Meadow Trail

Dogs Leashed

Features Fall Colors

Restrooms and water can be found at the visitor center in the parking lot at the trailhead.

The Meadow Trail is located at the South Cumberland State Park Visitor's Center located in Monteagle TN. The trail starts to the right side of the parking lot and makes it way through the woods and meadows. This is also known as a Storybook Trail, a program that presents a children's storybook on child-height panels along a short trail to promote adult-child interaction around books and nature.

The story told here is Pitter and Patter by Martha Sullivan and Illustrated by Cathy Morrison. As you continue on the trail, you'll encounter panels that tell the story of Pitter and Patter, making this trail more interactive for your children. The trail winds through the woods for a short distance before passing the "Cumberland Forest School," a pavilion that offers after school activities for kids enrolled in the program.

The trail breaks to the right and passes several panels and benches that sit on the side of a small meadow. In the fall, you can enjoy the leaves changing color from here. Continuing to hike on the grass trail, you arrive at a split, and you can go either way. If you continue to the right, you come to a Childs play area in the woods where your child can play on structures built in the woods.

The trail continues straight ahead and climbs slightly along the edge of a meadow before turning back toward the visitor center. Just over half a mile, there is a platform and fire pit with seating where you can take a break and enjoy the woods and meadow that surround you. Once you arrive back at the junction, you can retrace your steps back to the visitor center.