Les Jones

Travel > Daytrips to Crossville, Tennessee

Driving time from Knoxville: 1.5 hours
Where to point your car: West on I-40

I spent a summer in college working as a naturalist at Cumberland Mountain State Park and fell in love with the area. Every time I go to Crossville now I find something new.

The park is a great place to stay or visit. The picturesque bridge and dam are the largest steel-free masonry structures ever built by the Civilian Conservation Corps. You'll also find boat rentals, hiking trails, rental cabins, RV and tent camping, the largest swimming pool in the Tennessee state park system, a very good restaurant, and a Jack Nicklaus Bear Trace golf course. In the summer there are nature programs, sports, and children's activities. Like many of the buildings in Crossville, many of the park structures are made from Crab Orchard sandstone, which is quarried nearby. Because of the park's compact layout, you can walk everywhere, which is great if you have kids.

Near the entrance to the park you'll find the Cumberland Homesteads Tower and Museum (free, donations encouraged). The Cumberland Homesteads were a New Deal project to give families a start in farming, and many of the homes constructed in the project still stand. The museum is in the former administrative building. It's made from Crab Orchard sandstone in the shape of a crucifix. At the center of crucifix is a tower that served as a water tower and firetower. You can climb the stairs to the top for a view.

Right across the street from the tower is an antique store and the Cumberland General Store. Their motto is "Goods in endless variety for man and beast." If you need to live off the land for a few years, this is the store to visit. They have all of your 1900 house needs, from beekeeping and animal husbandry to soap making, home brewing, and vegetable canning.

About half an hour north of the city lies Muddy Pond, a working Mennonite community. The Mennonites were a part of the Anabaptist movement, which declared that the faithful should not be baptized involuntarily at birth, but willingly and with a voluntary confession of their sins. Because of their common heritage, the Mennonites share some characteristics with the Amish (who are also Anabaptist), including a minimal association with the outside world, a pacifist philosophy, a Germanic heritage, and a de-emphasis of organized religious services in favor of private services.

At Muddy Pond there are working blacksmith and leather shops, a store, and a bakery. In October, they harvest sugarcane and make molasses using a mule-drawn press and wood-fired furnace. The molasses shop has a variety of baked goods, including shoe fly pie, which tastes a little like pecan pie, but with a crumbly texture.

Crossville claims to be the golf capital of Tennessee. Besides the state park, there are courses at Fairfield Glade, Four Seasons, Lake Tansi Village, Renegade, River Run and Stonehenge.

If you want to talk me into playing golf you'd better get me drunk first. I recommed taking me to Chestnut Hill Winery or Stonehaus Winery. And don't be stingy with the bottle there, shooter.

Crossville Links

• Crossville Chronicle - The local paper of record.
• Crossville Online - Local web site. Recommended!
• Cumberland County Playhouse - Well-known playhouse with a full schedule of productions.
• Homestead Bed and Breakfast - A B&B in the homesteads and park area.
• Ozone Falls - A beautiful waterfall located just five milles off of I-40. You can be lazy and see the falls from a perch above, or you can reach the base of the falls with a short hike.