The 21st Annual Trails & Trilliums, set for April 4–6, 2025, is a weekend-long naturalist rally, put on by the Friends of South Cumberland State Parks. Headquartered at the Beersheba Springs Assembly in Beersheba Springs, Tennessee, the festival offers a slate of guided hikes and walks as well as nature-themed presentations, workshops, and exhibits. A native plant sales tent on Saturday is a highlight.
Early Bird Registration for the Trails & Trilliums Naturalist Rally opened on February 15, giving Friends of the Parks members and TN Naturalist participants/alumni the first shot at signing up for hikes, presentations, and lodging. General registration will open a week later, on February 22. Now is a great time to join or renew your FSC membership! Event details and registration are at trailsandtrilliums.org
Highlights of this year’s events include . . .
- 77 Hikes, Walks, Workshops, Presentations, and Hands-On Nature experiences to choose from–all led by top naturalists such as Randy Hedgepath, Bran Potter, and Mary Priestley.
- Workshops on nature journaling, nature photography, nature writing, wilderness first aid, forest bathing, birding, landscape sketching and painting.
- Hikes, walks, and presentations focusing on salamanders, wildflowers, birds, native plants, mushrooms, local history, trees, geology, mammals, snakes, naturalist tools and skills, and many more topics!
- Hands-On Nature experiences that allow you to touch and explore opossums, snakes, turtles, toads, pelts, skulls, and more!
- Native Plant Sale from Overhill Gardens on Saturday from 10:00-4:00.
- Keynote by Jon Evans, professor of biology at the University of the South, who tells how iNaturalist and other crowdsourcing tools led to a groundbreaking discovery right in our parks on the South Cumberland Plateau.
- Hootenanny and cookout on Friday night with music and good food on the Quad, followed by a Star Program, a Biofluorescence Program, and a Night Hike to Stone Door.
- Wine & Wildflowers on Saturday night at the Big Red Barn in Beersheba Springs, with a social hour, dinner, and music–followed by a Campfire Program and Star Program.
Volunteers are needed from Thursday, April 3rd, through Sunday, April 6th. We are seeking enthusiastic volunteers to help make Trails & Trilliums 2025 a success. Most shifts are 3 hours or less, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the festival. Volunteer shift registration is coming soon!
Volunteer questions? Contact Leslie Watts, lesliewatts.littletomater@gmail.com
Registration questions? Contact Andrea Sanders, sandandrea@gmail.com
Friends of South Cumberland State Parks
Image: FSC