Rock Creek Trail

Rock Creek Trail winds through the geological wonderland of Pickett State Park, passing natural arches, massive overhanging rock shelters, and dramatic sandstone formations carved by millennia of erosion in the Pennyroyal Plateau. The trail follows Rock Creek through a forested gorge before climbing to visit the park's famous natural arch, a sandstone span that frames sky and treetops in a photogenic natural window. Pickett State Park protects one of the most geologically diverse areas in Tennessee, with over 58 natural arches and bridges catalogued within the park boundaries. The sandstone bedrock here is part of the same formation found in the Red River Gorge of Kentucky, producing similar rock-shelter overhangs that sheltered prehistoric peoples for thousands of years. Archaeological evidence of Native American occupation has been found in numerous shelters throughout the park. The forest is a rich mixed mesophytic community with an exceptional diversity of tree species including several typically found only in the southern Appalachians. Pickett adjoins the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, creating a vast protected landscape. No entrance fee is charged. This remote park in northern Fentress County receives far fewer visitors than Tennessee's more accessible parks, offering a genuine wilderness experience.