Visit Roan Mountain

Published 12:55 pm Wednesday, March 9, 2022

March 1 – 31

All Month

At Roan Mountain, we house, care for, and educate the public on a variety of native animals. We work under an educational permit from TWRA. Currently, we care for three birds of prey and several snakes! As you can imagine, caring for these animals is costly, as their food and health care are a specialty!

All of our animals are non-releasable for a variety of reasons. We frequently program with these animals and never charge for educational programs when using them. Here is your opportunity to support our educational wildlife program and help us care for these animals!

All donations will go to purchase food, pay vet bills, purchase gloves, tethers, falconry equipment, aquarium bedding, and to improve and build more housing facilities for our non-releasable birds of prey.

To donate click the green “Register for Event” button at the right. Your donation is a one-time payment. If you wish to cover more than one day, update the “quantity” you wish to donate, or simply return to this page in future months.

Thank you for supporting our Wildlife Ambassadors at Roan Mountain State Park!

Farmstead Fridays – 9 a.m. – 12 Noon. Meet at Miller Farmstead. Register for the event. Join Museum Program Assistant Amanda Morgan at the Miller Farmstead to help us ready & maintain the grounds for the 2022 season. No experience is necessary, but volunteers who are experienced with facilities maintenance, farm & gardening work are especially appreciated. Our work may include:

Dress for the weather with sturdy footwear, long pants and work gloves (we’ve got loaners if you need them). Tools will be provided, as well as coffee & light refreshments—so bring your own mug to #GoGreenWithUs.

Fly-Tying For Beginners – 10 a.m. – 12 noon. Meet at Park Headquarters. Price is $15. Register for the event. Learn the basics of fly tying in a hands-on instructional workshop at the Park Office Building from 10 a.m. – noon on Saturday, March 12. Park Ranger Phil Hylen will introduce the basics of fly tying equipment and techniques before guiding the class through the creation of a mountain stream classic fly – The Fuzzy Worm! After making flys, the class will take a brief trip to the Doe River to learn how to identify aquatic insects to choose as your fly mimics. This class is limited to six individuals at a cost of $15 per person to cover materials. All tools and fly tying materials will be provided. Meet Ranger Phil at the Park Headquarters to begin.

Spring Hike at Roan Mountain – 10 a.m. – Register for the event. Price is $0/Attendee Free, $10/Attendee (Not Attending) + Donation, $10/Attendee + Donation, $20/Attendee (Not Attending) + Donation, $20/Attendee + Donation. It’s once again time for our spring hike at Roan Mountain! Join Ranger Holland for our annual spring hike at the park. This year’s hike will be on the Blue Two trail and will be a moderate woodland two mile hike. Participants should dress for weather conditions and bring a water source for the hike. This hike is free but requires registration prior to the program. Park donations may be made at the time of registration. Meet at the Blue Two trailhead. Additional parking is available at the Shed One and Two parking areas.

Peg Leg Mine GeoVenture – 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. – Meet at Visitor Center Porch. Price is $10 and register for the event. Join us on Sunday, March 20, from 2-4 p.m. at the Visitor Center porch to explore the iron mining history of Roan Mountain while exploring the old Peg Leg Mine on a 0.5 mile hike led by Park Ranger Phil Hylen. Guests will see what makes Roan Mountain so attractive to explorers across the world while earning your very own ore and geodes to break open. This program is limited to 10 individuals with a registration cost of $10 per person. Guests are encouraged to wear good hiking shoes and dress for cold and possible wet weather.

Leave No Trace: Minimum Impact MasterChef, Donut Edition – 2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Meet at  Camper-Check-in. Price is $2 and register for the event. Join Ranger O’Day for a family-friendly Leave No Trace (LNT) skills workshop. We’ll make an easy dutch oven dish (biscuit donuts) as we consider ways we can apply LNT principles while enjoying food in the outdoors.

Dress for the weather with closed-toe shoes. Minors should be accompanied by parent or guardian.

Leave No Trace is a program of tools and skills that help us make minimum-impact choices while recreating outdoors. Whether you are a backpacker, a day-hiker, or just walking your dog through the park, the 7 principles are a resource to help you take care of the outdoors we all love.

This activity is an introductory program (#1) to our Leave No Trace series. Participants who attend all 8 programs in the series can earn a special Roan Mountain State Park Leave No Trace recognition patch! Programs are offered multiple times a year on a regular basis and do not need to be attended in order.

*To schedule Leave No Trace awareness programs for organized groups, contact Park Ranger Marcianne O’Day at 423-547-3913 or email at Marcianne.ODay@tn.gov.

Dendrology Detective Scavenger Hunt – 2 – 3 p.m.  Meet at Camper-Check-In. Register for the event. Join Ranger O’Day for a closer look at the beautiful trees of the Roan Mountain State Park campground! In this family-friendly program, we’ll discuss the twig, bark and leaf characteristics that help us identify tree species and use those clues to complete a scavenger hunt! All finishers will be awarded a handy dandy Leave No Trace reference card!

Dress for the weather with sturdy shoes. We’ll start with a bit of talking at camper check-in, and then you’ll be free to complete the scavenger hunt at your own pace.

This workshop is aimed at true beginners, and anyone looking to brush up on the basics (or get a handy dandy Leave No Trace reference card). Families are welcome, and children under 15 must be supervised.

Wild Edibles Woodland Stroll – 2 p.m. Price is $5/Children  12 and under. $8 per person. Register for the event.  Join Ranger Holland for a woodland stroll as we learn about wild edibles in the forest.  This program involves light to moderate hiking and will be an interactive learning experience.

Program cost is eight dollars per person.

We will meet at the park headquarters prior to going to the program area.

