Easter Camping at Cumberland Mountain
Cumberland Mountain State Park is one of the closer parks to us that I have been watching for some time. Every time we have an opening for camping this park has always been full but persistence pays off! The kids had a 4-day weekend from school and a last minute check of the park showed an apparent cancellation from Friday – Monday. SCORE!!!!! I didn’t even think before I hit reserve!!!
We arrived on Good Friday and got camp set up with plenty of daylight to spare meaning we had time to explore. Our first stop was the CCC Dam which is arguably the centerpiece of the park’s landscape. The dam was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the late 1930s to create Byrd Lake and is constructed entirely of local sandstone. Both sides of the dam provide amazing photo opportunities and you can definitely see the craftsmanship that went into the build.
The Hiking Begins
Saturday morning came and brought gorgeous weather along with it meaning it was time to hike! Our first trail of the day was the Pioneer Short Loop connecting to the Pioneer Loop and back in on the Byrd Lake Trail. We walked from camp to the trail head across the lake and started out hiking along the lake. The trail stayed along the lake and creek for the duration and passed numerous rock outcroppings and areas to see birds and other wildlife. At just over a mile we came to the main point of interest on the trail; and the area where many turn back to simply complete the short loop. This point is the swinging bridge that crosses Byrd Creek and provides peaceful views in both directions on the creek. The bridge isn’t high but we definitely felt the motion under our feet…..especially since J decided to run and jump to make it swing more!
After hanging out at the bridge for a bit it was on around the Pioneer Loop where we were treated with more wildlife and creek views. At one point along the trail we were also able to rock hop to a larger rock in the middle of the creek where we decided to have lunch. This in itself was worth the entire hike to me! Lunch, water all around and the kids having a blast throwing sticks upstream and fishing them back out.
With lunch completed and the stick fetch complete it was on down the trail. Along the way we saw many more large rock outcroppings and the park’s version of the “fat man squeeze.” The kids walked right through but then apparently thought it was comical watching dad squeeze through!
Sunday brought even better weather and the opportunity to finish hiking the remaining trails in the park (except the Overnight Trail). We started the morning by hiking the Byrd Creek Trail from the campground and back out on part of the Cumberland Plateau Nature Trail by the CCC Dam. This trail meandered along the downstream portion of the creek and across a neat little bridge built in 2005 as an Eagle Scout project. We also took some time here and the kids tested the water temperature…..COLD!!!!!
After the Byrd Creek Trail we headed back to camp for lunch and some relaxation in the hammocks before taking in the entire Nature Trail to complete our hiking. This trail is an easy loop from the dam but it can be muddy in places. My guess would be during late Spring this trail will probably be covered in flowers!
Overall the weekend turned out to be amazing with near perfect weather during the days. The nights got cold but having Reflectix in the windows and my bunk end survival blankets kept us nice and toasty with our heaters!
We tried new meals and deserts with foil packs (another post soon) and look forward to more trials and trails to come! Until next time……..