Day Hiking Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park

For whatever reason, Old Stone Fort never appeared on my radar. But my daughter's upcoming high school cross country meet in Bell Buckle had me scanning the map for outdoor activities close to the Bell Buckle community, and Old Stone Fort caught my eye. Rain had been falling on and off for days leading up to the event, but race day itself was gorgeous - a perfect day for both hiking and running. While my oldest daughter caught an early bus for an afternoon team outing prior to the run, the rest of us laced up our hiking shoes to test the trails at Old Stone Fort.

We pulled into the parking lot at the park's museum to pick up a map. The Ranger gave us a brief description of the park's trail system and we were off. Having only about 2.5 hours before we needed to leave for the meet at Bell Buckle, we hoped we could cover most of the trails. The trailhead for the Enclosure Wall Trail is at the museum, and so we immediately entered the enclosure, or fort, as settlers would typically call them. This particular piece of land was a ceremonial enclosure used by Native Americans at least through the fifth century, according to the park brochure. Interpretive panels found at various points along the trail provide more information on the history of the site.

Hiking clockwise toward the Little Duck River, we very quickly came across Step Falls. This came as a surprise to me, as I didn't even know there were waterfalls here. Turns out there are three sets of falls in the park: Step Falls, Big Falls, and Bluehole Falls. Chalk this one up to ignorance, I guess. And the icing on the cake was our timing. Several days of rain meant the falls were flowing freely. Chalk this one up to dumb luck. Hey, I'd rather be lucky than good!

Step Falls

 

At the southern edge of the enclosure we joined the Little Duck River Loop Trail. This path led us along the bank of the river before turning back through the forest to rejoin the main trail.

 

Trail along the Little Duck River

 

Path leads hikers through a vegetation tunnel

 

The trails were pretty easy to traverse; I can think of only one climb of any significance and it really wasn't that difficult. There are, however, steep bluffs above which the trail leads right to the edge on multiple occasions so be careful. To see the waterfalls up close you must do some rockhopping - watch your step! The remainder of the trail is standard-issue Tennessee hiking: roots and rocks. Don't rush it. Be safe so you can come back to hike it again.

 

Standard-issue Tennessee hiking trail

 

Now back on the Enclosure Wall Trail adjacent to Duck River, we soon came upon Big Falls. Had we had more time, this would have been a great place to stop for a while to eat, drink, and be merry. But we had a cross country meet to attend, so we took our pictures and turned back to the trail.

 

 

Big Falls

 

We had one more set of falls to see before exiting the trail. My wife, in a hurry to get to Bell Buckle, stayed above, but my youngest daughter and I walked below the enclosure wall to have a look.

 

Bluehole Falls

 

The trail led us back to the museum, perched just above the dam, and the parking lot where our vehicle waited. I figure we only hiked three miles or so, but it was some of finest hiking I've done in Middle Tennessee. This park is a true gem, a perfect setting for both nature lovers and history buffs. We toured these trails in a little more than 2.5 hours but found ourselves wishing we had more time to study the interpretive panels and more fully absorb the natural setting and the significance of what was once here so many centuries ago. If you're in the area, don't miss out on the Old Stone Fort experience.

 

Dam behind the museum