HIKE Clarksville

02/19/2025

⚠️Weather Alert⚠️

Delayed Opening of Visitor Services / Park Roads Closed Until Cleared

Opening of the historic Dover Hotel / "Surrender Hotel," location today for visitor orientation, is delayed until Noon, allowing for the park team to address the accumulated and drifted snow on parking lot and walkways.

The Surrender House is located at 101 Petty Street, Dover.

Park roads will remain closed until they can be addressed.

Updates will be provided over the Fort Donelson NB page and its web site ( www.nps.gov/fodo ).

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Do be cautious while out and about. A "fluffy" snow, once walked or driven on it turns into an icy surface. Also, dress appropriately for the current temps in the mid-teens and wind chills near zero.
in ❄️

02/19/2025

02/18/2025

FYI

TRAIL DAMAGE NOTICE: CABLE TRAIL CLOSED

In the storm overnight on 2/15/2025, the Cable trail sustained heavy damage. This trail is strenuous in good conditions, but is hazardous now. It has been posted and taped off, making it a closed, restricted area under TCA 11-1-108 (State Parks Rules and Regulations). For your safety and that of emergency crews, do not attempt to access the Cane Creek Gorge until it reopens.

The overlooks at the Betty Dunn Nature Center are open.

02/17/2025

Out of an abundance of caution, considering the winter storm warning for tomorrow, our monthly meeting is canceled.😓

02/17/2025

Let's be good stewards of the trails.

Winter is a critical time for the bottomland forest at Beaman. You can preserve our fragile ecosystem by STAYING ON THE TRAIL. Yes, you'll get muddy boots, but you are protecting orchids, lilies and buttercups that will pop up in just 6 weeks.
This is no joke.
Bring another pair of shoes and change when you get to the car to ensure a beautiful spring!

02/17/2025

02/15/2025

Please be safe not only on our trails but on your journey up to beaman park.

02/14/2025

If you are a member of TTA, please fill out the short survey that you should have received through email.

02/14/2025

-----------------------SCHEDULE ALERT------------------------

A severe weather alert has been issued for the area on Saturday, Feb 15th with anticipated rain amounts of 4 to 7 inches. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the 163rd battle anniversary programs scheduled for that day. HOWEVER, we are still on for scheduled programs for Friday, Feb 14th and Sunday, Feb 16th.

We hope to announce a new date for the postponed programs as soon as we can.

Hope to see you there and have a safe weekend.

Image courtesy of Library of Congress
Image of soldier, standing against a tree sheltering from the rain.

02/14/2025

February 14, 1862

Much colder temperatures moved in on the night connecting February 13 and 14, with rain changing over to a heavy mix of sleet and snow. With temperatures dropping into the lower teens, and a windchill at or below zero, many soldiers of both sides the Confederate and Union armies suffered from exposure during the night.
Private J.M. Roberts of the 41st Illinois would write years later, “I had a woolen blanket around my shoulders doubled up in a shape of a shawl. When I was relieved from being on guard, it was frozen so hard that I could take it by the top and stand it alone and, as it was snowing and the sleet had frozen to the shawl, it looked like a small iceberg.” {From “The Experiences of a Private in the Civil War,” by J.M. Roberts, 1904.}

For the unknown number of Union wounded that remained helplessly upon the field because of the devastating and failed attack against the Confederate “Redan Number Two,” protected by Captain Frank Maney’s Tennessee Artillery Battery, many perished due to exposure and frozen to the ground.

The majority of soldiers on both sides that were not killed or mortally wounded were virtually “walking wounded,” because of their exposure to the arctic-like elements. Many veterans of the battle would later recall that, for them, this was the most difficult experience of the entire war because of the intense cold and exposure.

Image courtesy of Library of Congress
Image of men in uniform huddled around campfire with snow on the ground. Other soldiers stand in background.

02/14/2025

Due to the upcoming Saturated Saturday,
our Fort Donelson hike
is canceled. 😭

02/13/2025

02/13/2025

🌧️02.11.25🌧️

02/13/2025

MARCH 2025 HIKING SCHEDULE
Please contact the leader of the hike you are interested in.

