Foster Falls, know before you go

Camping at Foster Falls is limited to designated sites only. There are two campgrounds close to the climbing area, the Foster Falls campground near the parking lot, and Father Adams (a .5 mile walk from the parking lot). All the campsites within South Cumberland State Park can be reserved here ( tnstateparks.com/parks/camp…). The gate will remain open until 10 pm central time. All visitors camping at Father Adamz or Small Wilds (2.3 miles from parking lot) campgrounds must be in their reserved site by dark. Dark is 30 minutes after sunset. If you arrive after 10 pm and have reserved a site in the Foster Falls Campground you must park outside the gate and walk in. Trails close at dark. Anyone found on the trails after dark is subject to citation and a fine, so plan accordingly. It is your responsibility to know the rules and regulations of South Cumberland State Park prior to arrival. Rules are posted in the kiosk at the trail head as well as online.

God forbid you walk in a forest after dark, thanks for shutting down our land.

FosterFallsRanger,

Thanks for posting. Your post sounds a bit frustrated, so I hope folks abide by the regulations.

Please share the rationale for closing trails at dark as it seems fairly arbitrary.

Good luck,

N_

The reason trails close at dark is to ensure the safety of all of our visitors. We have had many people sustain injuries while hiking after dark. The result of which is usually a full scale rescue by Rangers and local rescue squads. Closing the trails at dark is a preventative measure in place to help prevent unnecessary injuries and rescues. The rule is not intended to be restrictive or limit access. It is purely a safety measure.

Thank you sir or madam Ranger for taking the time to visit our site and remind our community of laws governing your park. Hopefully this can be a place to address any issues with the local climbers. Sometimes it is possible to encounter issues that may make departure at a given time impossible (ie getting stuck or having equipment getting suck on a route, etc) but in general we should hope climbers are following the rules in good faith.

Maybe in the future some climbers and others might be able to work with your dept towards a policy which focuses more on personal responsibly than government restrictions. Making patrons pay for their rescues after dark could be a good way to control costs in addition to deterring folks who might not be qualified to travel in the woods at night.

yesrodcire wrote:God forbid you walk in a forest after dark, thanks for shutting down our land.

The rule requiring people to be off the trails by dark has been around for as long as I remember, and I've been going there for over a decade.

From a personal standpoint, I also think the curfew thing is pretty lame. But I'm not the guy who has to go rescue people when they mess up. If I were, then after the 20th time I had to get out of bed to go scrape some poor SOB off the rocks I'd probably start making rules too.

You know, if the authorities governing the park want to cut injuries and rescues down 100%, there's a very easy way to do that. Close the park!

How ridiculous. "Protecting" people from themselves.

Pretty silly rule, but it's not new--like Chuck said.

Googling "foster falls rescue" shows that night-time rescue probably isn't really a problem.

But please follow the rules....some of us like that place despite the curfew.

Rangers: use good signs and issue more fines.

I don't climb there and I realize the rule has been around for a while however as everyone has agreed with its a quite a ridiculous rule. Protecting me from myself while walking out in the woods at night!? Thanks government!

The land belongs to the people, let them enjoy it regardless of which side of the earth the sun happens to be on! Don't want to do rescues? Don't join SAR!

Actually up until recently the land around foster falls was owned by TVA - a corporate agency not a part of the public parks system. It may still be TVA owned, but I think TN-DNR has taken a greater role in its management. Much of the fiery gizzard trail (which has a trail head at foster falls) goes over private property and access to these areas is based on long standing hand-shake agreements.

I have no problem with the after dark rule and don't feel that it limits my enjoyment of the park at all and yes (unlike others) I actually climb there quite frequently. With the number of visitors (climbers and non-climbers) that utilize the park I am always impressed with how well the area is maintained. Also every ranger I have ever met, has been beyond friendly and helpful.

@FosterFallsRanger - thanks for the update and communication. I have seen some question recently about the gate situation, so hopefully this will iron out any mix ups that have been happening.

I never wore helmets or pads as a kid. If I fell on my bike or skateboard I quickly learned to cover my head and roll out of it.
Now I see kids all padded up and they fall straight on their knees and heads. I cringe every time.
I'm pretty sure I'm still on topic with this thread.

To the Ranger, I know you're just doing your job and I don't blame you. But I still cringe.

Yep agreed its a shame public lands are closed to the public when it gets dark out.... Maybe if we installed nightlights Big Brother would be okay with me walking through public lands while its dark out?

Hi Ranger,

I was there over the last week of 2015, and New Years. Just wanted to say thanks for being a good guy, even it may not have been you. I know lots of people are giving you grief, but you (maybe not you) were nice in passing. It's a well traveled park, and not many are educated on outdoor park use, so this seems reasonable.

Back when I was a Foster Falls regular the Ranger was always very nice, as was the campground manager.

I think climbers need to remember that a large part of the park user base isn't as competent in negotiating hazardous terrain as we are. Fosters sees a ton of traffic and asking Joe Picnic not to try the steep hike down to the falls after dark isn't that unreasonable.

'merica. Land of the free. Until you visit other countries and realize they are a lot more commonsensical about these kind of things.

So if I'm out climbing and forced to bivy due to weather or something the Foster Falls rangers are really going to write me a ticket!?!? Seems a little ridiculous to me considering this is america, we should all accept some personal responsibility.

yesrodcire wrote:So if I'm out climbing and forced to bivy due to weather or something the Foster Falls rangers are really going to write me a ticket!?!?

Have you even been to Foster Falls? I can't imagine any sort of scenario where you'd be "forced to bivy" at a single-pitch sport crag where the longest hike out is less than a couple of flat miles.

I like the system red rocks has and agree with the poster above that it should at least be looked at putting in place at fosters for climbers topping out late, better to have it and not need it.

Are climbers hiking out 30 minutes after sunset that often? I don't think that's a regular occurrence.

I think you're missing the intent of the rule. It's not targeting climbers who are coming out a little late but rather people showing up late and going in. They don't want hikers wandering down the steep trail to the falls after dark or starting out on the trail to Father Adamz after dark.

I'm all for personal responsibility and taking care of your own business but unfortunately that's not the society we live in.

Like Eisenhower said, if you want complete security, go to prison.

How treacherous is this trail to the falls? Would a half rack and 30m rope be enough to safely navigate?