On Wednesday, August 27th, we took a Day Ride. Our destination was Cumberland Mountain State Park.

We left our home in North Knoxville right at 10am. It was warm and the skies were blue- a beautiful morning.

Jeff kicks off our day in this short video:

We took Clinton Highway north through Clinton and on into Lake City (now called Rocky Top) where we stopped for our morning snack. From Lake City we took 116 into Briceville where we continued on 116- The Devil’s Triangle.

116 is a very challenging road with some extreme switchbacks, so we took our time riding up the mountain, stopping along the way for a few photos.

Once you reach the peak, the descent is much easier. 116 brought us right to the entrance of Brushy Mountain State Prison.

After gawking awhile, we continued on to Wartburg. In Wartburg, we took 62 and then 298 which runs through the Catoosa Wildlife Area and brought us to 127 just north of Crossville. We rode through Crossville and traveled from there just a couple of miles to the Cumberland Mountain State Park.

We traveled to the Cumberland Mountain State Park Restaurant parking area.

The buffet style restaurant was busy. The staff was friendly and helpful.

After enjoying our meal, we spent the next hour enjoying the Cumberland Mountain State Park Bridge and surrounding park. It’s a beautiful and serene area.

You can read about the history of Cumberland Mountain State Park by CLICKING HERE.

After visiting the park, we rode just about a mile down the road to the Homestead Tower Museum. This landmark structure was built in 1937-1938 to house the administrative offices of the Cumberland Homesteads, a project of FDR’s New Deal. (You can read more about the Homestead Tower Museum by CLICKING HERE.)

Once in the museum we watched a short video and learned a great deal about how FDR and the New Deal got people to move to the Crossville area.

After viewing the museum displays, we climbed the steps to the top of the water tower.

When you go visit Cumberland Mountain State Park, plan to visit the Homestead Tower Museum as well. It’s interesting, educational, and fun!

From the museum, we rode 68 south down the Plateau into Spring City where we stopped for gas and a snack.

From Spring City we took 302 to Watts Bar Dam.

After stopping for a short while, we got back on the bikes and took 68 to 304- a beautiful road that runs along the water into Kingston.

In Kingston, we stopped at the 58 landing to feed the ducks.

After feeding the ducks, we took 70 to 58 to Oak Ridge. From Oak Ridge, we rode back to Knoxville and back home.

We got home at 7:30pm and our total ride was 218 miles.

Jeff wraps up the day in this video:

Just for fun, you can read a little aside from this day HERE.

You can view our entire list of Day Ride’s HERE.