The park is set amidst an environmental microcosm of the Cumberland Plateau and provides numerous recreational activities, including an 18-hole Bear Trace golf course.

The families of Homestead built the park with help from the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration.

Byrd Creek, the park's major drainage, flows eastward from the hills to the west for approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) before veering north at its confluence with Coon Hollow Branch.

The Byrd Creek Dam, which is located immediately north of this confluence, retains a reservoir that covers approximately 50 acres (0.20 km2).

The park's main entrance is located along Tennessee State Route 419 (Pigeon Ridge Road) just west of Homestead.

U.S. Route 127, which intersects SR 419 at Homestead, connects the area with Crossville and Interstate 40 to the north and the Sequatchie Valley to the south.

In 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, the U.S. government established the Subsistence Homesteads Project to aide poverty-stricken families by relocating them to small farms.

The government essentially provided low-interest loans that helped families acquire and clear land, build houses and outbuildings, and plant crops.

The Civil Works Administration hired several hundred Crossvillians to clear and prepare the land for the homesteads, helping to ease the Depression in Cumberland County.

The dam, like many of the Homestead structures, is constructed of a native sandstone commonly called Crab Orchard Stone.

[6] Cumberland Mountain State Park currently maintains 37 rustic cabins, each of which can accommodate 4 to 10 people, depending on size.