LINDEN, Tenn. — Tennessee now has 69 state parks. State conservation officials dedicated Buffalo River State Park on Friday, adding 448 acres of pasture and wooded hills in Wayne County, close to the Perry County line, to the system.
The site holds more than two miles of riverbank and the biggest horseshoe bend anywhere along the Buffalo. The current state budget sets aside $34 million to build a visitor center, a campground, a maintenance building, roads, river access points and other facilities.
The Buffalo is the longest river in Middle Tennessee without a dam, and it feeds the Tennessee River system through the Duck River. Biologists have documented 48 rare plant and animal species in the area. The state labeled it a Class II Pastoral River in 1968, which has kept it a free-flowing blueway.
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers said in the announcement that the park will give residents and visitors better access to the river while protecting a high-value corridor and keeping traditional outdoor recreation alive in rural Tennessee. Money to buy the land came from the Tennessee State Parks Conservancy along with the state Heritage Conservation Trust Fund.
Do not pack the car yet. The park is not open to the public while crews build trails and facilities, and guided tours and special events will be posted on the state parks website in the meantime. A large gravel beach near the tip of the bend is planned for wading, swimming and fishing, with views of the rock bluffs across the water. Until in-park river access is ready, local outfitters run float trips that pass the property.
Once fully open, the park is expected to offer paddling, fishing, hiking, camping and wildlife watching, and state officials expect it to draw tourism dollars to Wayne and Perry counties. It is one of 14 new state parks created under Gov. Bill Lee, the most by any single administration in Tennessee history.
