**Glorious Day Hikes Galore** Even though thru-hiking the entire CT isn’t yet an option, no shortage of stellar shorter treks are open along its corridor -- many of them destination wandering spots in their own right. Choosing a “best” day hike or favorite overnight outing along the Cumberland Trail is no easy task. “I get asked that all the time — and it is really difficult for me to say,” said Ranger Jones. The Cumberland Trail is continually opening up ever more fantastic plateau rock formations, water features and forest walks to public access, said Jones. The open portions of the trail intersect with seven state natural areas and is served by 35 auto-accessible designated trailheads. That makes for a lot of access to a lot of premier trails. Jones won’t pick a favorite, but some places stand out. In [Scott County](http://www.scottcountychamber.com/tourism/), the plateau’s horizon profile “resembles the Smokies.” The region probably would've seen more recreational development decades ago, he said, “had the right people found it before the mining operations and logging operations.” "I’m telling you, that country up there is wild and big and beautiful," Jones said of the awesome and arduous 40-mile amble from Frozen Head State Park -- home of the devilishly grueling [Barkley ultramarathon](https://barkleymovie.com/) -- to the wickedly steep boulder-strewn run up Devil’s Racetrack near the park's headquarters in Caryville, Campbell County. **Commencing Trail Commerce** In the coronavirus pandemic year of 2020, Tennessee’s state parks rang up a level of visitation that was startlingly impressive by previous standards. State parks stimulated close to two billion dollars worth of incoming economic activity, according to one study conducted by a Texas-based economic consultant firm. Tennessee’s Department of Environment and Conservation touted the study as proof that state parks “are not only a great way for Tennesseans to get outdoors but are a significant driver of a healthy Tennessee economy as well.” “Our state parks are a great source of pride for Tennesseans, and they have proven more important than ever during this challenging year,” said Governor Bill Lee. “These important Tennessee treasures provide substantial economic activity in communities across our state, and we are grateful for the way they continue to prosper.” The Cumberland Trail State Park is likely to boost much-needed buying-and-spending activity in small towns and rural counties along the rambling picturesque passageway. “It will have an economic impact up and down its corridor, throughout the communities,” said park manager Fulcher. **Trail Town & Tourist Trade Route** Many counties along the Cumberland Plateau are, like much of rural Appalachia, economically distressed. They stand to benefit greatly from the additional visitation that the CT will encourage. [Crossville](http://crossville-chamber.com/visitor-center.php) and [Dayton](https://www.tnvacation.com/east-tennessee/dayton) are the two largest plateau-oriented population centers, and both have already built reputations as destination jumping-off points for recreationists who want to immerse themselves in the regional wildlands. Both offer quick access to some of the Cumberland Trail's premier attractions -- [Black Mountain in Cumberland County](https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/viewing-area/east-tennessee/black-mountain-cumberland-trail-state-park.html) and [Laurel-Snow Natural Area in Rhea County](https://www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/na-natural-areas/natural-areas-east-region/east-region-/na-na-laurel-snow.html). Another town particularly excited about the CT is [Wartburg](https://www.tnvacation.com/east-tennessee/wartburg) in Morgan County, located about a half-hour's drive north of I-40's Exit 347. Only about an hour’s drive from Knoxville and roughly two-and-a-half hours from Nashville, Wartburg is already something of a recreation go-to spot for outdoor enthusiasts in the know, and local civic leaders and business-owners are already capitalizing on existing regional attractions and are eager to embrace the “trail town” label. Situated as it is, “kind of wedged in between the Cumberland Plateau and Appalachian foothills,” Wartburg offers quick access to imminent adventure whichever way you want to head out of town, said Pam Gunter, a retired Oak Ridge National Laboratories computer-systems specialist who now beams her energies into promotional efforts for the [Morgan County Tourism Alliance](https://www.mctamoco.com/). “I can leave here and go any direction and it's pretty much uphill whichever way I go,” she said. “If you are somebody who likes getting outside and enjoying nature, then you should definitely come visit Morgan County and see what we have to offer.” Morgan County's most prominent attractions are two National Park Service-managed river recreation zones -- the [Big South Fork](https://www.nps.gov/biso/index.htm) and the [Obed](https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/viewing-area/east-tennessee/obed-wild-scenic-river-national-park.html) -- and also a wild-n-woolly state park ([Frozen Head](https://tnstateparks.com/parks/frozen-head)) and the state’s premier wildlife management area set aside for big game hunting ([Catoosa](https://www.tn.gov/twra/wildlife/viewing-area/cumberland-plateau/catoosa-wma.html)).

