Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
Named for a local family who supplied park workers with fresh spring water.
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Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area Details
This pretty riverside picnic area has picnic tables, grills and restrooms, and short trails lead to the 19th century Little Greenbrier School and the Walkers sisters' cabin. The picnic area was named for a local family who supplied park workers with fresh spring water. Some students traveled as far as nine miles a day to attend the school, which operated from 1882 to 1936. The school also houses services for the Primitive Baptist Church. You can still see the original school desks, benches, lectern, and painted blackboard. The six Walkers sister lived in the small, self-sufficient homestead here and were some of the last holdouts against the national park. They finally sold their land in 1941 but were allowed to live out their years in the house, which they did while selling souvenirs to tourists.
Difficulty
Low
Distance
N/A
Estimated time
Region
Little River/Laurel Creek
Nearby Parks Around Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
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0.0 mi away
Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area
165 sites, pavilion available, open year-round
0.6 mi away
Little Greenbrier
Once known simply as "Greenbrier," but the "Little" was added to its name to distinguish it from the larger Greenbrier.
1.0 mi away
The Sinks
Legend has it that a lumber train once derailed and fell into the deep waters here.
1.5 mi away
Walker Sisters Place
The surviving structures-which include the cabin, springhouse, and corn crib-were once part of a farm.
