The Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, Inc., a nonprofit organization, is informally now known as the Friends of the Parks. We are a group of volunteer citizens dedicated to supporting Head of the Crow, Fiery Gizzard, and Savage Gulf State Parks, in the South Cumberland region of Tennessee. Together, at more than 35,000 acres, these three parks represent one of the largest areas of pristine wilderness in the state.

Originally, these three parks were one.  Since its inception in 1978, South Cumberland State Park had grown to encompass more than 35,000 acres across eight tracts in Grundy, Marion, Franklin, and Sequatchie counties. In 2022, the northern-most tract, then known as the Savage Gulf State Natural Area, was split from South Cumberland, and designated Savage Gulf State Park. In 2024, the tract in Franklin County, at the headwaters of Crow Creek, was renamed Head of the Crow State Park, and was officially dedicated in the fall of 2025.  The remaining portion of South Cumberland State Park, in Marion and Grundy counties, was renamed Fiery Gizzard State Park, to reflect its principal geographic feature, also in fall, 2025.

In response to South Cumberland State Park being split into three separate parks, the Board of Directors of the Friends of South Cumberland State Park made the strategic decision to continue to serve and support all three parks, in order to consolidate support across the plateau rather than creating competing entities, and to work with our strategic partners to promote a stronger regional identity for the South Cumberland area.

Our mission, to protect, improve, and expand the state parks of the South Cumberland region, and to educate and inspire others to join us in this work, needs your support.  Join, volunteer, and give to help us continue this important work!