Fiery Gizzard Trail
View from Fiery Gizzard. Photo by The Conservation Fund
At A Glance
- The Fiery Gizzard trail is approximately 17 miles long.
- It is one of the top hiking trails in the nation.
- Half the trail had been privately owned, we worked with partners to protect it permanently.
The Fund partnered with the Land Trust for Tennessee and the Friends of the South Cumberland State Recreation Area to purchase and protect more than 6,200 acres of the western bluff of Fiery Gizzard Cove and more than a mile and a half of the Fiery Gizzard trail system.
The Fiery Gizzard area had been an urgent priority within the conservation community for several decades. The protection of these acres ensures the trail and bluff are conserved forever.
What Is Fiery Gizzard?
Fiery Gizzard is a place many Tennesseans hold dear. It is the heart of the South Cumberland Plateau and is one of the most intact, biologically diverse, natural landscapes remaining in the eastern United States. It is home to some of Tennessee’s most beautiful natural areas and offers incomparable recreational opportunities.
The Fiery Gizzard trail is approximately 17 miles long and is one of the top hiking trails in the nation according to Backpacker magazine. More than 250,000 visitors enjoy this prized recreational area each year creating a strong tourism economy that is essential to the overall economy in the South Cumberland Region.
Although the trail is open to the public and managed by the State of Tennessee as part of the South Cumberland State Recreation Area, half of the trail itself and the majority of the views were privately owned by a timber investment firm. The firm was required to sell the land, making it available for purchase.
What Did It Take To Protect Fiery Gizzard?
Funding to purchase the property at Fiery Gizzard came from a variety of sources. The total cost of the Fiery Gizzard project was about $8.1 million. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation committed to contributing more than $4 million. Once more than $1 million in donations was acquired, a challenge grant from an anonymous donor encouraged the community to complete the campaign.
