Fall Creek Falls State Park
Tennessee's largest state park on the Cumberland Plateau, with a waterfall of about eighty metres dropping into a shaded gorge.
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The park covers around ten thousand hectares of plateau cut by gorges, and Fall Creek Falls drops about eighty-one metres into a shaded basin - among the tallest free-falling waterfalls in the eastern United States. Three other named falls are within the park: Piney, Cane Creek and Cane Creek Cascades. The gorges below the rim hold old-growth hardwood that escaped logging because the ground was too steep to work, and the temperature in them runs noticeably cooler than the plateau above. A trail descends to the base of the main falls, steep and rocky. Flow varies substantially - after a dry spell the falls thin considerably, and spring is when they are at their strongest.
What you actually see
- A free-falling drop of about eighty-one metres - into a shaded basin.
- Three other named falls - within the same park.
- Old-growth in the gorges - too steep to have been logged.
- A steep trail to the base - rocky and slow.
When to go
March to November; spring for maximum flow. A full day.
Honest expectations
Late summer flow can be thin. The descent to the base is strenuous and the climb back more so. Autumn weekends fill the overlooks. Facilities have been through redevelopment with closures.
Nearby
Chattanooga is south; Cummins Falls is north.
What to pack for Fall Creek Falls State Park
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
