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About Fall Creek Falls
Located in southeastern Tennessee, Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park has many beautiful sites to offer through out it's 19,000 acres. It is best known for it's name sake, the 256 foot Fall Creek Falls. There are many other falls in the area including Piney Falls and Cane Creek Falls. Although this is a resort park, don't let that fool you. The Lower Cane Creek Trail has plenty of wilderness to offer the avid backpacker. You must obtain a permit at the park nature center for any overnight stays. The permit is free.
Getting There
From Nashville take I-40 to Cookeville. Turn right onto Hwy 111 South (exit 288).follow 111 for about 45 miles to the south entrance at Hwy. 284.
From Knoxville take I-40 west to Crossville to Peavine (exit 322). Take a left off the exit, turn right at the light and follow Hwy. 101 to Hwy. 30 Turn right on Hwy. 30 to the north entrance of the park. Just inside the park Hwy. 30 connects with Hwy. 284.
Lower Loop–Cane Creek
The 12 mile loop trail begins at the north entrance of the park near the maintenance parking area and leads you through thick forests of Oaks, Pine and Mountain Laurels. The loop takes you from the east rim of the Cane Creek Gulf, down 800 feet to the bottom and then back up to the west rim of the gulf. The trail continues around the rim where it eventually connects at Piney Falls. Once you reach Piney falls the trail crosses back and forth over the parks main roads and takes you near some of the more accessable attractions like Falls Creek Falls, Cascade Falls and Cane Creek Falls. After passing by the Nature center, the trail leads you back to he park maintenance parking lot.
There are two designated campsites both with wells with hand pumps and an outhouse. We did notice a few unoffical campsites that people created, but recommend you camp in the designated areas. Campsite 1 is about 2.5 miles and is an easy hike. Campsite 2 is at about 5.0 miles and at the top of the other side of the gulf. We never made it to this campsite as planned because of the hundreds of trees that had fallen during a spring 2002 storm. The park officials told us that trail maintenance was done during the winter months. I suspect it will take more time than that to clear the trail.
My only regret is that the beginning of the Lower Loop Cane Creek trail between the parking area and campsite 1 did not follow closer to the rim of the gulf. We observed many beautiful rock out cropings from the western rim, similar to those of near by Savage Gulf, but were never able to get close. The hike to Campsite 1 and back would make a good weekend trip with a day hiking around the area. If you want to see the many waterfalls the park has to offer, car camp in the parks excellent primitive campground and day hike the rim between the Nature Center and the Piney Falls area.
There is also the 13 mile Upper Loop Trail which we did not get a chance to see due to it being closed for hunting season. This trail follows along Cain Creek and stays on the top of the plateau for most of the way. There is one overnight campground.
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