• fog flows through Cumberland Gap

    Cumberland Gap

    National Historical Park KY,TN,VA

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  • Increase in camping rates at the Wilderness Road campground

    Effective June 1, 2013, camping rates will increase. Tent sites will increase to $14.00 per night and RV sites with electrical hookup will increase to $20.00 per night. Group camp sites will increase to $35.00 per night.

  • Special Program offered in place of Hensley tour on June 16

    The regularly scheduled Hensley tour will not be offered on June 16 but will be replaced by a special Father's Day program. The road to the Hensley Settlement will be open to visitors and living history demonstrations will be offered. More »

  • Cave Tour Alert!

    White Nose Syndrome is a disease that is killing bats in great numbers and has been found in park caves. While visiting Gap Cave please do not wear or bring anything that has been in other caves. Skylight Cave is currently closed.

  • Civil War Event Cancelled

    Invisible Souls: Behind the Veil of the Civil War, a special event showcasing stories of the Civil War October 4, 5, and 6, 2013 has been cancelled. Please call the park visitor center at (606) 248-2817, extension 1075 for more information.

Plants

Nature and Science

Bog Vegetation

As may be expected, the varied landscapes and elevations of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park provide habitat for a diverse vegetation assemblage. We presently have 855 species of plants identified from earlier surveys. No doubt that number will increase as the Inventory and Monitoring Program’s vegetation work progresses. The various vegetation communities, one researcher has identified 15, are combinations of mixed hardwoods, needle-leaved, and broad-leaved evergreens. Special communities exist in mountain bogs, low elevation wetlands, and on the sheer rocky bluffs extending along most of the eastern side of the Park. While we hope someday to identify all the plant species existing in the Park, we recognize that vegetation assemblage is not static. We have history, and some remaining stumps, to tell us about the devastating chestnut blight. And we are witnessing a transformation in the Virginia pine elements of the forest as they succumb to the southern pine beetle.

Did You Know?

Pioneers cross Cumberland Gap

Between 1775 and 1810 some 300,000 settlers crossed Cumberland Gap and began settling the land west of the Appalachians. These brave pioneers were following dreams of prosperity in the wilderness of Kentucky.