Cumberland Trail to expand in Hamilton County

Part of the Cumberland Trail at the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge.

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF)- The Cumberland Trail is one of Tennessee’s most unique state parks.

It stretches for hundreds of miles along Walden’s Ridge.

However, there are gaps within that trail.

The Cumberland Trail in Hamilton County will soon be expanding.

The Chattanooga Audubon Society has agreed to a land swap with Tennessee State Parks so they can fill in the missing gaps of the trail in Hamilton County.

This is on Audubon Mountain adjacent to McDonald Farm in Sale Creek.

Jim Stewart:, executive director of the Chattanooga Audubon Society said, “Tennessee State Parks has done a fantastic job in piecing together sections. Some of it is public property, some of it is private property. They’ve gotten some easements in different areas, and when we saw the opportunity to give them this missing piece, we thought it was in the best interest of Hamilton County residents and the state.”

Currently, the main access points to the southern Cumberland Trail is though access trails like the North Chickamauga Creek Gorge Trail, which just recently became a state park.

“The section that they’re going to get from the Audubon Society has breathtaking views. You can see past McDonald Farm, you can see the mountains of North Carolina. It’s just a phenomenal place… The State with the property they have and the Audubon Society with the property we have, we’re going to start planning for things like connected trails, among those three properties including McDonald Farm. Some additional parking onsite, so we want to make these properties as accessible as possible,” said Stewart.

Stewart anticipates this being a boon not just for the trail but for Hamilton County’s economy.

“Hamilton County last year had a 1.7 billion dollar tourism industry. People come to Chattanooga and the Hamilton County area for outdoor recreation. We think this provides one more asset to what Hamilton County has to offer and we think this will drive some additional tourism here which results in additional money for the county, and we think everybody wins with this,” he said.

The future of McDonald Farm will be at the center of the Hamilton County Commission meeting Wednesday morning.