Cumberland Mountain State Park Camping-- Apple Fest 2021

 

Above: close up view of Hearts a Bustin 

Cumberland Mountain State Park Camping-- Apple Fest 2021

 Friday 9/24/2021 through Monday 9/27/2021

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Sharon McGee

Cumberland Homesteads Camping Pix 

Cumberland Mountain State Park Info

Cumberland Homesteads Apple Festival 2022*

(* at the time of this trip report's writing it is nearly time for the 2022 Apple Festival thus the link to the upcoming event)

(perfunctory blog entry)

   We attended the 2019 Apple Festival at Cumberland Homesteads. It is held each year as a fund raiser for the Homesteads Museum and Tower.   Covid 19 hit in 2020 causing the event to be cancelled.    Once we found out it was to be held again in 2021 we put a camping reservation on the books to stay at Cumberland Mountain State Park.  We would go to the event and do some camping and hiking.   We would hope to get together with friend, Sharon.

John was down in Florida back and forth caring for his mom who had surgery.   

     We had camped at this state park only once before and we really enjoyed it. We were in the mood to give it another try.  We had done very little hiking of the trails in the park.  We were both interested in trying them out.  We came and stayed Friday and Saturday, Sunday and  departed sometime midday on Monday.  

   Friday we arrived and got our camper set up.  We decided to go for a hike.

We hiked Byrd Creek Trail which is a 2.8 mile easy loop hike.  We then completed the 0.40 mile half of the Cumberland Plateau loop trail. We had hiked the upper part of that loop on a previous camping trip as an out and back.  That gave us a nice 3.2 mile hike on a Friday afternoon.  

  The trail was very near our campsite so we just walked from the camper.

We enjoyed the hike a lot.  It is a loop that goes out on one side of Byrd Creek, makes a loop for the return trip on the opposite side of the stream.  It is shady 90% of the hike making it cool in Summer.  It is through a lovely hemlock forest with some massive specimens of trees.  We also saw quite a few late Summer wildflowers that lit up the trail with color! 

     The rock formations and the stream provide something to see the entire way.  Byrd Creek is tranquil and green with pretty pools and a few ripples of white on the surface.   The far end of the loop takes you out next to Hwy 127 and a remnant of Old Hwy 28.  Once there it is apparent why the stretch of road was abandoned.  The bridge across it became unsafe for vehicles to cross.   

Above: Some variety of Skullcap along the Byrd Creek Trail .  Possibly Scutellaria incana

Above: Great blue lobelia along this same stretch of trail

Below: Turtleheads 

 Above: Hearts a bustin near the stream at the bottom of a hill 

Above: First place we came down to the creek

Above

Above: a little bit of cardinal flower lingering near the stream

Above: some sort of goldenrod 

Above: Canadian horsebalm still lingering in one spot along the trail. Collinsonia canadensis

Above and below: This weedy stretch of trail is where the flowers were prettiest and most abundant!

Below"

Above: I think this is Florida blue lettuce, but too much time has passed and I don't have any additional photos of it for examination.  It is possible it is chickory. 

Above: White snakeroot... very poisonous 

Above: sunny slopes in the forest. This was the sunniest place we saw all hike through! 

above: Emerald green forest and stream.. Byrd Creek Trail . We hiked the loop counter clockwise 

Above: Byrd Creek gleaming in the low light

Above: the trail is in good condition and easy to follow

Above: A patch of ripples along Byrd Creek

Above: partridge berries along the banks of the stream 

Below: trunk of a massive hemlock tree!

Above and below: I loved all the serene spots along Byrd Creek. 

Above: Royal Fern. 

Above: The seed pod of a Jack in the Pulpit and some smilax briar

Above: a pretty green patch of the trail 

Above: A short section of Old Highway 28 meets up with the trail

Above: Kenny is hiking Old Hwy 28 in front of me

Above: A closer examination of the mean looking tangle of rebar sticking out of what is left of a bridge on Old Hwy 28. This is part of why it is no longer in use.

Above: A better look at the edge of the road and the bridge work blown out and crumbling away!

Above: Standing staring down Byrd Creek from the blown out bridge crossing.. it is still very pretty , but you can see the strands of rebar in the lower left corner.  

Above: I think this is hen of the woods. We saw lots of this on this trip.  Sharon harvested some to take home to cook. I have never tried it.

