Cumberland Gal: Spring Wildflower Locations for Those With Limited Mobility

Spring Wildflower Locations for Those With Limited Mobility

2024 Upcoming Wildflower Season

Dana Koogler

The knowledge that I am facing knee replacement surgery possibly this season coupled with the extreme discomfort and mobility limits I'm enduring have inspired this blog piece. I may need this myself! Very likely in fact. I have an increasing awareness of my own infirmities, limits, and those of my friends. We are an aging population. I don't plan to give up my hobbies or give up on my health. I plan to fight back from this with the Lord's help. Meanwhile I shall have to make the best of a bad situation. I hope this is useful to myself and others in similar straits.

Standing Stone State Park

One of the best, most promising locations to visit for viewing wildflowers and Spring scenery without having to do a lot of hiking is Standing Stone State Park in Overton County, Tennessee. It is about 2 1/2 hours from me. It provides a wonderful outdoor recreation experience for everyone minus the crowds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is free. Meaning if you are there for day use only you will come and go as you please with no entry fees at all. If you are camping the state park fees apply for your lodging or cabin rentals. Restrooms are scattered around the grounds. Picnic areas and places to rest are abundant. Wildflowers and waterfalls are easily viewed from roadsides!

My primary reason for falling in love with it is the grand display of wildflowers in great numbers and varieties with hardly any people! Here is a link to Standing Stone State Park Wildflower Guide I put together. I was going to post a link for the state park, but today is one of those days the state websites are down. Instead I will engage in a bit of shameless self promotion. Here is a link to a guide to the state park and area attractions I wrote for the Cumberland River Compact.

It is very image heavy, descriptive, and is complete with good directions. Keep in mind that this guide was not written specifically for those with limited mobility so not everything on it is easy. A good bit of it is. Specifically the abandoned cabin loop is not suitable for anyone except those with either no limitations or they have an all terrain wheelchair. The dining locations included in this are handicap accessible and both still open for a brisk business nearby in Livingston!

All images shown below are spots you can view from either the road, pulling over immediately by the road , pulling over in a parking lot, or still sitting in the vehicle.

Above: Wild Columbine blooms by the roadside at Standing Stone State Park

Below: the redbuds in bloom just below the dam

Above: Red blooms of Catchfly

Below: Shooting Star flowers bloom in great clusters at Standing Stone in numerous locations visible from the road!

Above: Hillsides covered in bright yellow, cheerful wood poppies stretching into the distance are visible on a drive!

Below: Purple phacelia is another roadside attraction that is thick in the Spring

Above: Prairie Trilliums are abundant at Standing Stone. You won't see these in East Tennessee. They are a middle Tennessee flower.

Below: great patches are Virginia bluebells are visible by the streams in the river bottoms.

Above: Wood poppies, and deep purple dwarf larkspur intermingle by the road near the lake.

Above: Standing Stone Dam-- you drive right over it on the way to Hilham nearby. White water gushing and redbud trees in bloom.

Above: too many wet weather waterfalls to count in Standing Stone State Park like the one shown above

Below: Southern Red Trillium is a frequently seen flower in Spring at Standing Stone and the surrounding area. It doesn't grow in the Smokies.

deep maroon bloom of Southern Red trillium flower

delicate pale pink cluster of windflowers in bloom

Above: the delicate, pale pink blooms of Rue Anemone or "Wind Flower" growing on a bed of moss by the road at Standing Stone on toward the back of the park.