Saturday, March 1 – Rotary Park, 3.5 Miles
This is a short hike in Clarksville’s Rotary Park. The trail is mostly shaded and with natural turf and includes a couple of stream crossings and a walk along the streams. Dogs are welcome if on a leash.
Hike will commence at 8am CT at Rotary Park. Trailhead on Rotary Park Drive as you enter the Park. There are bathrooms at the trailhead.
Hike Leader – Cheryl 931 980 1062


Wednesday March 5 – Erin, TN, Betsy Ligon Walking Trail, 3.7 Miles Easy
Depart 9am CT from Food Lion on Highway 48. Drive 28 Miles to the Trailhead. Carpool cost $5
Hike Leader – Carol 931 326 9110


Saturday March 8 – Cedars of Lebanon – Cedar Forest Trail, Hidden Springs Trail
Cedar Forest Trail – 1.8 Miles Easy and Hidden Spring Trail – 4.6 Miles Moderate
The park is named for eastern red cedar trees found throughout the area. The trees reminded early American settlers of the famed Biblical cedar forests that thrived across Mount Lebanon in what is now the Mediterranean area.
Depart 8am CT from I24 Exit 11 Park and Ride. 72 Miles to Trailhead. Carpool cost $10
Hike Leader – Debbie 858 442 1398


Saturday March 15 – Bowie Nature Park - 7.2 Miles Moderate
Bowie Nature Park Perimeter Trail 4.7 Miles Moderate
Lakes of Bowie Loop Trail 2.5 Miles Easy
Dr Evangeline Bowie purchased 722 Acres of baren and eroded land in the 1950’s. She worked to improve the land management, digging lakes, creating a hydrology system, and planting of over 500,00 trees. The park was deeded to the City of Fairview in 1992, with the Nature Center opening in 2003.
Depart 8am CT from Big Lots parking area, Riverside Drive, Clarksville. 50 Miles to the Trailhead. Carpool cost $5
Hike Leader – Jan 931 220 4140


Tuesday March 18 – Clarksville Chapter Meeting, Rotary Park
Meet at 6:30pm CT at the Wade Bourne Nature Center, Rotary Park, Clarksville



Saturday March 22 – Bicentennial Trail Sycamore Harbor- 5.5 Miles Easy. The trail surface is asphalt and level. There are views of the Cumberland River and Sycamore Creek which it crosses on an overhead suspension bridge. It also passes several picturesque bluffs.
Meet at Food Lion parking area on Madison Street, Clarksville for an 8am CT Departure. 20 Miles to the Trailhead.
Hike Leader – Steve 931 220 0927


Saturday March 29 – Henry Horton State Park 7.0 Miles Moderate
Henry Horton is located on the shores of the Duck River, one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world.
We will hike two of the best trails in the park, Spring Creek and Wilhoite Mill Loop 2.5 Miles Easy and River Trail to Hickory Ridge Loop 4.3 Miles Moderate. We can eat at the Restaurant at Henry Horton following the Hikes and have time to visit the Duck River Education Room.
Depart 8am CT from I24 Exit 11 Park and Ride. 89 Miles to Trailhead. Carpool cost $10
Hike Leader – Philip 931 561 0925

02/08/2025

✏️ Fun Fact! ✏️Did you know that Cumberland Falls is home to the ONLY predictable Moonbow in the Western Hemisphere?!

A moonbow is a rare, faint rainbow that occurs at night when moonlight passes through water droplets in the air. It's also known as a lunar rainbow.

Cumberland Falls State Park is just across the Tennessee/Kentucky border in Corbin, KY.

For a moonbow to occur, several factors need to align: the moon must provide enough brightness to illuminate the falls, the waterfall needs to generate powerful, intense water flow, a significant volume of mist must be produced, the sky must be completely dark, and the waterfall's location and topography must be just right.

The Moonbow is only visible on a clear night during a 5-day window of the full moon. The next Moonbow window will be from February 10th - 14th!

02/08/2025

Cloudland Canyon State Park, Georgia 🇺🇸

02/08/2025

O Beaman Park, how wonderful it was for 8 TTA Clarksville hikers to travel 7.8 miles of your trails again. Beaman Park has great inclines and declines, short stream crossings, and well taken care of trails. The one downed tree we encountered turned our trek into an adventure. We'll be back. Thank you, Steve for leading. Photo credits to Angela, Steve, and Cinde.

02/05/2025

Two and a half miles at Dunbar Cave State Park this morning are in the books! Looks like five people had a whole lot of fun. Thank you Cheryl for leading and Cheryl and Larry for supplying the pictures.