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Almost hidden from sight, a scenic jewel in Townsend is being polished and refined by caring volunteers just in time for the 75th anniversary celebration of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Members of the Townsend-based Tuckaleechee Garden Club are busily working on the Townsend River Walk, a short walking trail established in 2004 along Little River on East Lamar Alexander Parkway near Nawger Nob.

The volunteers have planted more than 750 daffodil bulbs to beautify the entrance — in recognition of the 75th anniversary — and they maintain the quarter-mile trail, remove trash and are in the process of having the trail designated as an arboretum. Posts containing informational tree signs are now being installed.

“This is the first step to having it certified as a Tennessee Arboretum,” said Elaine Russell, vice president of Tuckaleechee Garden Club and assistant garden club chairman for the River Walk. “It has been a long time in coming to this point, but we have a long way yet to go. The process to be certified as an arboretum in Tennessee has very strict guidelines.”

Uncommon specimen

Russell’s husband, Bob, is the garden club chairman for the River Walk. He and Elaine have been working with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture in meeting the guidelines for establishing the arboretum.

“Bob made the sign posts, and I made the tree identification labels for each one,” Elaine Russell said.

The labels will be placed on each sign post under protective Plexiglas. Thus far, 28 trees have been identified, with 30 different trees having to be marked and approved in order for the River Walk to qualify as a Tennessee Arboretum.

“We are especially proud of one tree on the trail, a butternut Juglans cinerea,” Russell said. “The butternut is most frequently found in coves, on slopes and on terraces. However, it is not a common tree in any area.” She said the tree is also known as a white walnut.

Changing with seasons

Club members hold monthly work days devoted to trail maintenance. They enjoy seeing the changes each season brings to what Russell calls “Townsend’s best ‘hidden’ secret.”

A variety of native wildflowers bloom along the River Walk. For example, club member Francy Cash recently discovered one of spring’s early flowers, toothwort, or dentaria, abloom several paces off the trail. Jack-in-the-pulpit can also be found in late spring and early summer.

“Every season the trail looks different,” Cash said, with Russell adding, “Every season there are different wildflowers.”

The walk is not difficult and is “somewhat handicap-accessible,” Russell said. She believes young families could push a baby stroller fairly easily along the trail.
Grant money promised

In 2008, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen announced that a Tennessee Roadscapes Grant in the amount of $8,893 would be provided for improvements to the River Walk, which is a collaboration between the city of Townsend and Tuckaleechee Garden Club.

Barbara Spence, president of Tuckaleechee Garden Club, Charlotte Miller and Florence Byrd were responsible for putting together the information for the grant application. Charles Tippett, Townsend city commissioner, was instrumental in obtaining the grant and the city of Townsend will be the fiscal agent for the grant.

Earlier this year, the club was notified that the distribution of funds was being postponed due to state budget concerns.

“We are still waiting on money from the grant we have been promised from TDOT (Tennessee Department of Transportation) to terrace one end of the trail,” Russell said. “The process is so slow. The trail is on TDOT property and adjoins the Townsend Bicycle Trail. The money is to be used mainly for terracing the steeper end of the trail.”

The grant will also pay for removal of invasive plants along the trail and the replacement of these plants with native trees and shrubs. Russell hopes the funds will be released by fall.

‘Open trail’

Russell said that, with or without the grant money, River Walk has been selected as an official participant in the GSMNP’s 75th Anniversary Celebration and the club is going forward with its plans to hold an “open trail” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 23, Memorial Day Weekend and again on Sept. 5, Labor Day Weekend. An official ambassador from Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be present at the trail on both days. Visitors to the trail on those days will be greeted by Tuckaleechee Garden Club members and served complimentary trail mix and water.

Tuckaleechee Garden Club is composed predominantly of women but is open to men, as well. For information, call 980-6346 or visit www.gardencentral.org/tenngardenclubs/tuckaleechee.