Cumberland County Tennessee
What to do. Where to stay.
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I-40 cuts through Cumberland County. One can fly to either the Nashville (BNA) or Knoxville (TYS) airports. Via I-40, It takes about an hour and ten minutes to drive from TYS, and more than an hour and a half from BNA. But you will probably find a larger selection of flights to Nashville.

If you have smaller children, the pool is a main feature when choosing a place to stay. From mid-June through a week into September, the water in an outside pool will typically be warm enough for adults to swim with the children. Regardless of the choice of lodging, you can swim at the Cumberland Mountain State Park pool. So for summer, even with children, you can choose any place. But at cooler times, you may want an indoor pool. Tansi and Fairfield Glade resorts have one, and so do hotels Hampton Inn. Camping is available at a KOA or the Cumberland Mountain State Park.

For fine dining, I might suggest Halcyon Days just north of I-40 on Genesis Road. Also, both Tansi and Fairfield have nice clubs, (but you would need to be staying at those resorts to eat at the clubs, or to use their pools or golf courses). You should make reservations for all those dining rooms. Kids enjoy the buffets at Ponderosa or Ryan's Steak House, both north of Crossville on 127. In that same area, you'll find all the familiar places for fast and not so fast food. If you are staying at Fairfield, you only have to wander out a little way on Peavine Road for Manny and Isabella's or Lefty's BBQ.

If family members like to golf, this is certainly the right place. Lake Tansi and Cumberland County State Park have courses, and Fairfield has four! Also, one can fish and boat at any of these. Cumberland Gardens has a spectacular (and high) course. Also see River Run and Deer Creek. But that's not all of them, not at all. See the chamber's page on tourism for a bit more information.

Cumberland Mountain State Park is well worth a visit even if you don't swim or golf. Children enjoy the paddle boats and playground. The dining room offers a beautiful view. Very memorable in the fall. This park is near the Homesteads area. You'll recognize the distinctive Crab Orchard Stone used everywhere in buildings. One photo is on this page from South Elementary School.

For the kids, there's a putt-putt at Pirate's Plateau on Peavine Road. They also have go-carts, bumper boats, and an arcade.

There's a whole new and very skinny state park for hiking. One completed section crosses Grassy Cove, into Black Mountain. I might warn you that if you ask for directions, the people who live in Crab Orchard near Black Mountain are sometimes a little bewildered by outsiders referring to Black Mountain as a general area. They have a different name for each peak.

An easy and short hike is at Ozone. A picture of the falls (it isn't usually so full) is on this page.

For shopping, try the outlet mall just south of the I-40 Genesis Road exit.

Don't miss seeing at least one play at the playhouse in Crossville. Check this link to see what's playing before you leave. (Note: the Ryman, a different place entirely, may show on the above web site. But it is in Nashville, more than an hour's drive from Crossville.) Call the Cumberland County (Crossville) playhouse (931-484-5000) and make reservations for what you want to see.

Should you want a piece of the mountain for your own, call on Plateau Properties. They sell wooded terrain. Plateau Realty is a different and unrelated organization. They are brokers and can sell you a house.

Carson Brewer has been a columnist in Knoxville for decades. He travels to interesting places with his wife, Alberta, and tells the rest of us what he finds. Here he lays out a path through the north part and south part of the plateau that many would find memorable tours.

In Van Buren County you will find the very large and beautiful Fall Creek Falls State Park. Fall Creek Falls overlaps into Bledsoe County, the county seat of which is Pikeville.

Rhea County. The town in Rhea nearest the plateau is Spring City. One possibility for an interesting and brief day trip is to go to Spring City and eat at Watts Bar Dam.

Roane County. The edge of Oak Ridge is in Roane County. Another good day trip is to visit the museum of science and energy in Oak Ridge. It has plenty of hands-on stuff.

White County: the county seat is Sparta. For day trips, try Rock Island Park, or go through White County to McMinnville in Warren County and visit the spectacular show cave Cumberland Caverns.

Putnam County. A town in Putnam near the edge of the plateau is Monterey. The county seat, Cookeville, is about 40 miles from Crossville. There are several movie theaters there near I-40 if the movie you want is not in Crossville.

Fentress County. The enormous Big South Fork recreational area is partly in Fentress and partly in Morgan County. Along highway 52, where one crosses from Fentress into Morgan at Big South Fork is the English settlement of Rugby. Well worth a visit. It is an experience to attend old Christ Church there, regardless of your faith.