Standing Stone State Forest
Site Directions: Take exit 288 off I-40, (Livingston/Sparta exit) Hwy. 111 N to Livingston. Hwy 52 West to the entrance of the park. Hwy. 136 is the main park road.
Headquarters - Lat: 36.2816°N Long: -85.2456°W
Hours: daylight hours
Seasonality: year-round
Fees: none
Managed by:
Overton County • 8,764 acres
Region III Office (931) 484-9571
Big game, small game, and trapping are the same as statewide seasons except as noted.
Wild hogs may be taken during any deer hunt by legal deer hunters.
Quail - Nov. 5, 2023 - Jan. 15, 2024.
Dog training - Sept. 1, 2023 - March 15, 2024.
Camping - State forest regulations apply or state park-managed campground
Site Description: Standing Stone State Park covers nearly 11,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau of north-central Tennessee. The quaint and rustic park is noted for its outstanding scenery, spring wildflowers, fossils and other natural diversity.
The park is located in Overton County within a triangle formed by highways connecting Livingston, Gainesboro and Celina. In the 1930s, Standing Stone was an area plagued with soil erosion and sub-marginal lands. With the assistance of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Work Projects Administration, the Resettlement Administration and U.S. Forest Service, the area was made productive again.
The park takes its name from the Standing Stone, an eight-foot-tall rock standing upright on a sandstone ledge, which was supposedly used as a boundary line between two separate Indian nations. When the rock fell, the Indians placed a portion of it upon an improvised monument to preserve it. The stone is still preserved in Monterey.
Visitors can go hiking, camping, birding, wild flower watching, and picnicking on site.
Wildlife to Watch: Songbird diversity is high, especially during migration where birders can find Cerulean Warbler, Northern Parula, Baltimore Oriole, and Wood Thrush.
Yellow Warbler, Pine Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, and Hooded Warbler nest at the park.
Deer and Wild Turkey are common. Wild flowers are abundant in spring. Ask park personnel about wildflower tours in spring.
