Standing Stone State Forest, State Park, and WMA
Site Directions: Take exit 288 off I-40, (Livingston/Sparta exit) Hwy. 111 N to Livingston. Hwy 52 West to the entrance of the park. Hwy. 136 is the main park road.
Headquarters - Lat: 36.2816°N Long: -85.2456°W
Hours: daylight hours
Seasonality: year round
Fees: none
Site Description: Standing Stone State Park covers nearly 11,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau of north-central Tennessee. The quaint and rustic park is noted for its outstanding scenery, spring wildflowers, fossils and other natural diversity.
The park is located in Overton County within a triangle formed by highways connecting Livingston, Gainesboro and Celina. In the 1930s, Standing Stone was an area plagued with soil erosion and sub-marginal lands. With the assistance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Work Projects Administration, the Resettlement Administration and U.S. Forest Service, the area was made productive again.
The park takes its name from the Standing Stone, an eight-foot-tall rock standing upright on a sandstone ledge, which was supposedly used as a boundary line between two separate Indian nations. When the rock fell, the Indians placed a portion of it upon an improvised monument to preserve it. The stone is still preserved in Monterey.
Visitors can go hiking, camping, birding, wild flower watching, and picnicking on site.
Wildlife to Watch: Songbird diversity is high, especially during migration where birders can find Cerulean Warbler, Northern Parula, Baltimore Oriole, and Wood Thrush. Yellow Warbler, Pine Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Hooded Warbler nest at the park. Deer and Wild Turkey are common. Wild flowers are abundant in spring. Ask park personnel about wildflower tours in spring.
NOTE: Please refer to TWRA Hunting Guide about hunting seasons and public access dates. Access dates vary by site.
For more information:
Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau Nature Trail
Birds of Standing Stone from eBird submissions
Standing Stone State Park
Submit your data to eBird and help us add to the list of birds seen at this site
Be sure to check out our Safety Tips page for important information regarding viewing wildlife in these areas.
