Tucked away in the rugged uplands of northeastern Tennessee, Scott State Forest occupies a truly unusual place on the map. At roughly 2,800 acres spread across Scott and Fentress Counties, it is completely encircled by the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (NRRA), making it the only state forest in Tennessee’s system with no interior holdings, cemeteries, or natural areas of its own — just a solid block of publicly managed woodland surrounded entirely by federal parkland.

A Legacy of the Great Depression

The forest’s origins trace back to 1938, when the majority of the land was acquired by the State of Tennessee at a tax delinquent sale. This was an era when cash-strapped landowners across Appalachia often forfeited property for unpaid taxes, and the state stepped in to convert marginal, cutover timberland into managed public forest. Decades later, when Congress established the Big South Fork NRRA in 1974 to protect the Cumberland River gorge and its tributaries, Scott State Forest found itself entirely swallowed up by the new federal boundary — a state-owned island inside a national park.

Research and Working Forest

Unlike many recreation-focused state forests, Scott State Forest still functions in part as a working research forest. The Tennessee Division of Forestry uses portions of the land for tree improvement studies, testing superior genetic strains of various hardwood species. Most of the forest consists of sawtimber-sized hardwood stands, many nearing rotation age, while pockets of eastern white pine — once a signature species here — have been thinned in recent years by the southern pine beetle.

Trails, Wildlife, and Wide-Open Backcountry

For visitors, the forest’s real draw is its quiet, undeveloped character. Multi-use trails wind along old logging roads and ridgelines, open to hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians alike. The Leatherwood Overlook Trail, a 5.5-mile easy route, leads through hardwood forest thick with wildflowers and fungi to a sweeping vista over the Big South Fork country. Those wanting a longer trek can tackle the 8.8-mile Collier Ridge Trail, a moderately rated path favored for wildlife sightings. The forest also borders the Big South Fork Cumberland River to the east, where the famed John Muir Trail traces the river corridor.

Hunting is permitted in season, and a firewood collection area along Ridge Road in the northeastern part of the forest is open to the public with a free permit from the local Division of Forestry office.

Part of a Larger Wilderness

Because it sits entirely inside the Big South Fork NRRA, a visit to Scott State Forest is really a visit to two landscapes at once. The surrounding national recreation area is one of the largest National Park Service units east of the Mississippi, known for dramatic sandstone bluffs, natural arches, rock houses, waterfalls, and some of the best whitewater and horseback riding trails in the Southeast. Scott State Forest, quieter and less trafficked, offers a complementary experience: a working forest where timber science and old-growth character sit side by side, tucked deep inside one of Tennessee’s wildest corners.