The historic Walton Road was the original toll road connecting Southwest Point in Kingston to Sparta. This early state road, now Highway 70, ran directly through what is now known as Rockwood Forest Trails, quietly waiting to be rediscovered.
While hiking, mountain biking, and trail running have dedicated enthusiasts, nearly everyone can appreciate a walk in the woods. At the time, residents of the Rockwood area were traveling long distances for hiking and biking opportunities and wanted closer, more accessible options. Rockwood already had the Brillo Miller Sports Complex for baseball, softball, and soccer. Along the south edge of the complex lay a 70-acre, city-owned mature hardwood forest, fenced off and largely unused.
A few people saw its potential. Wanting a trail resource close to home, the group presented a volunteer-built, low-impact trail concept to Mayor Mike (Brillo) Miller and the city council. The city council demonstrated its support by approving a $2,500 budget line item, and the project began.
The land’s topography was challenging-steep, rolling terrain shaped by century-old iron mining activity-but that challenge added character rather than deterrence. The sports complex sits near the site of the 1800s Kimbrough Iron Forge, and the nearby Kimbrough Cemetery still exists, offering fascinating gravestone reading. The 1804 Kimbrough Stand (a depot to supply travelers) was across the street from the ballfields and less than a half mile from the forest.
Today, Rockwood Forest stands as a living example of how nature can reclaim and heal land impacted by human industry. The forest has returned as a mixed, mature hardwood ecosystem rich in both natural and cultural history. Trails wind past old iron mines and follow rolling paths through diverse terrain. Spring brings ferns, azaleas, mountain laurel, rhododendron, crane fly orchids, trailing arbutus, lady slipper orchids, rare mountain camellia, and an abundance of southern showy skullcap, a plant listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Hikers cross the historic Walton Road-Tennessee’s first state road to the Cumberland Plateau-and explore land once home to the McLean Mine community of Arbutus, named for the fragrant trailing arbutus. Arbutus is now a ghost town, its buildings long since salvaged or reclaimed by the forest. Also gone are Beech Springs Dairy and Beech Springs School, remembered today by a trailside kiosk and a remarkable
150-year-old beech tree, still standing along Schoolhouse Trail, bearing the carved names of long-ago school romances of the students who attended.
Currently, more than four miles of trail and four bridges guide visitors through this fascinating landscape. Interpretive kiosks tell the stories of Walton Road, local schools, iron and coal mining, and community life. New trail development will soon connect visitors to the Big Gulch Trestle, built in 1900 to link Rockwood to Crab Orchard and Crossville by rail – an engineering feat that remains a striking historic landmark in the region.
Rockwood Forest Trails are a place where
history, conservation, and community intersect-where the
past is preserved not behind glass, but beneath the canopy of a thriving forest
Learn more: http://www.cityofrockwood.com/rockwood-forest-trails
