Alabama Waterfalls

On Wednesday, we were heading into Alabama to get some waterfalls in another state. We drove towards Chattanooga and took I-59 south through Georgia and into Alabama. We first headed to Gadsden to see Noccalula Falls. The impressive 90-foot waterfall is right in town.

The city has a park here, complete with petting zoo and mini-golf. But we were only here to see the waterfall, so rather than paying to enter the park, we just walked over to see the waterfall. We would have had to wait for it to open as well. A statue near the rim was of a Cherokee woman, Noccalula for whom the falls is named, jumping over the edge.

According to legend, she killed herself rather than marry a man she didn’t love. We got some pictures here and walked over to the footbridge over the river above the falls. Then we headed north to Little River Canyon National Preserve. We entered on AL-176 at Eberhart Point and followed the rim drive north. We first stopped at the overlook for Grace’s High Falls.

From across the Bear Creek Gorge, we could see the waterfall tumbling off the cliff. Although it’s a seasonal waterfall, when it's flowing, it’s the highest in the state of Alabama at 133 feet and today it was flowing well. As we were getting ready to leave, a turkey vulture flew right by us and I was able to get a picture before he flew off.

We continued on and stopped at a couple of the overlooks. First we stopped at the Wolf Creek Overlook for views on the west end of the Wolf Creek gorge.

Then we stopped on the other side at Canyon View.

Next, we stopped at Lynn Overlook with more great views of the Little River Canyon.

And then finally, we stopped at the Little River Falls Overlook. Although the waterfall was a ways upstream, the viewpoint was pretty good.

We stopped one more time at the parking area for Little River Falls and went down for some pictures of the waterfall close up. This impressive river-wide waterfall is split into two streams and it was really flowing today.

After a few pictures, we continued north to DeSoto Falls. I got a tip from a friend, so instead of going to the main viewing area, we parked along the road and followed a trail to the base.

The trail started past some huge cliffs and then led down to the river.

There were some beautiful azaleas blooming.

It was just a short ways along the river to the base of this beautiful 100-foot waterfall. Our friends who had visited recently had gone swimming, but it was way too cold today.

We had a snack and I climbed around on the rocks to get pictures from different angles. There were some beautiful irises blooming near the waterfall.

Along the way back, we passed some people rock climbing on the cliffs. Back at the car, we continued a short ways to the the regular viewing area. It was a view of the top, including the A. A. Miller Dam and some cascades above the main drop.

We followed the path to the overlook and had to stretch to get an unobstructed view of the main waterfall.

From here, we headed into the main part of DeSoto State Park and parked at the Talmadge Butler Boardwalk trailhead. We followed this boardwalk to the first of several small waterfalls in the park.

Azalea Cascade was just a small slide between some big boulders. We got on the blue-blazed Lost Falls Trail and hiked about a mile to the next waterfall. Lost Falls is a small waterfall and the first of several on Laurel Creek.

Although it's not big, it's pretty as it falls over the rock ledges. We crossed the creek above the waterfall and followed the orange-blazed Laurel Falls Trail to this waterfall.

We could have just as easily seen it coming in from the Lost Falls Trail. This small waterfall had a lot of moss and algae growing on the rocks over which it fell. We finished up the loop and took the boardwalk back to the parking area. We crossed the street here and headed down to Indian Falls.

A footbridge led over the falls, so we had to climb down to get a good view. This 20-foot waterfall was very scenic, the last one on Laurel Creek before it flows into West Fork Little River.

From here, we got on the DeSoto Scout Trail and followed the river downstream a bit, then took the violet Wildflower Trail to Lodge Falls.

The top of the waterfall had a small, but scenic drop. It seemed like there was more to it downstream. I tried climbing down all the way to the river, but there was really nothing else to see. So we headed back to the car and drove further into the park for one more waterfall.

We parked at the trailhead for Gilliam Loop Trail and followed this trail for a half-mile or so. Then we turned on DST Exit 1 and followed this down to DeSoto Scout Trail. It was relatively level at first, but got extremely steep before reaching river level. We got on DeSoto Scout Trail and followed West Fork Little River downstream. Almost immediately, looking across the river, we could see what looked like a waterfall on the other side. But there was no way to get across the river in such high water for a closer look. Following the trail, we soon came to Poison Ivy Falls.

