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The Big South Fork: Adventure awaits on Trails, Rails & Waterways

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kentuckytourism.com

kentuckytourism.com

kentuckytourism.com

Straddling both Tennessee and Kentucky, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area provides visitors access to 125,000 acres with natural arches, waterfalls and a host of outdoor activities like camping, horseback riding and paddling. 

And for those who truly want to get away from it all, it’s less crowded than some other national parks and offers a sense of solitude, says Christopher Derman, the park’s chief of interpretation and education. 

“There aren’t many parks in the National Park Service that can match what we have to offer,” he said.

Headquartered in Oneida, Tenn., the park has 200 miles of hiking trails, nearly 60 miles of mountain biking trails, more than 100 miles of horseback riding trails, along with fishing, rock climbing, hunting, kayaking, bird watching and camping.

“Really, the multitude of natural resources found here—coupled with the number of activities that one can engage in—that is part of the park’s magic, is that it is so varied,” Derman said. “There’s something for everybody.”

Notably, Big South Fork region is thought to have more natural arches than any other in the eastern United States. Some of these arches—Twin, Needle, Split Bow, Yahoo, Koger and Buffalo to name a few—have walking trails leading to them, while others like Wagon Arch are visible from roadways. 

Big South Fork is a destination for a number of kayaking groups as well as some night sky watching groups, and is popular not only with individuals, families and school groups but for weddings and family reunions, Derman said.

A number of historic cemeteries are found onsite and are visited by history enthusiasts and family members of those interred there.

The park’s resources are attractive to researchers conducting studies on a variety of topics, Derman said. Meanwhile, natural resources staff onsite also work to ensure park resources remain healthy and aren’t in danger of disease, studying fish, bats, birds, wild hogs and other wildlife and plant populations.

The park offers two types of camping, with several traditional campgrounds that can accommodate guests with or without horses, and backcountry camping is allowed for more adventurous sorts. 

Guests can also reserve rustic 1830s-era back country lodge, Charit Creek Lodge, (csl-bsf.com) which is accessible only by biking, hiking or on horseback and has dormitories or private cabins outfitted with beds, lanterns and wood-burning stoves. Meals here are served family style and modern showers and restrooms are available for overnight guests.

“If you can think it, for all intents and purposes you can do it,” Derman said of the park’s offerings.

Visitors to the Kentucky side of the park can climb aboard the Big South Fork Scenic Railway, which departs from Stearns, Kentucky. Spokesman Shane Gilreath said the train runs April through December, and excursions are three hours round trip, with 90 minutes spent riding on the train through Big South Fork and visiting the historic Blue Heron area. 

“You drop about 200 feet in elevation going to the park,” Gilreath said. “Down at the park you see Big South Fork at the Cumberland River, you go through several different coal communities … You see the old town of Camargo, which was completely washed away in one of the great floods of the 1920s.”

About 30,000 passengers ride the train each year, he said, with peak times in October for fall foliage viewing. In November and December, the railway has Polar Express-themed rides, and for the first time in 2018 the railway had an Easter-themed excursion the Saturday before Easter.

Gilreath said the engine can pull up to six train cars and carry about 300 people in both open and enclosed cars, some of which have restrooms. Tickets are $28 for adults.

Chambers of commerce in the communities bordering the park are staffed with people knowledgeable about the park who can assist tourists, Derman said.

Ben Garrett is immediate past president of the Scott County Chamber of Commerce and is involved with the chamber’s tourism committee. He’s led a 20-week hiking challenge in the Big South Fork to encourage more local residents to explore the park along with out-of-towners.

An avid hiker, Garrett said the diversity of natural features and activities in the park is hard to beat and he also underscored the fact that the park can be enjoyed without a feeling of being overcrowded.

“Here you can get on a trail and you may not see a soul,” he said. “You may hike all day and not see another person, so people come here if they’re into that adventure tourism aspect.”

In 2012, the International Mountain Biking Association named five trails within Big South Fork as “Epic Rides,” the first national park unit in the U.S. to receive this designation, Garrett said.

Compared to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and its 11.3 million annual visitors, Big South Fork, with about 650,000 visitors each year, has plenty to do but fewer people to bump elbows with, Derman said.

“It’s a very special park in that we do have so much to offer,” he said. “On virtually any day you come here you’ll feel like you’re the only one here. … This park is a bit of a secret gem.”

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