The fence is coming down in the Old Forest next week.
If you’ve walked Overton Park’s trails since the 1980s, you’ve seen the fence. The tall row of chainlink has closed off 17 mostly forested acres of the park’s pristine woodland, visible just to the left as visitors walk through the gate to the Old Forest from the Rainbow Lake area.
The barrier will come down Thursday, November 13th with a ceremonial “first cut,” attended by state, local, and park leaders. That ceremony will offer park-goers a first glimpse of a new, half-mile loop at 11 a.m.
“We are so excited to welcome the community onto this new trail,” said Kaci Murley, executive director of Overton Park Conservancy (OPC). “Memphis is one of only a few American cities that has an old-growth forest right in the center of town, and this trail will allow an even deeper experience of this priceless ecosystem.”
The 17-acre tract now behind the fence was added to the Memphis Zoo’s managed area by the Memphis City Council in a 1988 master plan. The zoo got 33 total acres in that vote. It used the other 16 acres for its exhibits, such as Teton Trek.
“Big things are happening behind the fence,” OPC said in a June Facebook post. “For the last couple of weeks, we’ve had crews on site creating a new trail in the fenced section of the Old Forest!
“In a few months, after the birds have finished nesting for the season, we’ll be doing a large-scale removal of invasive plant species, with a goal of taking the fence down and opening up this new area for exploration in the fall. We can’t wait to return this land to public use and share it with you!”
The now-fenced 17 acres of land was set to become an exhibit that focused on the local forest ecosystem. The zoo called the exhibit the Chickasaw Bluffs Trail in a 2009 Facebook post. Many locals knew it as just the Chickasaw Trail.
Cancelling the project and pulling down the fence was part of a list of demands from the Stop Hurting Overton Park group in a 2015 petition that focused on ending parking on the Overton Park Greensward.
“The zoo fenced off 17 acres of forested land, formerly accessible to park visitors, with a chain-link fence and barbed wire,” reads the petition. “It plans to develop an exhibit called Chickasaw Trail on this site. The fence is a visual blight, and the Chickasaw Trail will be worse.”
In 2022, zoo leaders returned the 17-acre parcel to OPC. It was part of an agreement to end Greensward parking forever that included land swaps between the zoo and OPC.
“Our role is to safeguard the natural places that make Memphis unique,” said Matt Thompson, president a CEO of the Memphis Zoo. “This trail opening is a reminder that conservation is something we do together with care, intention, and respect for the life that has thrived here long before us.”
The project was fueled with a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secured by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN9).
”This event is the culmination of efforts by many of us who have always cherished the park,” Cohen said.
The trail is a simple loop. It connects to the forest’s existing trail system at two points. At its southern edge, it will connect to the beginning of the Old Forest Loop. At its eastern edge, it will connect to the Green Trail.
Next Thursday’s event will feature Memphis Mayor Paul Young, as well as Murley, Thompson, and Cohen. After remarks, they’ll make the first cut into the fence. Then, attendees will be the first to walk the new trail.