In 1938, 37 prisoners from Brushy Mountain Prison in Tennessee escaped from a mine on Frozen Head Mountain and spilled out onto the Barkley Marathons course. #BM100
Read/Listen/Watch what happened to them: https://t.co/lvEsp6WO1b pic.twitter.com/xw6I4d1lEJ
— UltraRunningHistory (@UltraRunningHis) March 19, 2021

When the Cumberland Trail is complete, it’ll run right through downtown [Wartburg](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g60919-Wartburg_Tennessee-Vacations.html), connecting and [showcasing](https://www.morgancountychamber.com/cumberland-trail-state-park/ ) some of the northern Tennessee plateau’s most prominent outdoor recreational attractions, cultural landmarks and wild-nature enclaves: > “The completed sections of the (Cumberland Trail) pass through Frozen Head State Park in Morgan County, and crosses Hwy 27 in Wartburg at the Morgan County Visitor’s Center. The trail continues on through the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area and crosses over the Obed Wild and Scenic River. Other parts of the trail cross over the Cumberland Mountains in La Follette (on McCloud Mountain) and Jacksboro, as well as the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The trail is designed by hikers for hikers, so it is primarily a hiking trail. It was designed and built in a way that helps to minimize the environmental impact on sensitive wildlife habitats, aquatic or terrestrial habitats, and endangered or threatened species.” Wartburg tourism development advocates anticipate that the trail will boost commerce in the town like it has in other trail towns along already established long-walk footpaths, most notably [Damascus](https://appalachiantrail.org/explore/communities/damascus-va/ ) on the AT, just over the Tennessee state line in Southwestern Virginia. “The Cumberland Trail is something we have to capitalize on,” said Gunter. “That’s something we’ve been saying for years.” Based on reports from other trail towns in the Eastern United States, Wartburg business owners and tourism promoters are hoping for a 300 percent bounce to downtown business. “There is no question that would really mean a lot to our community,” Gunter said. **Regional Reconnection** Fulcher is confident many Tennesseans will make it a mission in life to hike as much of the trail as they can — or even all of it — once it’s fully open. He expects the Cumberland Trail will become an iconic recreation attraction for the state. At any given time, any given hiker on any given trail is a day-user. But once droves of hardcore through-trekkers start voicing plaudits for the CT, proliferating packs of dedicated getaway seekers will start making plans to head for the hills, hollers, mountains, towns, timberlands and trails of Tennessee’s grand plateau. “It will become a destination for many, many people,” Fulcher said. In addition to fueling a trail-oriented commerce in some of the out-of-the-way counties on the trail itself, Fulcher predicts it will further spur outdoors-focused tourism and revenue-generation in East Tennessee’s two main metropolitan hubs. Chattanooga and Knoxville have long reaped handsome payoffs for their proximity to remarkable natural resources. Fulcher predicts the Cumberland Trail will serve as a vitalizing new artery that will pump even more recreation-oriented economic lifeblood into those favorably situated urban centers. The potential for great benefits isn't lost on regional tourism promoters. “There is some infrastructure that still needs to be built, but the Cumberland Trail is going to be an amazing asset for this state when it is finished,” said Jenni Veal, director of the [Southeast Tennessee Tourism Association](https://www.southeasttennessee.com/blog/outdoor-recreation/). “In fact, it already is." Fulcher also envisions that as the 21st Century progresses, "Knoxville will rediscover the Cumberland Plateau because of the Cumberland Trail.” “Knoxville actually originally developed with a much stronger connection to the Cumberland Mountains than to the Smoky Mountains," Fulcher told ExploreTRV. "Before there was Smoky Mountain National Park, money flowing into Knoxville was going to come from the Cumberland, because that is where the coal and iron and timber were. Knoxville was founded as an industrial town "based on Cumberland Mountain connections," he said. "Those connections are still out there -- they are just buried over. They are rusted and forgotten," Fulcher went on. "But the beauty has returned, even to those places that were highly impacted during the industrial age. A lot of America was impacted, and a lot of America has rebounded because of the care and good sense that we have had in our resource management across the country." ![The 'finish line' at Devil's Racetrack is always a photo-worthy moment. – Mark Engler](https://cdn.elebase.io/f73a5e12-7a94-4da0-96b6-40fd97435fd2/28abf761-7a99-475d-bdd5-1e35e55379bb-20201002_144813.jpg)

Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail