Port Royal State Historic Park
The site of a vanished 1797 river town, the Trail of Tears crossing, and a beautifully rebuilt covered bridge.
Reconstructed 1904 covered bridge over the Red River at Port Royal State Historic Park
What to expect at Port Royal State Historic Park
Port Royal was once the second-largest town in Montgomery County — a river-crossing settlement founded in 1797 where the Red River meets Sulphur Fork Creek, with warehouses, a post office, a hotel and dozens of houses. Nothing of the town survives above ground. What does survive is one of the most important Trail of Tears crossing sites in Tennessee — thousands of Cherokee people were forced across the Red River here in the winter of 1838-39 — and a reconstructed 1904 covered bridge that is worth the drive on its own.
The park is small — 26 acres — but dense. The covered bridge sits in the middle of it, spanning the Red River in its original location; you can walk across it on foot. Interpretive signs mark the town site, the Trail of Tears route and the old ferry crossing. A short river-walk loop leads through bottomland woods where sycamores and river birch line the water. The visitor contact station has a small exhibit about the town and the removal, and the ranger is worth 15 minutes of your time.
Combine with Bell Witch Cave in Adams (10 minutes east) and the Red River Greenway for a full history-and-nature day. The park is quietest on weekday mornings; Sunday afternoons can be busy with families having picnics. Bring lunch — there are picnic tables under the sycamores by the bridge and no concessions. Wheelchair access to the bridge and main viewing area is good; the river-walk is not fully accessible.
Questions about Port Royal State Historic Park
Nothing — Tennessee state historic parks are free.
Always. There is no admission at any time.
Two to three hours including the bridge, town-site loop and a picnic.
The grounds are open daily; the visitor contact station is closed Monday-Tuesday.
No booking for individuals. Groups can request a ranger talk in advance.
Free parking on-site off Port Royal Road, about 25 minutes northwest of Springfield.
Hotels near Port Royal State Historic Park
Every hotel we cover in Adams
- Quality Inn & Suites Joelton Nashville 2★ · 4.7/5 · 9752 km away
- Hampton Inn Pleasant View TN 2★ · 4.6/5 · 9752 km away
- Hampton Inn by Hilton Springfield 2★ · 4.4/5 · 9752 km away
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nashville North Springfield by IHG 2★ · 4.4/5 · 9752 km away
- Quality Inn Pleasant View 2★ · 3.9/5 · 9752 km away
- Quality Inn White House 2★ · 3.7/5 · 9752 km away
- Springfield Inn TN 2★ · 3.2/5 · 9752 km away
- Charming Springfield Escape with Furnished Deck 3★ · 9752 km away
- Family friendly Home w Yard: 27 Mi to Nashville 3★ · 9752 km away
- Comfort Inn White House 2★ · 9752 km away
- Hampton Inn White House 2★ · 9752 km away
- Holiday Inn Express White House by IHG 2★ · 9752 km away
- Motel 6 White House TN 2★ · 9752 km away
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