Tackett Creek Autumn 2026 Part 1

 

above bright colored leaves starting to fall to the ground at Tackett Creek

Tackett Creek Autumn 2026

Sunday Oct. 11, 2026

Kenny & Dana Koogler

Michael Lindsey and Olivia Myers

Photos are HERE 

     It occurred to me one day that in all the years we've been riding at Tackett Creek we had never visited in Autumn.   I looked up videos and photos of Fall there.  Oh boy were we missing out!

We made plans to go there and see it for ourselves.    I mentioned it in front of grandson Michael and he reminded me that he had been wanting to go riding with me and Papaw and take Olivia. His girlfriend is a very athletic, outdoorsy young lady.   I realized our opportunity was at hand.   It worked out that we could all go on Sunday.    They met us at our house Sunday morning and we set off together toward Campbell County.  

      We parked at Red's General Store and unloaded.  We paid our $5 into the drop box at the front of the store to park for the day.   It is a very convenient location and secure as well.  I had done some serious looking into the Tackett Creek area in the preceding days to decide what we wanted to see.  I learned that not only had we been missing out on Fall colors, but a new area of Tackett Creek we had never visited.  Tackett Town!   We would make all that right today.   We would revisit quite a few spots today because all of it would be new to Michael and Olivia.   

            Last time we visited Tackett Creek we parked out along the original road access near the wildlife ponds.    We are tagged for road use as well as trail so we drove down the road a short distance and picked up the trails there.  We entered the same way today the only difference being we parked at Red's store.    We stopped by the little waterfall near the beginning of the trail to see how it was running. 

It was not bad for this time of year.    It is a bank scramble down over tree roots to reach the base of the falls.  Someone has installed rope and a rope and rung ladder!  

          Below: Small waterfall still flowing despite the drought. 

Below: our gang in Blaze Orange for hunting season.  

Below: Scrambling back up the bank from the falls 

Below: some unfortunate machine lost their skid plate here.  Some rough riding at Tackett so finding parts is not uncommon. 

  Below is a short video of the waterfall 

   Next we headed for the most exciting part of our day. Tackett Town. Totally new to us.    It was shown on Lifetime Maps so finding it was no problem.  We really hadn't done much if any riding in this area. It was very cool.  The trails were exciting with climbs, twists and turns and views! The woods were just starting to show some color change.    It didn't take long until we arrived at the top of a plateau.   It reminded me of visiting Town Rock.  Being at the top of a plateau deeply cut into and split by time and weather.    We didn't have any problem finding our way into the rock town having watched a Youtube video and really there was only one place to go.  

Below: the mossy entrance into Tackett Town

     

  We enjoyed exploring among the rocks. There is a small overlook with a partial view shown below. 

Below:  a view of the rock structures above me. 

Below: an archette 

Below:  Looking out from one of the rock shelters

Below:  a small arch. It is possible to walk under, but you have to squat down to do it. 

Below:  a sidelong glance at the rock overhang. Just one of many

Below:  a rock that looks like a building.  

Below:  a glance at the rocks with the leaves turning yellow.  

Below is a video that is on the longer side for my usual that really shows Tackett Town.  

  We concluded our exploring and loaded up to go down the mountain. We got a nice rollercoaster ride down and some great views of the mountains.  

Below is the view of the Cumberland Mountains from the trail.  A little Fall color starting. 

Below is a video of the same view and a snippet of the ride. 

   Once back to the concrete bride and creek we pulled over to eat lunch.   The stream had a fair amount of water despite our dry conditions.   Once we started down the old rail bed we passed slate rock and many other riders watching a few guys try to climb it.  

   Today we headed up the rough trail toward what would be our first ever visit to The Cabin.  

We have never bothered going to it, but today we'd see what all the hype was about.  I'm real glad we did. It is a neat spot.  Someone has done a clean up there and the place was looking neat and tidy. No damage visible.   The view from the cabin is pretty good.  It sits in a clearing with scrub and sandstone. 

There is also a shed behind it that I'd never seen photographed.  There is a pond just past it that was pretty we were also unaware of.  Someone has constructed a memorial past the cabin in the area where there is a bit of a view. A cross saying Pierce Bobo.   I looked him up. He passed away in 2021. 

