Cummins Falls State Park

Oh my gosh! This place is awesome!! Cummins Falls State Park is an idyllic, but rugged, 211-acre day-use park on the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. If you love to hike and you love to view waterfalls then this is a bucket list must! There is no camping in the park but there is a store, Old Mill Camp, across the street from the park entrance that has camping available. Cummins Falls is Tennessee’s eighth largest waterfall in volume of water and is 75 feet high.

The gorge area of the park is a natural feature unaltered by man, as is most of the park. While very beautiful, this is a rugged area and there are inherent hazards. The gorge and waterfall are not easily accessed and can only be reached by foot. We hiked to both the top of the falls then into the gorge to view the falls from the bottom. The trail is steep with uneven terrain and has significant elevation drops. Once in the gorge, plan to get your feet wet, depending on the amount of recent rainfall and the level of the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River. The trail surface was varied and included water crossings, boulders and other obstacles. Most of the time it was just easier to walk in the River bed but it was quite slick.

Cummins Falls’ rich history includes a time when Indians used the area to track the numerous buffalo that wallowed in the river’s shallow areas. In the 1790s, Sergeant Blackburn, a veteran of the Revolutionary War and for whom the Blackburn Fork State Scenic River was named, was awarded the land in lieu of a pension. The land was acquired by John Cummins in 1825, and he used the land to build the first of two mills. Because of his growing clientele, a larger second mill was built in 1845. Local residents would visit the mills and the falls for both commerce and recreation.

The mill was washed away during the great flood of 1928, but cars and paved highways had already begun to make the trek to Cummins Falls more accessible. The land was not rebuilt, but stayed with the Cummins family for more than 180 years until efforts by the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation to purchase the land through private and public donations for resale to the state of Tennessee. The park bears the Cummins name.

Beautiful! The gorge (swimming) closes at 5:00, not 6:00!

One of the most amazing places I’ve ever been! 100% worth seeing and experiencing! Make sure you wear a bathing suit because you can go inside the water fall so cool 😍