Savage Gulf State Park

Savage Gulf lies on the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau, where sandstone bluffs drop into gorges that branch from the headwaters of the Collins River. For years it was the largest part of South Cumberland State Park, and in 2022 Tennessee made it a state park of its own. The natural area holds a National Natural Landmark designation, a stand of old-growth hardwoods, and about a third of the nearly 2,300 native plant species identified in the state. The state now gives the park as roughly 19,000 acres.

The Stone Door is the place most visitors head for, a natural crevice that cuts through the bluff and leads toward the gorge. The Stone Door Ranger Station is the trailhead, and a 0.2-mile paved stretch of the Stone Door Trail ends at the Laurel Gulf Overlook, an accessible observation deck. Beyond it the park has about fifty miles of trails, including the Big Creek Trail. The name comes from the Savage family, who once owned part of the land, and from Savage Gulf itself.

The country is rugged and the park warns that jumping from waterfalls is prohibited and that high bluffs need care. Phone maps sometimes misroute visitors, so use the trailhead addresses the park publishes. Lots fill in the morning in busy seasons. The Grundy Lakes tract of neighboring South Cumberland preserves the ruins of coal and coke works and a stockade where convicts were worked.