Most Nashville families assume real backpacking means a long drive east to the Smokies. It does not. Backpacking near Nashville can be every bit as good: between the city and the Cumberland Plateau lie some of the best overnight trips in the Southeast, with gorges, waterfalls, and stone bluffs that most Tennesseans have never seen. The trick is taking them in the right order, so a boy’s first night out builds toward bigger ones instead of scaring him off.
Here are four destinations, arranged as a progression. Rules and reservation systems change, so confirm each one with the managing agency before you go.
1. Montgomery Bell State Park: the first night
Less than an hour west of the city, Montgomery Bell is the natural starting point. Its long trail and shelters let a father and son carry packs for a few miles, sleep out, and walk back to the car the next morning with little risk. Meriwether Academy has run its own Father and Son trips there, and our guide to a father-son camping trip near Nashville covers the logistics in detail.
The goal of this first trip is not distance. It is to learn the routine: setting up camp, cooking, filtering water, keeping gear dry, and breaking camp in the morning.
2. Virgin Falls: the first real destination
Near Sparta, roughly two hours east of Nashville, Virgin Falls State Natural Area offers the kind of payoff that makes a boy want to keep backpacking. The round trip from the trailhead is about nine miles, passing several waterfalls before reaching Virgin Falls itself, where the water emerges from a cave, drops about 110 feet, and disappears again into the ground.
Nine miles with a steep descent and climb out of the gorge is a real test for a young teenager, but splitting it over two days makes it manageable. Camping rules for the area have changed in recent years, so check current requirements with Tennessee State Parks before you go.
3. Savage Gulf: the plateau at its best
Savage Gulf became Tennessee’s 57th state park in 2022, and it is one of the finest backpacking areas in the state. The park covers nearly 19,000 acres in Grundy and Sequatchie counties, with about 60 miles of trail, nine backcountry campgrounds, and camping by registration only. Its best known feature, the Great Stone Door, is a narrow crack in the bluff that the trail descends through into the gulf below. Waterfalls including Greeter Falls, Laurel Falls, and Horsepound Falls are all within the park.
Savage Gulf rewards planning. With nine campgrounds and several trailheads, you can build a two or three night loop that includes a gorge descent, a climb back to the rim, and nights beside moving water. For a boy of fourteen or fifteen who has done a couple of shorter trips, it is an excellent goal.
4. Big South Fork: real wilderness
On the Tennessee and Kentucky line, the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is the most remote of these options, and the one that feels most like true wilderness. It is also administered by the National Park Service, which means formal permits: backcountry camping permits are mandatory, cost $5 for a group of one to six, and can be purchased online. If your route touches Pickett CCC Memorial State Park, you will also need a free state park permit.
Big South Fork is a trip for a father and son who have backpacked together several times and are ready for longer mileage, more navigation, and fewer people.
How to build up
A simple progression works for most boys:
- Year one: two or three short overnights like Montgomery Bell, in spring and fall.
- Year two: a longer destination trip like Virgin Falls, and the first Savage Gulf overnight.
- Year three and beyond: multi-night loops at Savage Gulf and Big South Fork, with the boy doing more of the planning, navigation, and cooking.
The most important sign of progress is not the miles. It is how much of the trip your son is running himself. By sixteen, he should be able to plan the route, pack the food, and lead the hike, with you as the second in command. Our guide to backpacking with a teenage boy covers pack weight, mileage, and gear in more detail.
A few non-negotiables
- File a trip plan with someone at home: route, campsites, and expected return.
- Carry a paper map and teach him to use it. Phone signal on the plateau is unreliable.
- Treat all water from streams and springs.
- Know the weather. Plateau streams rise fast in heavy rain, and gorge trails can become dangerous.
- Leave camp cleaner than you found it.
Why it is worth the effort
A boy who has carried everything he needs on his back for three days learns something about sufficiency that a lifetime of comfort cannot teach. He learns how little he actually needs, how much he can endure, and how good a simple meal tastes at the end of a hard day. Our essay on why boys need difficult things makes the broader case.
Meriwether Academy has run backpacking trips for fathers and sons around Middle Tennessee. When the next one is scheduled, it will be listed on our events page.