Ep. 184: Cumberland Trails Conference / Savana Keeton 

This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Savana Keeton. Savana is the Operations Coordinator for the Cumberland Trails Conference. Building the Cumberland Trail is a passion project for the dedicated staff of the CTC. The work is hard and it takes experts to build through the rock gardens and gorges of the Cumberland Mountains. 

The Cumberland Trail (CT) is a rugged, north/south, foot-traffic-only trail along the eastern edge of the Cumberland Plateau in Eastern Tennessee. Currently there is approximately 250 miles open with 50 odd miles left to complete. The trail begins at Cumberland Gap National Park on the northern border of Tennessee/Kentucky. The southern end is the “Grand Canyon” of Tennessee at Signal Mountain overlooking the Tennessee River Gorge at Chattanooga. 

 The mission of the Cumberland Trails Conference is to provide paid and volunteer labor, equipment, supplies and vehicles to design and construct the Cumberland Trail under the auspices of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

The continued development and construction of the Cumberland Trail is accomplished through a working relationship between the Cumberland Trails Conference (CTC), the Cumberland Trail State Scenic Park, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.  The CTC, private corporations, foundations, individuals, and others assist TDEC in raising funds for land acquisition, providing maintenance, and further developing the Cumberland Trail.