The Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park, commonly known as the Cumberland Trail, is a Tennessee hiking trail following a line of ridges and gorges along the eastern escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau and Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. The trail begins at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park and ends at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area just outside Chattanooga, Tennessee. The trail travels through 11 Tennessee counties and two time zones. History The Cumberland Trail became Tennessee's 53rd state park in 1998 and the state's only linear park. The park is named for Justin P. Wilson in honor of his work to help make the vision of the Cumberland Trail a reality. Wilson served as the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in 1996 and deputy governor for policy for former Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist. he is Comptroller of the State of Tennessee, an attorney, longtime Republican Party and conservation activist who donated a considerable portion of the land involved. The Trail When completed, the Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park is to contain a core corridor of trail stretching from Cumberland Gap National Historical Park to the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park and Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area. The Cumberland Trail is designed for hikers by hikers as a sustainable single file back country hiking trail, part of the Great Eastern Trail, through more remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains. An alternative to the relatively crowded Appalachian Trail. it gives hikers access to areas preserved for their natural or scenic beauty that cannot be otherwise accessed, providing a wilderness experience rare in the eastern US. The rugged trail follows numerous sparsely populated ridge lines where the trail designers have strategically routed the trail to spectacular overlooks and scarce drinking water sources. The trail dips into gorges where hikers can find waterfalls and swimming holes. It is designed and built to minimize the potential environmental impact on sensitive wildlife habitat, unique aquatic or terrestrial habitats, or endangered and threatened species. Route Still a work-in-progress, as of November 2016, 210 mi (340 km) of trail are ready for hiking and over 300 mi (483 km) of trails are planned. Segments include: the Cumberland Mountain segment above La Follette and Jacksboro and in the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park; the Smoky Mountain segment in Campbell County; the Frozen Head segment