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Savage Gulf Natural Area

Down the Gorge

The nearly 16,000 acre Savage Gulf Natural Area is part of the South Cumberland State Park. Located near Altamont, Tennessee, Savage Gulf has some of the best scenery found in Tennessee's park system.

 Across the Gorge

Hobb's Cabin

Hobb's Cabin is the only camping cabin in the Tennessee State Park system. It's a welcome shelter on a cold or rainy hike. The cabin is on a first come, first served basis and only sleeps 6 so there's no guarantee of getting a spot inside after the 9 mile hike to reach it. There's a campsite adjacent to the cabin so we come prepared with our tents just in case. There's a spring and small creek directly behind the cabin for easy water fetching, but they can run pretty dry during the summer months.

Hobb's Cabin Rear

Savage Gulf Sunset

I obviously enjoy sunsets and this was one of my favorites.

Savage Falls

It's hard to put the camera down in Savage Falls with the abundant streams, waterfalls, limestone bluffs and more.

 Savage Creek

The Park Service officially announced the presence of bears at Savage Gulf in August of 2009 (read the announcement here). This adds an interesting new element to this area.

 Copperhead

This area is known for it's copperhead and rattlesnake populations. We've run into both, particularly copperheads. As long as you pay attention to where you're stepping and reaching, they should never be a problem and are actually really interesting to watch.

Flowers

These were in bloom on our last hike in Savage Gulf and covered solid acres of area in some places.

Bigfoot