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Join TN Valley Wild Ones members and hike leader, Stephan Eselgroth, MD, for a spring wildflower hike into our newest designated Tennessee state park, Savage Gulf. Dr. Eselgroth has over 20 years of natural and sustainable habitat gardening experience, RainSmart Yard and NWF certifications at his home, and is an active volunteer and hikes manager for our Wild Ones chapter.

Until recently, this was a 15,590-acre designated state natural area, managed by South Cumberland State Park. It now has its own designation as our newest state park and has acquired further acreage. The park is sited at the western edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Grundy and Sequatchie Counties. With sandstone cliffs, hollows and canyons, free flowing rivers, and old growth forests, it is one of Tennessee's most rugged and scenic areas. A beautiful place for those with a love of stunning raw nature, yet it is still close to home. After a short distance of trail through Hemlock and Rhododendron, we’ll trek down to view the 50 foot Suter falls. In the next mile, the trail has altitude changes that will challenge our knees as we descend and our endurance upon return. This trail has a bit of it all with a swinging bridge creek crossing, two waterfalls, a disappearing creek, multitude of native wildflowers, shrubs and trees, with very few invasives, and the trail has rock scrambles, alternating moderate and tough rocky sections, a gulf overlook, plus views of cliffs and rock formations.

Several wildflowers are established here, especially along the 1.5 mile stretch before our turn around point. We are likely to find large white trillium (T. grandiflorum), S. red trillium (T. sulcatum), sweet Betsy (T. cuneatum), prairie trillium, (T. recurvatum), dwarf ginseng, (Panax trifolius), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Dutchman breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), ragworts (Packera anonyma and P. obovata), dwarf larkspur (Delphinium tricorne), Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), fernleaf phacelia (Phacelia bipinnatifida), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides), waterleaf (Hyrophyllum sp), foam flowers (Tiarella cordifolia), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum biflorum) and plume (Mianthemum racemosum), geranium (G. maculatum), red, yellow and painted buckeyes (Aesculus pavia, A. flava and A. sylvatica), wood betony (Pedicularis canadensis), woodland blue phlox (Phlox divaricata), bluestar (Amsonia tabernaemontana), several species of sedge, fern, violets, blueberry and viburnum.