This tall waterfall flows over a high cliff, forming a rockhouse behind the falls. I’m not sure how the waterfall got its name and I didn’t want to find out. After a few pictures, we continued on and took DST Exit 2 to head back. Along the way, we heard something and got off trail to find a small 10-foot waterfall on an unnamed tributary.

We called it Rhododendron Falls, because it was so covered in rhododendron that it was hard to get a picture. We then finished our hike up and headed back to the car. Driving back to Cleveland, we stopped in town for dinner at Five Point Square before heading back to the hotel.

Tennessee State Parks Waterfalls

Tuesday, we headed back to the Cumberland Plateau region, heading towards Cookeville. North of Cookeville, we headed to Cummins Falls State Park. This small state park is centered around the 75-foot waterfall on Blackburn Fork River. From the parking lot, we first hiked the short Fall Overlook Trail to the overlook with a decent view of the falls, but the best views would be from the base.

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.

Virgin Falls

Monday morning, we were heading north back to the Cumberland Plateau area for a great day hike. We drove towards Crossville and headed into Scott's Gulf to the Virgin Falls State Natural Area. It’s a good long hike, so we planned to spend the entire day here. After getting our stuff together, we set off on the trail. The first mile or so is pretty easy and flat, following Big Branch downstream. In just over a mile, right after crossing the creek, we came to our first waterfall of the day – Big Branch Falls.

This is the smallest waterfall in the area with a drop of about 20 feet. It's also the only "normal" waterfall with the water continuing to flow above ground after the waterfall. We stopped for a couple of pictures and then continued on down to Big Laurel Creek and the cable crossing. Even in fairly high water levels, the crossing was pretty easy and I don't think the cable was necessary. From here, the trail became more steep as we headed downstream along Big Laurel Creek. It was all downhill, so not so tough going down, but it would be more strenuous on the way back out. We saw a group of backpackers making their way out and we knew it would be a tough hike back up. We continued down the creek until came to Big Laurel Falls.

This amazing waterfall drops 40 feet over a cliff, then flows backwards into a rockhouse behind the falls and disappears! The water flows into the ground and presumably flows underground until it reaches Caney Fork River.

We walked around for a while getting pictures of the waterfall from different angles and checking out the cave behind the falls.

A sign at the trailhead indicated that all the caves were closed to reduce the risk to bats, so we didn't explore in the cave itself. Then we continued on the trail, following the now-underground creek downstream, though there was no creek to see - just a depression in the ground. As we got closer to Caney Fork River, we reached the Loop Trail and turned right and headed towards Sheep Cave. Like Big Laurel Falls, this waterfall drains into a sinkhole and disappears.

But it also comes out of a cave! Unfortunately, there were too many trees and vegetation to get a picture of the entire thing. We climbed up to Sheep Cave and had a snack here, watching the water flow out of the cave and then over the waterfall. I found a ledge to climb out on and get a picture of the upper section of the falls.

Then we headed back and continued on towards Virgin Falls. Looking down, we could see where the underground creeks likely were located, draining the water from the waterfalls. Continuing on a short ways, we came to Virgin Falls. The water for Virgin Falls originates from a cave, drops 110 feet and falls into a sinkhole, disappearing from view.

This is truly a spectacular waterfall! We got some pictures from the midpoint and walked around a bit.

I found a nice patch of beautiful trout lilies blooming near the falls.

Then we headed up to the top to see the cave. Located about 40 feet from the brink, all of the water came out of a small cave in the side of the mountain.

Where that water came from, I have no idea. A cool breeze was emanating from the cave and felt like air conditioning. We got some pictures from up here, then continued back down to the base and started making our way back. On the way, we made a detour to Caney Fork River. The river was very pretty with a number of small rapids.

There appeared to be a ford at this point, but the water level was way too high to cross. We also saw lots of pretty wildflowers blooming along the shore.

After a snack break, we started making our way back. We stopped again at Big Laurel Falls as a rainbow was now visible.

Continuing up the trail past the waterfall, there were a number of nice cascades that we had passed on the way down.

We made a couple quick stops to scamble down and see some of these nice cascades. Most of them had great swim holes, but it was way too cold to think about swimming today. We made another quick stop at Big Branch Falls as the lighting was better than it had been in the morning.

Then we finished our hike back to the car. I spotted some beautiful eastern redbud blooming right by the parking area.

We headed into Crossville for dinner at Cancun Mexican Restaurant and then drove back to our hotel in Cleveland.