The weekend took us towards the east part of Tennessee where we went to see the Obed National Wild and Scenic River. This river is maintained by the national park system and offers visitors an incredible place to enjoy the rugged natural beauty of Tennessee.
The Obed River is 45 miles long through the Cumberland Plateau. It is a favorite place for kayaking, fishing, and rock climbing. There are also a number of trails that take visitors through lush greens of rhododendrons and towering rocks.
For our hike, we took the Lily Bluff Overlook Trail where we had the rushing sound of the river on one side and the beautiful layered rocks on the other side. This river joined the national park system in October 1975 when it was designated as one of the country’s wild and scenic rivers. They have developed it to a small degree, but there is a focus on keeping it as wild and natural as possible.
The river has many waterfalls and gorges along its path. Because of the smaller creeks that join the river, the river makes a gradual change of flow from mostly south to north and mostly west to east. The deepest point of the river in one of the gorges is 500 feet deep.
This area was home to multiple Native American tribes roughly between the 1300s-1800s. Because of the steep bluffs and rocks, they could not use the land for farming but found it to be a great place to hunt. The rocks provided shelter from the weather as well. The 18th century brought European settlers to the region, but they too used the area for hunting but would live farther away from the river. The visitor center in the city of Wartburg has articles and artifacts from all the different people who benefited from their time by the Obed River.
We loved our hike along the Obed River. It felt like stepping into another world and getting to be part of the wild and scenic for a little piece of time.
If you are interested in some of the other rivers in the National Park system, then you may be interested in these:
Buffalo National River – Arkansas
Thank you for coming along on this visit to the Obed National Wild and Scenic River. May the current be gentle and your footing be sure as you walk along the river.
31 responses to “Walking Along the Obed National River {Tennessee}”
What a great gorge! Are there rock climbing routes on those walls? Maggie
There are rock climbing routes all around the river. A park ranger told us that this is the most popular place for rock climbing in the state. Maybe you need a visit to Tennessee for some rock climbing 🙂
Maybe!!
If you do, let me know and we will meet up for dinner or something 🙂
Looks like a great place for a walk, and I imagine the sound of the river rushing past must have really added to your enjoyment.
There is something so soothing about the sound of water. It definitely made for a great place to take a walk 🙂
What a beautiful place to hike, Meg! Those kinds of hike are my absolute favorite with interesting rocks, the sounds of the river, and so much green. It looks like you had the trail to yourselves too. Thank you for sharing the Obed River area with us. We will add it to our next trip to Tennessee.
It was a really lovely area to hike through, so peaceful and quiet. I think you would really love it. And it would be one more of the national park sites to cross off your list 🙂
Regarding the national park list: they added two new ones yesterday! All we can do is try…
oh that’s cool, what places were added?
One in Texas and one in Nevada. I haven’t researched them yet. I just heard about the on last night’s news.
there’s so many, it makes it hard to keep up. Adding two more parks to see to the ever growing list 🙂
Another lovely park, Meg, you guys really are spoilt for choice in Tennessee. Appreciated the historic backdrop and that excellent snapshot of the waterfalls through the branches. How ‘wild’ is that river exactly? Could one feasibly expect to see Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon rushing by on any given day?
If only that would happen! I don’t think it’s wild enough for them though, probably a little more tame than they would be use to. It did make for a great place for a walk though 🙂
What a delightful place for a walk Meg. The Obed National River in Tennessee looks beautiful.
Thank you, it was fun to experience a new part of the state and have such a beautiful place place to walk. 🙂
Obed is certainly a gorgeous area. It reminds me of the John Muir quote: “and into the forest I go to lose my mind and find my soul”.
I love that quote- we all need a little letting go of what weighs our mind and reconnecting with our soul 🙂
Amen to that!
This looks like a scenic area to go for a hike. It must have been nice to hear the sounds of rushing water along the trail. I love the towering cliffs.
It was really lovely and very Tennessee with the water on one side and the rocks on the other side. 🙂
You do choose some great locations for your hikes
Thank you, it was a great place for a hike between the river and the rocks 🙂
It’s a beautiful route for a hike 🙂
Thanks, between the river and the rocks was a really great place to be 🙂
Stunning, Meg. I can see why you might imagine it another world.
Thank you! All I needed was a few fairy tale creatures and the scene would be complete 🙂
That’s a lovely area. There are actually some hiking places in Minnesota that were brought to mind by looking at your pictures.
It seems like Minnesota is full of beautiful places. The more pictures I see of it, the more I want to go there.
C’mon up. We’ll leave the light on for ya! 🙂
🙂