Waterfalls in Tennessee

Overview of waterfalls in Tennessee

In the Smokies, Grotto Falls is near Gatlinburg on the Trillium Gap Trail, which passes behind the falls. NPS lists Abrams Falls near Cades Cove among its highly trafficked waterfall trails. Smokies parking needs a Park It Forward tag. NPS expects the trail to Laurel Falls, on Little River Road in the park, to stay closed until sometime in 2027.

On the plateau, Tennessee State Parks runs Fall Creek Falls, Burgess Falls and Cummins Falls, and its FAQ says it charges no access fee at any park.

Grotto Falls can ice over in a hard freeze, but its road is closed in winter; see our frozen waterfalls guide.

Great Smoky Mountains: parking tags and rules

Entry to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free, but any vehicle parked more than 15 minutes needs a Park It Forward parking tag. A Park It Forward tag costs $5 for a day, $15 for a week or $40 for a year, and tags aren't tied to one location.

Daily and weekly tags are sold online at Recreation.gov, where you print your own. NPS fee machines also sell them; they take cards only, run 24/7, and one is at the Cades Cove entrance. NPS says Interagency passes (Senior, Access and so on) are not accepted in place of a tag. Drivers who only pass through don't need one, and neither do vehicles with a disability plate or placard.

Dogs are allowed on only two park trails, the Gatlinburg Trail and the Oconaluftee River Trail, so they can't come to Grotto Falls or Laurel Falls. The Park Service does not recommend water recreation anywhere in the park; drowning is one of its leading causes of death.

Waterfalls near Gatlinburg and Cades Cove

Two of the Smokies falls on this site start near Gatlinburg, and a third is in Cades Cove. Grotto Falls is a 2.6-mile round trip on the Trillium Gap Trail. Its trailhead is about 2 miles into the one-way Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. NPS listed that road open April 17 to November 29 in 2026, and it closes in winter. Parking there is very limited.

From downtown Gatlinburg, NPS says to turn at traffic light #8 onto Historic Nature Trail Road and enter the park at the Cherokee Orchard entrance. Laurel Falls is a 2.6-mile paved round trip from the Fighting Creek Gap trailhead on Little River Road. Laurel Falls Trail is closed as of Oct 2026, and NPS expects it to reopen sometime in 2027.

Abrams Falls is a 5-mile round-trip hike from Cades Cove, where Abrams Creek drops about 25 feet into a deep pool. The trailhead is about halfway around the 11-mile, one-way Cades Cove Loop Road, which is open sunrise to sunset. In 2026 the loop was closed to cars on Wednesdays from May 6 to September 30, so those days are over for this year. NPS strongly discourages swimming at Abrams Falls because of an undertow and dangerous conditions.

An older (2015) NPS visitor page puts Cades Cove about 9 miles from Townsend and about 27 miles from Gatlinburg. Add the slow, one-way loop drive to the trailhead on top of that.

Ruby Falls: Tennessee's underground waterfall in Chattanooga

Ruby Falls is an underground waterfall inside Lookout Mountain, at 1720 South Scenic Highway in Chattanooga. Ruby Falls describes it as only minutes from downtown Chattanooga. A 260-foot elevator ride leads to a guided cave walk of just under 1 mile round trip.

Ruby Falls is open as of Oct 2026, with timed tickets sold online only. The standard Cave Walk is $29.95 for adults in 2026, and parking is free on site. The cave is not wheelchair or stroller accessible, though the overlook, plaza, shop and café are.

Seasonal roads and closures at Tennessee waterfalls

Laurel Falls Trail is closed as of Oct 27, 2026. Burgess Falls is partly open, with its gorge closed, as of the latest park update we found (April 3, 2026). The other Tennessee falls on this site are listed open, though some side trails are closed.

Bald River Falls is open, as far as we can tell, as of Nov 3, 2026. Rutledge Falls (Nov 4, 2026) and Machine Falls (Nov 6, 2026) are also open, as far as we can tell. Jackson Falls is open, as far as we can tell, per an NPS status page updated Nov 3, 2026.

