Cordell Hull Lake is expanding its recreational and educational offerings with the opening of three new storybook trails and a new courtesy dock at Veterans Park.
Cordell Hull Lake Representative Kenny Claywell said the storybook trail project was completed through a partnership involving the Friends of Cordell Hull Lake, the Governor’s Early Literacy Foundation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Claywell said the trails are located at the Periwinkle Trail near Wildwood Resort and Marina, Roaring River Park in Gainesboro and the Defeated Creek Recreation Area.
“There’s just so much creativity, so many things to see outside in nature that you’re not going to see in a classroom, you know, just as you’re walking a trail, there’s honeybees, birds, deer,” Claywell said. “We’ve got all kinds of different wildlife at the different areas that kids can see that otherwise, if they’re not outdoors, they may never experience.”
Claywell said a ribbon cutting for the third trail at Defeated Creek is scheduled for Saturday at 10am. Claywell said the trails feature nature-based stories that include physical activities to keep children moving as they read.
“By having all these storybook trails, we’ve actually brought those two Imagination Libraries together, and they’ve been able to share ideas and share fundraising ideas to help increase each one of them’s program and make it better,” Claywell said.
Claywell said the initiative aims to connect literacy with the outdoors to potentially inspire future careers in conservation or park service.
“Kids are reading, kids are outside in nature, and they’re as they walk the trail, the storybook trail actually takes pages from a story, a nature-based story, and includes activities with it to get the kids moving, like fly like a butterfly, hop like a frog, just different activities that are tied to the book,” Claywell said. “So the kids are moving, they’re having fun, they’re enjoying the outdoors, and they’re also reading at the same time.”
Claywell said the collaboration between local organizations and state foundations was the primary driver behind the success of the trails.
“I think the key is, hopefully getting the kids outdoors and having fun and enjoying the environment and also enjoying a good story,” Claywell said.
Claywell said a new courtesy and fishing dock has also been installed at Veterans Park in Granville through a partnership with Jackson County and the Tennessee Department of Tourism.
“As part of the Friends group and the Corps, we just want to support the communities around the lake, and then we want the communities to help support us,” Claywell said. “With these improvements, hopefully the community will see the improvements and then they can also donate to the Friends of Cordell Hull Lake.”
The Periwinkle Trail section opened in September 2023, while the Roaring River Park trail was dedicated in March.