All who wander should not get lost

A Walk in the Park
By Susan Woods

When hiking, it is highly recommended that you have a plan. Unless you are hiking on a trail with which you are very familiar, this plan should include a map. After all, in most cases getting lost does not add to the fun of being out in the woods.

At NBF State Park free trail maps are available at the office and at the museum. These maps are updated with the most recent names for the various trail loops. Currently, NBFSP has over 20 miles of hiking trails.

Different trails are color coded to match the trail markers and the distances are specified. Many loops connect with each other, and the trail combinations enable visitors to enjoy hikes of distances from 0.8 miles to almost 20 miles.

Recently, there have been signs installed at the various trail intersections to assist hikers with sticking to their hiking plans. Without a plan and a map, you may end up hiking a far longer distance than you had intended!

Another highly recommended map option is to download the NBFSP trail map using the Avenza app. These maps will show your location on the map with a blue dot, which moves along the map as you move along the trail. 

The Avenza maps are called geo-referenced PDFs and use your phone’s GPS rather than a cell phone signal so they will work even when you do not have a signal. This site also has free printable maps of the park trails. 

The app is free and the NBFSP trail map only costs 99 cents. Avenza has maps available for almost all the trails in the Tennessee State Park system. Visit https://tnstateparks.com/about/park-trail-maps and follow the directions. 

The park has a few new installations and upgrades. There is a brand-new kiosk in front of the park office between the flag poles. The flag poles themselves will be replaced soon. The fence at Eva Beach also was recently replaced. While still fitting in with the rustic décor of the park it looks very fresh and spiffy!

Upcoming Events

Oct. 23, 2 p.m., Speaker Series at NBFSP Museum: We love our hummingbirds, and this speaker can tell you how to help them. Cyndi Routledge is a federal licensed master bird bander and CEO of Southeastern Avian Research (SEAR) in Clarksville. In addition to her research with SEAR, she does avian conservation contract work for TWRA and manages the Tennessee Watchable Wildlife webpage. Information on her work can be found at southeasternavianresearch.org. 

Oct. 29, 5-7 p.m., Fall Festival at NBFSP Group Lodge: Bring the kids to the park group lodge for games and activities as well as a chance to go trick or treating through the RV campground.

On-going Ranger Led Events: All year long the rangers at NBFSP lead fun activities such as hikes, kayak floats (kayaks provided), owl prowls, snake and bird demonstrations, etc. To find out when special events are happening at the park, visit tnstateparks.com/parks/nathan-bedford-forrest.com and click on “upcoming events.”

Need more information or specific assistance? Call NBFSP at 731-593-6445.