Hike Tishomingo State Park

Saturday, March 20,2021

Nice 3-mile hike through the park. Our northeast travels along the Natchez Trace has been flat, sandy with many creeks, swamps and and bogs. Of course there has been a lot of rain in this area. Many trees are down, and the crews have been working very hard to clear the road. Mostly it is a straight road. 

In the last 60 miles the Trace started winding, and there were hills, turning to rolling hills. As we entered the park, huge boulders lined the left side of the road with a beautiful creek running along a rock bottom, like a beautiful trout stream. Within 200 yards, it became sand, flowing into a big man-made lake.

We walked the trail starting at the guard gate. It crosses the creek and follows this big rock outcropping. This is the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains. According to the website, https://www.mdwfp.com/parks-destinations/state-parks/tishomingo, Paleo Indians were here in 7,000 BC! Also called Clovis Indians, they are believed to be the first to enter America at the end of the ice age. 

The park has it all – a big lake; Bear Creek that flows 6.25 miles through the park and is floatable; a very pretty lodge; cabins for rent; a swimming pool; swinging bridge and a very cool frisbee golf course. Because it has it all, it could use a money injection and a lot of maintenance. Still, it is a very cool park.

After lunch we did the unusual, read books and relaxed. At 6:00, we watched the UVA basketball team get beaten by a very good Ohio team, who just wanted it more. 

We couldn’t figure out what is going on around camp. In the afternoon, everyone was gone. Maybe there was some event nearby. Others left in their campers, unusual for a Saturday, but it was chilly in the morning at 46 degrees, and the lake was muddy. In the middle of our hike, the sun came out, and we started shedding layers. It turned out to be a perfect afternoon.

One of the things I love about campgrounds is watching and listening to the kids playing. Laughter, giggling and screams of joy make you smile. It’s a rare place today where you can just turn the kids loose, and that’s what happens here. Two boys must have biked around the camp loop 40 times, doing wheel stands and tricks with their bikes with their hats on backwards.

A brother and sister reminded us of Josh and Melissa, playing games together. Girls walked around talking and telling stories. Some families sat around campfires, cooking hot dogs and other things. It is perfect weather for a fire. When we first came in this campground, that had recently gotten a gully washer storm, it wasn’t too appealing. It was messy and very crowded. But after a couple of days of getting to know the place, I like it.