19-04-2025
David Crockett State Park trail reopening Saturday
LIMESTONE, Tenn. (WJHL) — Nature fans and those alike are gearing up for a big weekend as the Crockett Shoals Overlook Trail opens.
David Crockett Birthplace State Park remains closed nearly seven months after Hurricane Helene destroyed much of the park. But that's set to change this weekend with the Crockett Shoals Overlook Trail opening on Saturday.
'I think it's just a sign of hope,' said park ranger Jonathan Chinouth. 'It's a step in the right direction. You know, we're working tirelessly trying to get this park back up and operating again. It's going to be a marathon, not a race. But to just re-open a trail and give a sense of normalcy back to the community, I think it's very important.'
Water levels from Helene reached as high as the trail, but there's also a new sign of new life now that the water has receded.
'We are starting to see some regrowth of things like native rivercane,' Chinouth said. 'So we want people to be mindful of that too, you know, watch where they're stepping. Because that kind of plant that's coming back is also hopeful. It's nice that it's native and it will help with bank stabilization. So that's also nice to have.'
The 'road to rebirth' as Chinouth called it wasn't done by just the rangers. Community members volunteered their help as well, such as June McQueen who says it was a rewarding experience.
'My first day of volunteering was on this trail as a matter of fact. We scraped all the mud off the trail and the little building down there. Unbelievably, the mud made it that high, incredible,' McQueen said.
The trail will have normal operation times from dawn to dusk, but visitors of the park will notice a few different changes.
Chinouth says parking will be limited to one hour and there will only be space for five vehicles.
'We feel like, you know, that gives everybody locally here a chance to come out for their daily hikes, for walking their dogs, just getting a workout in or just having a picnic at our two picnic tables here for lunch,' Chinouth said.
The park has also partnered with Tennessee Brew Works out of Nashville and Johnson City Brewing Company to release a limited-editiong beer: the David Crockett Birthplace Pilsner. The beer will be in select stores across the state soon and will help benefit the Go Ahead Fund. That fund will help fuel the rebuilding of the park.
'Since this region was impacted, Tennessee Brew Works, which is out of Nashville, they're a brewery that has been working with Tennessee State Parks for a while now,' Chinouth said. 'They created a collaboration beer with Johnson City Brewing and, so, you know, a brewery who knows us and worked with us in the past gets to collaborate with another brewery who's worked with Tennessee State Parks as a whole. So it was it was just kind of the right fit.'
As for the rest of the park, there is currently no timetable for reopening.
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