4 hr 45 min
By car from the Public Square, 306 mi
Field Guide 04 · Tennessee State Parks
Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park
Where the Overmountain Men mustered in 1780 before marching to Kings Mountain, at Elizabethton. A recreated Fort Watauga, a museum, the Carter Mansion of about 1775 and the Sabine Hill house.
Carter CountyElizabethtonOpenChecked October 20, 2026
76
Acres*
239,140
Visitors in fiscal 2022
6
Trails listed, 2.4 miles
Day
Day use only
5
Activities the state lists
* Acres: The Sycamore Shoals site; the plan lists the Carter Mansion and Sabine Hill separately.
What's there
Things to do
- Birding
- Fishing
- Hiking
- History
- Kids / Youth Programs
On site
- All-Terrain Wheelchair
- Birding
- Fishing
- Gift Shop
- Museum
- Trails
- Visitor Center
The trails
| Trail | Miles | Difficulty | Surface | Now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butterfly Garden | 0.06 | Moderate | Natural | Open |
| Fort Watauga Connector | — | — | Natural | Open |
| Longhunter Loop Trail | 0.85 | Easy | Natural | Closed |
| Patriots Path | 1.2 | Easy | Paved | Open |
| Sabine Hill Path | — | — | Natural | Open |
| SS Trail | 0.25 | Easy | Natural | Open |
As the park's hiking page lists them on October 20, 2026. Lengths are one way unless the trail is a loop, and some trails share ground, so the total is the sum of the list, not the miles on the ground.
Getting there
1651 W. Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643
Park office: 1-423-543-5808
The park's page at Tennessee State Parks
Campsites, cabins and lodge rooms are booked online through the park's page or by phone at 1-888-867-2757, the state's reservation line.
Nearby
- Roan Mountain State Park15 miles away as the crow flies · 5 hr 15 min from Franklin
- Warriors' Path State Park16 miles away as the crow flies · 4 hr 35 min from Franklin
- David Crockett Birthplace State Park24 miles away as the crow flies · 4 hr 25 min from Franklin
- Rocky Fork State Park27 miles away as the crow flies · 5 hr from Franklin
How we know
Every fact on this page but the summary at the top is the state's, read on the date above, except the drive: that is Valhalla's route on OpenStreetMap's roads from Franklin's Public Square to the park office, with no traffic, rounded to five minutes. Visits are the park plan's count for the year named, mostly from traffic counters. How the guide was made.
- The park. Tennessee State Parks: the Find a Park list, the park's own page, its hiking page, read October 20, 2026.
- Acres. The park's strategic management plan. The Sycamore Shoals site; the plan lists the Carter Mansion and Sabine Hill separately.
- Visitors. The park's strategic management plan, its site fact sheet for fiscal 2022 (July 2021 to June 2022).