Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In the fall the mixed hardwood forest lights up the trail with fiery orange, yel-
low, and red colors. In the winter you may find yourself hiking in the stillness of
freshly fallen snow. And from spring through summer the forest is lush green and
thick. In some cases you may find the trail a bit overgrown, but it will still be
passable. From spring through summer along several sections you will be treated
to displays of wildflowers like Dutchman's-breeches, cut-leaf toothwort, and
purple phacelia.
No pun intended, but birders “flock” to the reservation in the spring and sum-
mer to catch the song of wood thrushes, Swainson's warblers, and yellow-billed
cuckoos.
This trek is made up of several different trails, beginning with the Old First
Quarters Trail. Along this short section you'll cross an old CCC bridge which par-
tially uses local stones. You will also see more of their handiwork along a runoff
next to the trail, where the banks are shored up with stone retaining walls and cul-
verts.
Old First Quarters then intersects the Rockpile Trail, the main natural path run-
ning through the park. The trail was originally built by the CCC, and you will be
walking up several sets of stone stairs they built in the mid-1930s as you climb
high above the river. Along this section you will have some great panoramas of
the river, pass the sandstone foundation of an old building built by the CCC, and
view some of those wildflowers as you cross through a field under a power line.
The trail leaves the woods for a bit and uses the paved jogging road to take you
to one of the highlights of the trip: a walk on water across the Tennessee River
over a restored railroad trestle resurrected for just this purpose. The bridge was
originally built and opened as a toll bridge and train crossing in 1840. In subse-
quent years it was severely damaged by two storms, burned by the Union army
during the Civil War, then saw an engine and its cars crash through both decks of
the double-decker span in 1892. Following the accident the catastrophes ended,
and the bridge served as a successful river crossing until it was retired in 1992.
The lower deck of the bridge was converted into a wood plank walkway, which
this loop will take you on, to about a half mile across the river. The structure is the
oldest river bridge in the state and one of the few remaining signs that the town of
Search WWH ::
Custom Search