Most of my experiences in the national parks are all about motion. I’m constantly trying to cover as much ground as possible whether it's hiking a steep path to a mountain top or driving for half a day to get to the next place. So it’s very rare that I go to a park and center my experiences on relaxation. One of these exceptions was a recent visit to Obed Wild & Scenic River. While this trip wasn’t completely relaxing in a physical sense, it was in a mental way.

Obed Wild and Scenic River was established in 1976 in order to preserve the Obed and Emory Rivers. The park is also known for its night sky preservation and is officially labeled as an International Dark Sky Park. My adventure in the park began at the visitor center, which is located in Wartburg, Tennessee. Wartburg is a quaint town, and the visitor center felt of apiece with the town with some older exhibits and a theater set up inside the lobby in order to show the park video. 

Most of my time in the park was spent at Rock Creek Campground, the park’s only frontcountry campground. Despite being a frontcountry campground it still felt as if it was located in the middle of the wilderness. While roads were nearby, there was no cell service and the only way to reach the campground by car was to take a steep dirt road into it. The campground is right on the Emory River, which gives the entire area a relaxing feel. Another factor that added to this is that this is not a popular campground, and there was only one other couple that spent the night there besides me. It was so rejuvenating to be able to disconnect from society for a bit here. My only real connection to the outside world was my Garmin inReach Mini that I mainly carried for emergencies. My evening was spent watching the sky turn from day to night on the river for almost three hours. While this in theory seems like a boring way to spend an evening, I found it to be mentally and emotionally reinvigorating. The only disappointment I had with this was that I was unable to see the Milky Way, which I thought would have been a given considering the park’s dark sky rating. I did see a shooting star though.

The one hike I did at Obed was the Cumberland Trail Emory River Gorge Segment. This was right across from a historic bridge from the campground and was a short but sweet hike at only 2.5 miles long and 300 feet in elevation gain. This may not seem like much, but the hike was surprisingly steep in sections. The trail ends at the confluence of the Emory and Obed Rivers and showcases some great views. There also happens to be train tracks right underneath the cliffside here making for a cool experience as one train went by while I was there.

My time in Obed Wild and Scenic River was a relaxing and rejuvenating adventure that I haven’t experienced in the parks since my trip to Hot Springs National Park. Yet the experiences between these two parks couldn’t be further apart. Hot Springs is a rare urban park whereas Obed is a true wilderness experience.