We then followed Blackburn Fork River Trail down to river level and then started following the river upstream towards the falls. About half-way, we could see a small tributary waterfall tumbling down from the other side of the river.
After this point, there was no more trail and we couldn’t find a way across. It was particularly cold and the water level was up and there was no easy way across. We walked around searching for a decent way across but had no luck. Since we had many more waterfalls for the day, we decided to just give up and head back. In hindsight, we should have made more of an effort and gotten across.
At least we saw a number of pretty wildflowers on the hike back up out of the gorge, including trillium and Dutchman's breeches.
Originally, our next waterfall was Burgess Falls. Unfortunately, the park closed the trail to the main waterfall due to storm damage, so we decided to go to Rock Island State Park instead. We stopped first at Great Falls just beyond the dam.
A short trail leads down to river level for good views of this huge river-wide waterfall. Unfortunately, when we arrived, a park ranger informed us that the trail was closed due to high water. So we could only get some photos from the overlook. From here, we could see one section of Great Falls as well as Twin Falls in the distance.
We drove a little further back and found another overlook next to the Great Falls Cotton Mill. More of Great Falls was visible from here and we wanted to see as much as possible with the trail to the base close.
After a couple pictures, we continued to the other side of the river to the Twin Falls Observation area. Although the Upstream Trail was closed, the Downstream Trail was not so we could get some good views of Twin Falls. The best view was from an open spot just upstream of the waterfall.
We went a little further and climbed out on the rocks, but the waterfall is just too big. It's really an interesting waterfall. When the Great Falls Dam was constructed near the confluence of Caney Fork and Collins River, the water level of Collins River rose. This extra water flooded an underground cavern, which ultimately exits through Twin Falls. Although it's a man-made waterfall, it was very impressive. Next we headed to Fall Creek Falls State Park. Our first stop was at the Nature Center near Cane Creek Falls. After getting our stuff together we headed to the suspension bridge over Cane Creek and then down to the Cane Creek Cascades.
This nice 40-foot waterfall is basically the upper portion Cane Creek Falls. Then we headed to the overlook to see the Cane Creek and Rockhouse Falls.
There was enough spray that a double rainbow was visible in the pool below. To the right, we could see Rockhouse Falls, a smaller but even higher free-falling waterfall.
We planned to go to the base, but the Cable Trail was closed and yet again, we couldn’t make it down. We went to the other overlook for the falls, but the view was not very good. Trees blocked seeing much of the waterfall. So we continued on to Fall Creek Falls. The trail to the base of this one was open! We first stopped at the overlook which provided a very nice view of Fall Creek Falls and the adjacent Coon Creek Falls.
Fall Creek Falls is below the dam, so even in high water the flow wasn’t too great. But these waterfalls are among the highest free-falling waterfalls in the eastern US. I couldn’t help but think that the only waterfall with the trail to the base open was the one with the best overlook view. We were definitely regretting not getting to the base of Cummins Falls this morning. After some pictures from the overlook, we headed down into the gorge on the Base of Falls Trail.
It was a steep trail, leading down into the gorge via a couple switchbacks. Then, we headed upstream along Fall Creek past some huge rock cliffs.
At the base, I played around and climbed on the rocks to get pictures of the waterfalls from different angles.
Then we started slowly making our way back up. From the parking area, we continued on the one-way scenic loop, stopping at a couple overlooks for views of the Cane Creek gorge.
We also stopped at Millikan's Overlook with a view of the Piney Creek Gorge and confluence with Caney Creek.
Then we made one last stop to see Piney Creek Falls. The overlook isn’t great and the views are somewhat blocked by trees, but it’s a real short hike.
After a couple pictures, we started making our way back to Cleveland. We stopped and picked up a pizza for dinner on the way.
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