Below is a photo I stole from Facebook of Pierce and the lady is Nicole.  He looks like he was a fun person who lived life with gusto.  I have reached out to his family to let them know of this blog post. 

Below: Kenny approaching the cabin.  We all  hard our blaze orange on today as hunting has begun.

Below: shed behind the cabin.

Below: clearing with a partial view out from the cabin.  I walked down there and found the memorial marker. I wanted to remember this young man who I'm sure is missed. 

Below: spires of goldenrod

Below: Pierce Bobo memorial.

Below:  interior of the cabin. nice fireplace. 

Below: one of my favorite views of the trip heading out toward the pond 

above: rim of the pond is on fire with red leaves. Those may be sourwood trees.  Just small ones without any fruiting bodies.

Below: a view of the pond with the pretty Fall leaves. 

    Once we visited the cabin and its surroundings we moved onward.  We headed up the very rough, rocky main trail to Mclean Rock overlook.  It was a first when we got up there. No view! Totally fogged in.  We've been riding up there in rain and fog, but not like this pea soup.  You couldn't see any view. Only the trees in the immediate area.  

Below: fogged in at Mclean Rock. No view.

Below: you can still see the colors and the rock jutting out to the left in the fog bank

  Needless to say we did not stick around at the overlook minus a view.  We headed onward toward the next feature which was Sand Cave.   Kenny and I have been many times, but this would be a first for Michael and Olivia.  

  We crept down the very steep, rocky trail until we arrived at the parking spot for Sand Cave.  We park and walk to it.   Up over a steep bank and around a corner on a foot trail until we came to it.  The ground here is sandstone with lots of "pearls" which are actually quartz pebbles. They once were part of the sediment layer.   

Below: photo of the ground with all its pebbles and sand

Below: huge clump of mushrooms on the climb up the bank on foot

Below: Sand Cave waterfall barely flowing

Below: a glance back at the trail that rounds a corner

above: a better view of the Fall colors above the falls zoomed in.

Above: Kenny within the cave under the rock overhang. Michael and Olivia are down at the base of the falls where it hits the ground.  I don't have any photos that show them, but they are shown in the video below.  We enjoyed our time at Sand Cave, but once the rain started in showed no signs of letting up we headed back to the RZR.  We donned our rain gear and started for the truck.  The way out is also steep, rough and rocky, but not as bad as the trail down.  It began to pour on us during the ride back.

Below: video of Sand Cave and the falls and the rain starting to set in.

   We made it back to Red's where we parked. We loaded up. The rain slacked off so we were able to clean up a little bit.  We stopped on the drive home at Cracker Barrel. Papaw treated everyone to dinner. He is wonderful.  I'm thankful our family has a close relationship and that after all these years our grandkids still remember us and want to be with us.  It was such a good day that we've already made plans to return.   We found out about Tuesday morning that gates went up to block access to Mclean Rock Overlook and Sand Cave.   I don't pay much mind to these sorts of things until it is proven true.  Fellow riders went to check and found out it was NOT a rumor. It is a fact. Three gates have been installed.  TDEC owns the ridgeline for the Cumberland Trail State Park.   It finally came to a head and they protected the land.  Can't blame TWRA. Can't blame anyone. It is what it is.   The CT was badly abused by erosion and was a soupy mud hole for a stretch where the ATV crowd was being allowed to use it.   We had known for some time this was not a matter of if, but WHEN.   When is now. 

As we found out today Tackett Creek is huge and limiting access to two features isn't a deal breaker. You can still visit them on foot.  TWRA has in the past had to limit access to land features to foot travel only.  Primroy arch is a prime example.  It was getting trashed by litter, graffiti and people driving up on the arch!  It isn't necessary to do those things to enjoy it.  Now that you have to walk things are better. 

   I'll write Part 2 this week and get it posted.   If you think TDEC is just kidding about the gates..... think again.   We arrived Sat. 10/31/2026 to a vastly improved, gravel parking lot. See? Those increased fees are going for something good!  We saw a Tennessee State Park ranger had parked and unloaded a machine in order to patrol and enforce the closures those gates represent.    I was glad to see it.  There is always the element who thinks the rules don't apply to me.