Firecraft Wilderness Survival/Bushcraft Skill – 2 p.m. – Price is $5 Children 12 and under, $8 per person. Register for the event.  Join Ranger James Holland to learn various methods of lighting a fire without matches.  Instruction will include using a ferro rod, fire from batteries, traditional flint and steel, burning lens, fire piston.

. Program cost is eight dollars per person  requires registration due to limited group size.  Children 12 and under five dollars. Meet at Park Headquarters prior to going to the program area.

Garlic Mustard Pull Day – 9:30 a.m – 2 p.m. Meet at Park Conference Center. Register for event. Roan Mountain State Park is partnering with the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy. Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Cherokee National Forest to remove invasive garlic mustard from the park and heavily trafficked highways around Carver’s Gap and SAHC conservation properties in the Highlands of Roan. Plucking out the pesky invaders when they’re young and tender isn’t hard work, but it does take a lot of hands!  Event limited to 20 individuals, so sign up today using the link on this page.

Location: Meet at the Conference Center Parking Lot – Roan Mountain State Park in Roan Mountain, TN

Schedule:

9:30 to 9:45 – Introduction, safety talk, etc. Volunteers will be briefed, divided into groups, and dispersed across the Park and along public roadsides to pull garlic mustard. There will need to be some shuttling and driving of personal vehicles to make this happen.

9:45 am-1:00 pm – Pulling and bagging up garlic mustard!

1:00 – 2:00 – Lunch at the Conference Center and our official “weigh in”

More Info:

Food/Drinks: Please bring your own snacks, lunch and bottled water. Lunch is not provided. Water and light snacks are available from the Conference Center vending machines.

Equipment/Precautions: Work gloves and trash bags will be provided. Feel free to bring personal gloves or a trowel. Pulling garlic mustard is usually easy, but a trowel can be helpful for compacted roadside soil and stubborn roots.

• You will need a hat and/or sunscreen, long pants, sturdy shoes, lunch, water, a warm layer for high elevation hiking, and rain gear. If you are allergic to poison ivy, consider wearing long sleeves and pants as a precaution.

• It may be difficult to return to your car while we are working, so you may want a bag to keep your items with you throughout the day.

• Some work sites are very steep. Please let me know before the workday if you prefer to work on flatter terrain or have medical conditions. First aid kits will be on site.

Contact info: For more info or questions, contact Park Ranger Philip Hylen at Philip.Hylen@tn.gov or (423)547-3947.

What is Garlic Mustard?

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an invasive, non-native plant, which has infested many parts of the Southern Appalachian region. Because it has few natural enemies in North America, it is capable of out-competing native plants by depriving them of sunlight, moisture and space. Garlic mustard is a biennial plant, meaning it has a two year life cycle. In its first year, it develops kidney-shaped leaves that grow close to the ground in what is called a basal rosette; the leaves smell like garlic when crushed. In their second year, the plants rapidly grow upward and develop small white flowers. The flowers are soon replaced by slender seed pods, which are capable of spreading hundreds of seeds once mature. Garlic mustard is a hardy plant. If you pull the plant and leave it on the ground, it may re-root or have enough energy stored in its taproot to produce viable seed after being pulled. Most compost piles aren’t maintained in a way that gets hot enough to kill the seed, which means you could end up spreading garlic mustard with your compost (The Stewardship Network). Removing garlic mustard from thoroughfares such as Roan Mountain State Park and public roadsides is crucial to controlling the establishment and spread of this invasive species in our area.

Spring Rock Climbing Workshop – 7 p.m. – 3 p.m. – Price is $60. Register for the event. Meet at Cumberland Mountain State Park Recreation Lodge. ***NOTE*** THIS PROGRAM IS BASED OUT OF CUMBERLAND MOUNTAIN STATE PARK, CROSSVILLE, TN. ALL TIMES ARE CENTRAL TIME. 

Event Description:

— Friday we will start with a meet and greet at the Rec Lodge around 7 p.m. CST. We will cover outdoor climbing basics, including knot tying and belay technique.

— Saturday we will meet at the Rec Lodge parking lot at 8:30 a.m. CST to carpool to the Black Mountain climbing area. Once we get to Black Mountain, there is a short hike to the climbing location from the trailhead (1/2 mile). A number of top rope climbs and a 40 foot rappel will be set up for the day. Climbs range in difficulty from beginner to intermediate/advanced.

— Sunday morning we will meet back at the Rec Lodge parking lot at 8:30 a.m. CST to carpool to the Black Mountain for another day of climbing. The day ends around 3 p.m. CST, but you are free to leave earlier as needed (please let one of the staff know if you plan to leave early).

**The Black Mountain Climbing area does not have restroom facilities, please be prepared for each day. We will be practicing Leave No Trace.

Age restrictions: 18 Years of Age and Older

Price: $60 – instruction and gear for the weekend

Accommodations for Cumberland Mountain State Park: Camping/Cabin reservations – make them online at https://tnstateparks.com/parks/cumberland-mountain

Please make your camping/cabin reservations ahead of time.

Food will not be provided during the course of this workshop. Pack your breakfast, lunch, and snacks for each day. For dinner, we encourage you to bring your own or plan to eat at the Homestead Harvest Restaurant on the park.

Cancellation Deadline/Refund Policy:

Participants may cancel no later than Wednesday, April 27, at 5 p.m. with a 50% refund. After April 27, 5 p.m., there will be no refunds for participant cancellation.

Weather Cancellation Policy: There is no alternate date. In the event of a weather related cancellation April 28 or prior we will offer a full refund. In the event of a weather related cancellation April 29 or later, we will consider refunds on a case-by-case basis.