Cumberland Mountain State Park

We came across Cumberland Mountain as an overnight stop on our way to Asheville previously. Although we were there after sunset and departed before sunrise, we thought this location, situated half way between Nashville and Knoxville in Tennessee, deserved a weekend trip. 

At a five hour drive, it’s too far for a weekend getaway. But we made an exception to meet family for the weekend. Cumberland Mountain, located on the Cumberland Plateau, is a 1700 acre park shaped like a backwards ‘C’. The parks amenities are around Byrd Lake. The park offers 14 miles of hiking, paddling and fishing on Byrd Lake, mountain biking, swimming at the outdoor pool, golfing, playgrounds, disc golf, and tennis courts. We enjoyed a hike around the lake and out to a swinging bridge. ​

​The campground offers five loops and nearly 150 sites, most with water and electric, although a few were full hookup. The sites are all nice, but there is a lot of variety in the sites. Some are sunny, shaded, shallow, deep, very private, non-private and almost buddy sites; this is a good campground to cross reference the campground map with google maps. ​

We visited nearby Crossville to eat and explore. We started at Grinder House where we found good coffee and a nice lunch in a fun, enjoyable sitting. Nearby was French’s Boots and Shoes. Upstairs they had highly discounted shoes where we all found a deal. Across town and hidden in the back of an old discount mall was the gem of Crossville: the Crossville Model Train Club featuring 4500 square feet of model trains in seven different scales, staffed by model train enthusiasts. Admission is free, donations suggested, and this is certainly worth a visit. For dinner, we were excited to try The Pour House for dinner. Unfortunate for us, and nice for them, they were closed for a family wedding the night of our planned visit. Our next choice was The Catfish Cabin, which is family run by the nicest couple and served us a good meal with family-style sides. ​

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​We made a detour on our way home to a location that has been on our list for years: Fall Creek Falls State Park. The falls are beautiful. We decided to hike the 256 feet to the bottom and back up. It was worth the hike and this location may be worth a return visit. ​

We are making a return one night stop to Cumberland Mountain State Park which will serve as our final night, after 150 plus nights over 39 months, in our 2015 TAXA Outdoors Cricket...