Why this park
Head of the Crow covers 4,258 acres of Franklin County south of Sewanee, by the park's own count, where the edge of the Cumberland Plateau breaks into coves, caves and sinkholes. Its name marks the place where Crow Creek begins.
What makes the place worth drawing is how the creek begins. Lost Creek runs into Lost Cove, which the state's natural areas program calls, in effect, a giant sinkhole, and at the Big Sinks it drops out of sight. It flows underground for more than a mile and comes back into daylight as Crow Creek, out of the mouth of Buggytop Cave, which the state measures at 100 feet wide and 80 high. On the rim above the cove stands the Sewanee Natural Bridge, a sandstone arch 25 feet high and 50 feet across.
The story
The state's natural areas pages say many Woodland and Mississippian artifacts have been dug from the cave and are on display at Sewanee's University of the South, which once owned the arch, hence its common name. In Sherwood Forest, the state said in 2017, caves hold prehistoric pictographs from AD 966. The arch became a state natural area in 1973, and the land around the cave in 1975, given to the state by Harry Lee Carter and his wife.
Buggytop was closed to the public on July 1, 2009, two Sewanee biologists reported, out of fear of white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that can devastate hibernating bats. The Friends of the Parks say it has been found in bats wintering there, and that the cave's long closed season protects its rare bats and salamanders. The biologists counted ten cave-only species known there, among them the Tennessee cave salamander.
In 2008 a $4.3 million drive led by The Land Trust for Tennessee paid for about 3,000 acres in Lost and Champion Coves, sold by a timber company. The university, which helped finish the drive, owns that land under a conservation easement; it adjoins the park but is not part of it. In 2016 The Conservation Fund bought 3,893 acres above Sherwood from a mining company, which kept the right to mine limestone beneath it for 50 years and gave 168 more acres for painted snake-coiled forest snails, which, the Times Free Press reported, live only in Franklin County. The state took the land that November, and about 3,000 acres became Sherwood Forest State Natural Area. A fourth natural area, Hawkins Cove, came from The Nature Conservancy, the Friends say, to protect the Cumberland rosinweed.
All four belonged to South Cumberland State Park, which grew past 30,000 acres and has since been split into Savage Gulf, Fiery Gizzard and Head of the Crow. The state dedicated Head of the Crow on October 21, 2025, with Franklin County leaders and the university. TennGreen Land Conservancy says it and two other groups added 479 acres in 2025 and about 550 more in 2026.
When to go, and what to wear
NOAA's nearest station with 1991–2020 normals is at Sewanee, near the park office and some 1,930 feet up. The park's page counts more than a thousand feet of elevation change, and the Buggytop Trail, the Friends say, drops about 620 feet to the cave, a hard climb back.
April averages a high near 67°F and a low near 48°F and is the wettest month, with about 6.4 inches; December is nearly as wet. It is wildflower time, the trails are steep and rocky, and the cave hike is often wet, so wear boots with grip and pack a rain shell.
Summer is cave season. July averages a high near 84°F and a low near 66°F, but the Friends say the cave breathes out cold air in summer, felt nearly half a mile down the creek, so pack a long-sleeve layer. Cavers need helmets, headlamps and spare batteries. Carry plenty of water, and wear long pants and repellent, since ticks are common.
October is the driest month, with about 4.2 inches, highs near 68°F and lows near 50°F. Hunting is allowed in marked areas, Sherwood Forest among them, under statewide seasons: deer from late September into early January, and spring turkey from April 3 to May 16 in 2027. The park advises bright colors then.
January averages a high near 45°F and a low near 29°F, and the cave is closed. The Natural Bridge is a short walk, and the mostly level Sherwood Day Loop looks out over the Crow Creek Valley. Wear a warm jacket, a hat and gloves.
Know before you go
- Buggytop Cave is open only from May 1 to August 31, and the park manager may close it at any time. Each caver needs a free permit, registered at least three days ahead; the park issues 40 a day, limits groups to 20, and requires cavers to go with others and be out by sunset.
- The office is at 17 Lake O'Donnell Road in Sewanee, but Buggytop, the Natural Bridge and the Sherwood Day Loop each starts from its own trailhead, listed on the park's page.
- Hunters need a free park permit and a TWRA license and may not hunt within 100 yards of a road, trail or building. Some trails cross huntable land.
- Hours, fees and closures change, so check Head of the Crow State Park's page before you go.
Sources: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, news releases of October 21, 2025, and November 1, 2017 (via Chattanoogan.com), and Division of Natural Areas, "Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lee Carter" and "Natural Bridge"; The Land Trust for Tennessee, "Lost Cove – Sewanee, TN"; Open Space Institute, news releases of November 10, 2016, and November 1, 2017; Ben Benton, "Agreement protects more than 4,000 acres of Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau," Chattanooga Times Free Press (November 23, 2016); TennGreen Land Conservancy, "Head of the Crow State Park"; Friends of the Parks, "Head of the Crow State Park" and "Buggytop Cave and Peter Cave"; Katherine R. Wakefield and Kirk S. Zigler, "Obligate subterranean fauna of Carter State Natural Area, Franklin County, Tennessee," Speleobiology Notes 4 (2012); Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, 2026–27 hunting guide, "Deer Seasons and Bag Limits" and "Turkey Seasons and Bag Limits"; Fiery Gizzard State Park, tnstateparks.com; NOAA, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, Sewanee station; Head of the Crow State Park, tnstateparks.com.
