Trail Overview
This well-maintained gravel road, mixed with sand, winds through the outskirts of the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Along this route, you'll pass through a site where a tornado struck in 2012. In the aftermath, the area was designated for a range of early plant succession management efforts. Spanning 2,000 acres, this tract is being developed to support the restoration of shortleaf pine forests, grassland savannas, and oak woodlands, while also providing supplemental forage for wildlife. In this restoration project, fire-tolerant and wildlife-friendly tree species will be prioritized, particularly shortleaf pine, white oak, and post oak. The goal is to create diverse habitats that offer escape cover, nesting sites, brood cover, and foraging opportunities for both game and non-game species. In doing so, the project aims to restore and enhance historic ecosystems. This road provides access directly through the project area, offering a unique opportunity to observe the wildlife that inhabits these newly restored habitats. The road eventually transitions to dirt and dead-ends in the woods, providing a peaceful retreat into nature.
History
According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Catoosa WMA's history reflects the Cumberland Plateau's shift from natural habitats to industrial exploitation and back to conservation, with its origins as ancestral hunting grounds, later becoming a center for logging and coal mining. Following devastation by a 1929 flood and subsequent economic decline, the state began acquiring the land in the 1940s to establish the area as a wildlife and state forest. Today, the approximately 82,000-acre area is managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to restore ecosystems like oak savannas and protect native wildlife, which is a return to its ecological roots before human intervention