Grotto Falls is reached from the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, a one-way mountain road. In 2026 it is open April 17 to November 29 and closed to vehicles over 25 feet and trailers. NPS posted a bear warning for the Trillium Gap Trail on October 27, 2026, and Cherokee Orchard Road is closed to pedestrians.

Laurel Falls Trail has been closed since January 6, 2025 for a rebuild, and as of Oct 2026 NPS expects it to reopen sometime in 2027.

Abrams Falls Trail is open. Footlog bridge and stair work closed it Monday through Thursday from August 24 to September 30, 2026. The park's closures page, updated October 27, 2026, lists no Abrams Falls closure.

On the Natchez Trace Parkway, NPS lists mileposts 437 to 440, in Williamson County, as closed for Double Arch Bridge construction from April 2026 to May 2027. Traffic detours via Highway 96 and Highway 100. Jackson Falls, at milepost 404.7, is outside that section.

At Burgess Falls, the gorge is closed and the stairs to the base of the main falls have been removed. The upper lot was still closed for visitor-center construction per a park page updated April 3, 2026.

At Fall Creek Falls, Piney Falls Trail and Millikan's Overlook Trail have been closed since an August 2023 tornado, and the Lower Loop Trail is also closed. An undated park page lists the Cable Trail as closed. The overlook and the Base of Falls Trail are listed open.

The Cummins Falls gorge opens by permit under daily hazard ratings. Swimming there was suspended on May 25, 2026 over rain risk, WSMV reported. We found no closure after May 2026, but this is not confirmed with the park as of Oct 2026.

Cumberland Plateau waterfalls: Fall Creek, Burgess and Cummins

Fall Creek Falls State Park on the Cumberland Plateau has a 256-foot falls. Tennessee's Division of Natural Areas calls it the "highest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains", while Wikipedia calls it the "highest free-fall waterfall east of the Mississippi".

Wikipedia lists other falls in the park, including Piney Creek Falls and Cane Creek Falls; the Piney Falls Trail has been closed since a 2023 tornado. The main overlook is beside its parking lot. The Base of Falls Trail drops about 0.35 mile from there, and the park rates it difficult.

Cummins Falls State Park near Cookeville requires a Gorge Access Permit to reach the base of the falls, and the gorge can flood within minutes after upstream rain. The overlook needs no permit.

Burgess Falls State Park near Sparta has four falls on the Falling Water River. Its 136-foot main falls is seen from an overlook at the end of a 1.5-mile round-trip loop. As of the park's April 3, 2026 update, it is partly open: the main overlook is open and the gorge is closed.

Waterfalls near Tullahoma: Rutledge and Machine Falls

Two falls on this site are in Coffee County, near Tullahoma. One is on private land, and the other is in a state natural area.

Rutledge Falls is on private land that the owners keep open to the public. TNVacation, the state tourism site, says there is no fee and the trail is open dawn to dusk year-round. It lists a short 0.2-mile walk, rated easy to moderate. Parking is across the road from Rutledge Falls Baptist Church.

Machine Falls in Short Springs State Natural Area drops more than 60 feet, per TDEC's Division of Natural Areas. TDEC says parking is extremely limited. If every designated spot is taken, the site is at capacity, and you may not park in non-designated areas to enter. TDEC suggests weekdays or other non-peak times.

The Coffee County Industrial Board says the black Chattanooga shale on the Machine Falls trail delineates the Central Basin from the Highland Rim. TDEC also lists Upper and Lower Busby Falls on Bobo Creek, seen from overlooks on the Bobo Creek trail.

Natchez Trace Parkway: Jackson Falls in Middle Tennessee

Jackson Falls is at milepost 404.7 of the Natchez Trace Parkway, in Hickman County. The National Park Service manages the site and calls it a "sculptured cascade", but publishes no height. Photos on our Jackson Falls page, taken in September 2018, show only a thin sheet of water over the rock, so flow can be low.

A steep concrete trail runs 900 feet, about 0.2 mile each way, to a clear pool at the base. The walk back is uphill. NPS asks visitors not to climb on the falls, because the rock is very slick and dangerous.