Above and below: the arch bridge across the Byrd Creek Trail. I had long wanted to see this pretty bridge.  I had been admiring it in other folks photos!

Above: Kenny  by a large healthy hemlock tree for scale.  

  

Above: My favorite stretch of this hike... we are now on the Cumberland Plateau Trail the arm of it closest to Byrd Creek.. the lower side.

Below: We have come out on the trail by the arch bridge dam.  Love the pretty manmade waterfalls at the overflow

Below: Another pretty manmade falls under the bridge

Above: a glimpse of Byrd Lake in the very last of the evening light

Above: Looking down at the Mill house from the road

   We finished up our hike and walked back to the camper.  It was cooling off and my sweat shirt felt good on my arms.  That is saying something because I burn up almost all the time! It is always so nice to feel the seasons change and the humidity drop and the evenings grow cooler. 

Above: a very blurry, poor image of Kenny's truck and our camper

Above: our lights strung up.. they are tiny copper lanterns

Above: our fire place in the camper

Above and below: our camp fire outdoors for the evening. 

We had a nice dinner and enjoyed the camp fire and the sounds of the woods. It was pretty busy. The folks next to us were a large family group, but they were pleasant and their kids were a lot of fun to watch.  They played so good together like children should.   

Saturday at the Apple Festival and Beyond

   Sharon came over Saturday morning and met us at the campground. We got a somewhat late start.   Being this close to the event, we were unconcerned.  We went down to the Homesteads to try to find parking.  We should have carpooled, but did not.   Getting a later start came at a price.  The crowd this year was unbelievable!  We had a good deal of difficulty finding a place to park. Part of that was our own fault. There was ample parking near the place, but we did not understand. I think we believed it was for vendors.  Whatever the case we finally found safe parking and walked to the gate to enter.  

 

    It was hard to believe how much more crowded the event was this year!

It was good for the fund raiser, but crazy to try to get around in.  We went on and wandered around through the booths checking out all the crafts and items for sale.   One thing we found out later, was that despite the fact it was better attended, had more activities for kids, and had more displays and vendors of local made goods... the food vendors were quite limited.  It was more people and less food trucks!  Not a good combination.   We ended up 

just seeing all we wanted of the displays and doing our shopping and having to leave to go eat.   That was okay though. We were about to have a new experience in dining that was wonderful.

Above: Homesteads tower through the trees

Above: A group of images showing the types of wares for sale.  One thing we all noticed was that this year there seemed to be a lot of the same sort of things.  Several people selling candles, several selling wood carvings, paintings, photos, wreaths and floral arrangements, etc. 

Not as many unique selections, but it was still nice.

 I finally got to a point where I had seen all I cared to. I was hungry and worn out from overstimulation of the crowd.   We had by then realized we had little to pick from in the way of food and what there was... the line was long!

We left walking back up the road to the Baptist church where we had parked. We passed the Stage Coach Cafe on our way.  It appeared to be open!  We decided to try it.   We walked up and found they were open and not busy! I had wanted to eat here for sometime, but never seemed to catch them open.

We were in for a real treat.  

     We got to dine outdoors on a pretty, sunshiney day under table umbrellas!

It was ideal.  I think I had a Greek salad. Kenny had pizza. I don't recall what Sharon had, but all the food was great as was the service!  Very smooth sweet tea.  It was a great way to cap off the Apple Festival!

above: our table.. love how colorful this is!

Above: Another family dining. We were seated up on the porch

Above: more outdoor seating

Above and below: photos of the front of the place

Above: open sign

Above and below: photos of the inside.. it is just as charming.   I went indoors to use the ladies room.  

I would definitely go back to Stagecoach Cafe. It was worth the stop!

   We headed back to the campground after luhch. We sat round in the camper and chatted letting our lunch settle.  We then went for a nice hike with Sharon. We hiked the Storybook Trail which is part of the lake trail.  We had a nice afternoon.   She had to head back after that.   It was a great visit with a much loved friend.  

Above: a little Autumn color along the lake shore

Above: Kenny ahead of us on the trail.  Otey came along and is enjoying the hike. He was so good.  