Frozen Head State Park & Natural Area

Another area in Tennessee that has a lot to offer in the way of easily accessible Spring scenery and wildflowers is Frozen Head State Park. It has beautiful scenery, wildflowers, is uncrowded, and easy access. It has restrooms scattered around the park that are disabled access. They have picnic areas, streams, waterfalls, and it provides one of the best Spring wildflower displays in the state. I have learned from experience you need to go early to catch these. They are a couple weeks ahead of everywhere else. When wildflowers were at peak in the Smokies they were already in the doldrums at Frozen Head. A person with limited mobility can hike some of the more level trails or do shorter jaunts. Gobey and the Frozen Head State Natural Area surrounding the park are better for folks who really have difficulty walking far. Drive SR 116 past Brushy Mountain Prison to Armes Gap. The flowers are roadside attractions. The scenery is unmatched and there are roadside cascades as well. Stop by the Fork Mountain Church for a level ground stroll on their lawn during the week. It is a good place to pull over for a picnic or to see the historic church grounds.

New River flows here and is quite pretty. Drive around to Macedonia Road via Wartburg and reach the west side of the Frozen Head State Natural Area. More roadside wildflowers along with the aquamarine waters of the Emory River! Country scenery unlike any other place.
It is one of the spots I have carried out my hybrid trillium research!

Above: blue hepatica is one of the earliest Spring flowers

Below: Southern Red trillium

Above: One of the pretty streams at Frozen Head

Below: sweet betsy trillium

Above: Wild Oats

Below: Mayapples in bloom

Above: Views toward Brushy Mtn from the Prison Mine Trail

Below: A cluster of great white flowered trilliums, sweet betsy trilliums and wild geranium

Below-- Scenes from the West side of Frozen Head State Natural Area--Gobey

Above: The Emory River

Above: Roadside quince bush blooms from an old home site

Above: red buds, dogwoods, and bright spring leaf buds along the Macedonia Road at Gobey

Above: Dwarf crested iris is a roadside attraction

Below: Gobey Road boasts masses of hybrid trilliums, blue phlox, southern red trilliums, white version of southern trilliums, and more

Above: You will encounter huge patches of dwarf larkspur in deep purple and blue phlox

Above: blood root is one of the earliest Spring wildflowers. This was right by the road at a pull off.

Below are scenes of the EAST side of Frozen Head State Natural Area along SR 116

Above: Fork Mountain church

Above: the jade green New River at a pull off

Above: roadside violets and great white trilliums

Below: A scene in Devonia on a Spring day. The old coal tipple is barely visible on the right of the road.

Above: Daisy fleabane and Spring green buds along New River at another pull off.

Savage Gardens in Rocky Top

Savage Gardens is the private property of a fellow named Arthur Savage from Knoxville. He has a garden in town at this country location at Rocky Top. It is open to the public for visits in Springtime.

Directions to Savage Garden: Take I-75 North to Rocky Top and exit 128

From the exit follow it around to the RIGHT onto Cobb Hollow Road and follow it for 1/2 mile.

Turn RIGHT onto Lovely Bluff Road and follow it for 1.20 miles to a RIGHT turn onto Savage Garden Road. Savage Garden Road will ford a stream across a bridge. The road turns and goes up a hill. Follow Savage Garden Road for about 0.25 miles to a LEFT turn into a driveway.

Park in the driveway turn around. Be respectful of the property owners graciously allowing visitors.

No facilities here. There is a picnic shelter. Watch out for the turkeys! I had them try to chase me years ago! They won't hurt you.

Above: Wood poppy at Savage Garden

Below: Wild columbine Savage Garden

Belo

Below: Lovely Bluff-- it can be seen from across the road at Savage Garden

Below: inside the rocky picnic shelter at the Savage Garden

Below: a look at the outside of the picnic shelter

Above: mossy rock formation is part of the charm of Savage Garden. Many of these!

Below: Twin leaf blooms at Savage Garden which is uncommon in these parts

Below: American lily of the valley also blooms there!

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Locations

Despite the Great Smoky Mountains National Park being primarily a hiking destination for me there are places to drive where you can see Spring Wildflowers. Below are several suggestions.

Laurel Creek Road

The road from Townsend to Sugarlands is not the best place to get out of the vehicle and look at wildflowers, but there are a lot. Wild bleeding heart, long spurred violets, sweet white trillium, great white flowered trillium, yellow trillium, dwarf iris, wild geranium, phlox, and catchfly are along that route. If you exercise a good deal of caution and pick a time that is a little less busy you can manage to pull over and see quite a lot.