NPS says there are no entrance fees to the Parkway or any of its facilities, and leashed dogs are allowed on its trails. Jackson Falls is open, as far as we can tell, per the NPS road and site status page updated Nov 3, 2026. NPS lists mileposts 437 to 440, in Williamson County, as closed for bridge construction from April 2026 to May 2027, with a detour.

Jackson Falls is one of 6 falls within 100 straight-line miles of Nashville, along with Machine, Rutledge, Burgess, Cummins and Fall Creek Falls.

Waterfalls in Tennessee you can see without a long hike

These Tennessee falls on this site can be seen without a long hike.

• Rutledge Falls: a 0.2-mile walk with 29 feet of gain, rated easy to moderate by TNVacation. It does not say whether that is one way or round trip.
• Jackson Falls: a steep 900-foot concrete trail, about 0.2 mile each way, to a pool at the base, per NPS. The walk back is uphill.
• Fall Creek Falls: the main overlook is beside its parking lot. The Base of Falls Trail is about 0.35 mile each way and rated difficult.
• Cummins Falls: the overlook trails above the gorge need no permit.
• Burgess Falls: a 1.5-mile round-trip loop, rated moderately strenuous by the park. Friends of Burgess Falls says an ADA-accessible overlook of Little Falls is near the parking area.
• Ruby Falls: a guided cave walk of just under 1 mile round trip, reached by elevator. The cave is not wheelchair accessible.
• Bald River Falls: seen from the Bald River Falls Bridge on Tellico River Road (FR 210), with no hike needed, per Wikipedia and Recreation.gov. Parking is limited.

Swimming at Tennessee waterfalls

Cummins Falls allows swimming in the pool at its base when the gorge is open and conditions allow, and you need a Gorge Access Permit. The park can suspend it in high water, as it did on May 25, 2026.

NPS strongly discourages swimming at Abrams Falls because of an undertow and dangerous conditions. NPS does not recommend swimming at Grotto or Laurel Falls. Burgess Falls has no access to the base or gorge from the park. At Fall Creek Falls we found no official rule for the base pool, and the park points swimmers to its pool and campground swim area.

TNVacation suggests the swimming hole at Rutledge Falls in summer. No source mentions a lifeguard there, so you swim at your own risk, and keep children within reach. TDEC's page lists no swimming rule for Machine Falls. NPS lists no swimming rule for the pool at Jackson Falls, and it asks visitors not to climb on the slick falls.

Which fee or pass applies where

Tennessee State Parks' FAQ says no access fee is charged at any state park, and donations are accepted instead. A Fall Creek Falls park FAQ dated February 2026 says the same. We found no parking fee at Fall Creek Falls or Burgess Falls. Rutledge Falls is free, per TNVacation, and TDEC's page lists no fee at Short Springs State Natural Area, home of Machine Falls.

The main thing you pay for is the Cummins Falls Gorge Access Permit, sold through Tennessee State Parks reservations and non-refundable. The Cummins permit was $7 when it launched in 2020, and later park material lists $6, so check the current price. Pools, tours and lodging also cost extra. In the Smokies, entry is free but the parking tag described above applies. Tennessee State Parks says pets must be on a six-foot leash.

Jackson Falls is free. NPS says there are no entrance fees to the Natchez Trace Parkway or any of its facilities, and no entrance pass is required. NPS allows dogs on Parkway trails and viewpoints on a leash six feet or shorter.

When to visit Tennessee waterfalls

NPS says Cades Cove traffic is heavy in summer, in fall and on weekends year-round, so start early if you are heading to Abrams Falls. The Friends of Burgess Falls say its lots can fill on busy summer days. We found no official best season for flow at most of these falls. Ruby Falls is underground, at about 60°F, so outside weather matters less there.

At Short Springs, home of Machine Falls, TDEC highlights spring wildflowers. It says the wet-weather seeps are particularly impressive during the moist winter and spring months.

NPS gives no best season for Jackson Falls, and photos on its page from September 2018 show low flow.

Tennessee waterfalls FAQ