Above: a small stream meets the trail

Above: we saw several other hikers. Here comes a pair back toward us

Above: Sharon holding Otey's leash

Above: Bridge across the lake

Above: a very small cascade along Storybook Trail 

Above: steps down the bank 

Above: Trail comes down the hill and there is a kiosk here with directions

Above and below: looks at the swinging bridges across Byrd Creek

Above: looking upstream on Byrd Creek from the suspension bridge.

  After a nice leg stretcher hike Sharon said her good byes and she and Otey the dog headed home.   We had a nice dinner at our camper and enjoyed a campfire this evening again.   

       Sunday we got up and had breakfast and took our time. We went and hiked The Pioneer Short Loop at 2 miles round trip.  We also checked out the picnic area near the lake which is very historic.  It has many neat places to enjoy a picnic with varying degrees of privacy.  Part of it is CCC era construction and was recently restored.  

Above: ongoing restoration efforts. Supports for a picnic table that is not yet completed. 

Above: newly finished picnic table with old supports and vegetation cleared out

Below: another newly redone picnic table with the brush and weeds cleared.

Above; another newly done picnic table with a view of Byrd Lake

Above: large picnic shelter with grill and trash cans

Above: newly rebuilt picnic table.  It was very private.  

Above: my favorite picnic table with the best view of the lake

Above: Byrd Lake 

Above: This picnic spot looks like a post card! 

Above: Vibrant Autumn color comes to Byrd Lake's shore

Above: A neat bridge that crosses Byrd Lake. I had long wanted to see this and photograph it! Finally got my chance today.

Above: tiny Fall asters along Pioneer Short loop hike

Above: a closer view of the bridge over the lake

Above: boat rental marina

Monday-- Pioneer Trail, Old Mail Road Bridge and Home!

Monday morning after breakfast we checked at the office to see if we needed to leave by check out time or if we could check out a bit later?  They said no one was coming in to the site and not to worry about it.  So we enjoyed our day.  We went round to the Old Mail Road bridge which Kenny had never seen.  We hiked the Pioneer Trail at 2.55 miles round trip.   It was beautiful.

We saw very few others on this hike. I think we encountered one man and that was all on this pretty Monday morning.   He told us about a spooky rattlesnake encounter he had on the trail that Summer.  It was a good cautionary story! 

Above: Old Mail Road crosses the historic bridge. We began our hike on the far side at a pull off.  We ended up with this view at the finish.

Below: A side long view at the profile of Old Mail Road Bridge shows how coarse the construction is.  It was done purposely to be attractive. I think they succeeded!

Above and below: downstream and upstream near Old Mail Road bridge beginning our hike

Above and below: two different focuses of the Old Mail Road Bridge

Above: the start of Pioneer Loop Trail

Above: Possum paw fern

Above: sunny spot along the creek lazily flowing past

Above: more large trees along the Pioneer Trail

Above: a glimpse of the stream through the rhodo

Above: a sunny spot on the trail

Above: gilled mushrooms of some sort

Below: the Pioneer trail has lots of fascinating rock features

Above and below. The stream is never far from view and you can always hear it flowing below you even when you cannot see it

Above: Kenny ahead of me on the first half of the hike.  The trail has some gentle ups and downs. Nothing extreme.

Above: arriving at one of the suspension bridges we have to cross to close our loop and begin the second half of the hike.

Above: looking across the suspension bridge

Above: I had to get back to take a side shot of the bridge

Above: looking up the emerald green Byrd Creek 

Above: Kenny starting up the same set of steps we used yesterday, only today we will turn right on Pioneer Trail. 

Above: Indian Pipes

Above: sunny forest trail 

Above: we are now on the back side of the hike heading in the direction of Old Mail Road bridge again.. our starting point. 

Above: rusty pine needle forest floor and sun filtering down through the trees

Above: Giant hemlocks 

Above: some stacked stone wall... possibly and old home site here? 

Above: a bridged stream crossing on our return trip

Above: an example of one of many interesting rocky features along Pioneer Loop. This trail may not be the most dramatic, but it is easy and beautiful.  We enjoyed it and had it largely to ourselves!

    We finished up our hike.  We were thrilled that the only hike we have not completed within Cumberland Mountain State Park is the Overnight Loop which is only 5.65 miles round trip.  That to us is a day hike.  

All in all our camping trip was a success and we loved it so much we put our wedding anniversary camping trip on the books as soon as we got home!

We'll be back in November!