads is one of the New Deal Communities built by the Division of Subsistence Homesteads between 1934 and 1938. Discover this unique community, planned by architect, William Stanton with a tour to the Homesteads Tower Museum.

Camp Crossville

Camp Crossville was a prisoner of war camp during World War II. It housed German and Italian officers beginning in November, 1942 until the close of the war. The original infurmiry building and other remnants of the prisoner camp can still be seen among its current use as the largest 4-H camp in Tennessee.

Military War Memorial Museum

Displays include personal items, letters, documents, medals, and artifacts from the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Crossville POW Camp, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq.

American Museum of Science and Energy

The museum opened in 1949 in an old wartime cafeteria in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. It was originally named the American Museum of Atomic Energy. Its guided tours took visitors through the peaceful uses of atomic energy. The present facility, opened in 1975, continues to provide the general public with energy information. The name of the museum was changed to the American Museum of Science and Energy (AMSE) in 1978.

Museum of Appalachia

Since 1969, the Museum of Appalachia has provided an unprecedented, experiential display of Appalachian culture illustrated through their increasingly vast collection of artifacts and historic structures. Take a tour, visit the gift shop and restaurant and check out their calendar of events.

Beersheba Springs Historic District

To escape the heat of one hot summer day in 1833, Beersheba Porter Cain of McMinnville followed a mountainous Grundy County pathway to a chlybeate spring that would eventually come to bear her name and, along with the amazing view of the Collins River Valley below, would inspire the creation of a summer resort that is still very much intact today and known as the Beersheba Springs Hotel.

Deer Run RV Resort

Come and stay with us at our beautiful 200 acre RV Resort & Campground located on the Cumberland Plateau in Crossville, TN. Relax & enjoy the natural settings, wildlife, & private lake.

Scopes Trial Museum & Rhea County Courthouse

Visit the site of the famous trial between creationism and evolution, a debate that continues today. The Scopes Trial of 1925, placed a teacher on trial for teaching evolution in the classroom and has continued to retained a growing worldwide inerest into the present day.

SPECIAL THANKS

Fairfield Glad