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Old Stone Fort State Archeological Park will host a volunteer day from 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 to complete some trail maintenance and upkeep.

Those interested in volunteering are asked to meet at the Chumbley Woods trailhead located off Powers Road to begin work on the Chumbley Woods Trail.

Park Ranger and Volunteer Coordinator Indiana Calloway said volunteers continue to have an important role in the park, which was officially established in 1966.

“The main reason we get volunteers into the park here, and they are especially helpful is they are able to help us complete projects that require more manpower than what the park typically has available at any one time,” Calloway said.

Calloway said volunteer days are typically held during the first Saturday of each month and can involve trail maintenance, park cleanup and invasive plant removal.

“What I typically have people do whenever we have volunteer days is do trail work and cleaning up trails,” he said.

Calloway said it is important for the park’s trails to be both level and sustainable as well as safe for visitors to the park to enjoy.

“If there is an area that is really uneven or stepped in a strange way, I will typically come and either reroute it or at least grade that back so that it will be at a better angle and level for people to walk on and not potentially trip or fall or anything like that,” he said.

A lot has changed regarding trail building since the park first opened to visitors more than 50 years ago, Calloway said.

“A lot of rangers nowadays actually go through a trail builder program,” he said. “They teach you not only how to build trails but how to build trails sustainably and that will heavily reduce how much manpower we have to put in and how much of the effect it will have on the rest of the park.”

Calloway said building new trails in smart ways will also help reduce degrading additional parts of the park’s environment that are not a part of the trail and hopefully reduce individuals building unauthorized social trails.

“Right now, we have a little more than 10 miles of trail, and we are still planning on adding more too,” he said. “We have a new trail that is just about to open as soon as we finish it called the Powerline Trail and then I will actually being adding two more here in the future.”

While the number of volunteers participating in each OSF volunteer day can vary significantly, Calloway said there are typically at least three to five people that volunteer their time to help with a project.

“We get a little busier during the summertime,” Calloway said. “Especially as we move towards winter we will see a little less people, less time they have available.”

All tools, gloves and equipment are provided by the park for volunteers to use during the day.

Those interested in participating in the OSF volunteer day can sign up online at

https://tnstateparks.com/parks/event_details/old-stone-fort/#/?event=volunteer-day-november110423.