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 Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is a
land where the South Fork of the Cumberland River snakes northward, hidden in the bottoms of deep gorges, bounded on
either side by huge rock cliffs, and remembered by its few visitors as a place of wonder and solitude. Featured
here on my Life After 50 website, you'll only have to read a few of my Big South Fork (BSF) hike journals to find that
I tip my hat to the rugged wilderness that calls to me whenever I get the itch for solitude and new trails. So isolated
is this area that I feel it remains to be discovered by most visitors to this part of Tennessee and Kentucky.
Did you know....
- Angel Falls? It isn't a waterfall at all but is a dangerous set of whitewater rapids on the Tennessee
side of the park which was named to counter Kentucky's infamous Devil's Jump rapids.
- 1930? The year a hydroelectric dam was first proposed for construction at Devil's Jump. This
would have flooded the BSF basin. Dam building proponents continued their efforts until 1974 when the U.S. Congress
passed a bill creating the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
- Army Corps of Engineers? The ACofE planned and developed Big South Fork then turned it over
to the National Park Service to manage.
- Twin Arches? They're not in Arches National Park in Utah.
- Maude's Crack? Discovered by a woman nicknamed "Maude", it is a shortcut thru a rock bluff into the
gorge
- John Muir Trail? Nearly 50 miles of trail honoring the father of our National Park system.
- Yahoo Falls? Was there long before the internet.
- Beaty Oil Well? The 1st commercial oil well in the U.S.
- Charit Creek Lodge? Similar to Mt. LeConte Lodge in the Smokies.
- 300 miles? The combined length of trails in the BSF.
- 125,000? Number of acres within the park.
- 60+? The number of wildflower species we counted along two short sections of trails in BSF during a
mid-April wildflower hike. There are many, many more.
There is a lot to discover at BSF and much of the park is accessible only by trail. Many BSF
trails have their trailheads buried deep within the park and are themselves only accessible by primitive roads or other trails.
Accordingly, you'll enjoy your BSF park experience more if you plan ahead; this means purchasing a good topo map and at least
one trail guide book for that area.
My collection of books and maps includes:
- National Geographic's Trails Illustrated Map #241 Big South Fork ($12, National Geographic)
- National Park Service's Big South Fork Official Map and Guide (free)
- 100 Trails of the Big South Fork by Russ Manning ($10, Amazon)
- Hiking the Big South Fork by Deaver, Smith and Duncan ($15, Amazon)
None of these books have done much to make it easy to plan a trip into the BSF; I've found it necessary
to supplement the books with a lot of internet research. Even the topo maps leave a lot to be desired since some of
the hiking trails are no longer shown on the newest maps--even though the trails are still there and are often mentioned in
the books). Eventually, you'll figure out enough to plan a good route and then, while hiking, you'll get to discover
what the books and maps left out. Just take along your sense of adventure and dust-off those basic backcounty navigation
skills before you go.
The website information on my pages is not intended to be a hiking guide. I only wish to share
my experiences with you and in the process hope that you'll discover something that appeals to you enough to get you up to
BSF for your own set of adventures.
Enjoy!
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Some of my trips:
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Links I've found helpful:
Return to my Hiking Journal Main Menu page
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