Above: Redbud trees against the backdrop of Little River on Laurel Creek Road

Below: Sweet White Violet

Below: a carpet of Dwarf crested iris

Above: phlox

Below: Wild bleeding heart grows in the rocks

Newfound Gap Rd

Newfound Gap Road is usually so busy that it is hard to imagine wildflower viewing along this route. It is certainly not optimal, but it is a decent place to add to your wildflower viewing.

I have seen great quantities of Spring wildflowers in the forest near the pullouts along this road.

Yellow trillium, great white flowered trillium, phlox, long spurred violets, golden ragwort, and rue anemone. Again, it would be best to pick a time that is not as busy and be very, very careful to get out of the road.

Below: Carpet of bluets by Newfound Gap Road

Below: Canada Violets near Ft. Harry pull off at Newfound Gap Road

Below: blue violets Newfound Gap Road

Above: Fringed phacelia is like snow on the ground in places along Newfound Gap Road

Below: a great patch of white trilliums by the main road

Below: purple wakerobin trillium at a pull out off Newfound Gap Rd

Below: Look closely in the trees near Chimney Tops especially and you will see Carolina silverbell trees in bloom.

Chimney Tops Picnic Area and Nature Trail Loop

Click the link above for the full photo album of what you can find there!

Chimney Tops Nature Trail Loop is a great hike for those with mildly limited mobility. I think even with my bad knees and stiffness I could hike this easily. It doesn't have a lot of elevation change. It has benches to rest. The scenery is lovely and the wildflowers abundant. Even just pulling into the picnic area and strolling around you can see quite a few. I have a gallery above. You can click the link and open it to see the entire gallery. Below are a few of the highlights.

Below: Carpet of trilliums along the nature trail. This was near the start.

Above: Carpet of fringed phacelia surrounds a resting bench at about the halfway point along the nature trail loop.

Below: White form of trillium erectum with fringed phacelia and yellow violets

Rich Mountain Road

A really good wildflower drive to take in the Smokies is Rich Mountain Road out the east side of Cades Cove. You exit the park about halfway through the Cades Cove Loop turning right onto Rich Mountain Road and coming out in Townsend. It is a lovely drive with loads of wildflowers, pretty views, and creeks with small cascades. Traffic on this road is customarily light. Plenty of spots along it to pull over and take photos or look around.

Above: Looking back from Rich Mountain Road toward Cades Cove-- this is the first view you get

Below is view #2-- from the road toward Dry Valley and Townsend.

Above: spotted mandarin blooms on the banks on the right of the road closer to the end.

Below: Showy Orchis blooms roadside near creeks and damp places.

Below: delicate pale yellow bloom of Mountain Bellwort is a pine forest flower on the slopes throughout the drive.
Below: Dwarf Crested Iris is prevalent on the roadsides

Above: Catesby's trilliums in bloom. This is another pine woods loving wildflower of Spring.

Blue Ridge Parkway & Balsam Mountain Spur Road

The Blue Ridge Parkway and the Balsam Mountain Spur Road are excellent wildflower drives for lots of reasons. You can see many flowers without doing hard hikes. If you have been ill or having surgery you can go to the high elevations in mid May and see peak Spring wildflowers!

It is a delightful place with grandstand views of the surrounding mountains, lots of flowers,

some small streams, and lots of wildlife. You may see elk, turkeys, bears or grouse.

The high elevation picnic areas are abundant and scattered through out the length of the parkway and along the spur road. Restrooms are available at Heintooga, Waterrock Knob, and the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

I spent a couple Springs camping in Cherokee and hiking the area trails so I speak from experience. The traffic is light and the opportunities to pull off the road and view flowers are ample.

Below: Wood betony .. a thick patch of it along the Balsam Mountain Spur Road