Montgomery Bell — Iron Ore Pits & Cedar Forest Trails

The Ore Pit Trail is Montgomery Bell's signature historical hike, tracing the routes of the early Tennessee iron industry through a series of open-cut mining pits that date to the late 1700s. Montgomery Bell — the industrialist who gave the park its name — operated the Cumberland Ironworks here beginning in 1804, producing bar iron and later converting to a slitting mill. The iron ore was smelted using charcoal cut from the surrounding cedar forests, which were systematically harvested and allowed to regenerate across the park's 3,850 acres. The pits themselves are now grass-floored depressions ranging from 20 to 80 feet across, surrounded by native woodland that has regrown over two centuries. Interpretive signs along the trail explain the full arc of Tennessee's iron industry from colonial furnaces to the Civil War, when Montgomery Bell's facilities supplied materiel for both sides at different points.

Tucked in a sheltered hollow off the main trail network, Hall Spring is a modest but picturesque cascade dropping about 20 feet over a mossy limestone ledge into a small pool shaded by mature hemlocks and tulip poplars. The spring has flowed continuously since the ironworks era and marks one of several natural springs that made this landscape valuable to early industry. The short spur trail to the falls from the main Wildcat Trail is easy and well-marked, and the pool area is a pleasant picnic spot with natural shade.

The park's 35-acre Acorn Lake is the focal point for afternoon water activities, with pedal boats, canoes, and rowboats available for rent from the park marina from spring through fall. The lake sits in a hollow surrounded by cedar ridges and is fed by several of the park's historic springs — in late afternoon, great blue herons and wood ducks are commonly seen along the wooded shoreline. A pleasant 1.5-mile walking path circles the lake for those who prefer dry feet.

The Wildcat Trail loops through one of the park's finest cedar glade and mixed hardwood forest sections, climbing a modest ridge for views across the park's rolling terrain before descending through a cedar grove to the lake. Tennessee cedar glades — rare limestone barrens with their distinctive plant communities — are best appreciated in spring when the endemic wildflowers bloom, but the textured bark and blue-green foliage of eastern red cedars make the trail visually interesting year-round. The full loop is approximately 4 miles with minimal elevation change.