Tennessee State Park #3 on the adventure list, Cummins Falls State Park on September 4, 2015.
Cummins Falls State Park has the distinction of being named the "Tenth Best Swimming Hole In America" by the Travel and Leisure Magazine in 2010. The falls, by volume is the state's eighth largest waterfall with a 50-foot drop into the the first pool before it cascades another 25 feet into the swimming hole. Once frequented by the Native Americans and the abundant buffalo that once roamed the area. The land was first granted to the Revolutionary war veteran Thomas Blackburn in lieu of pension, in the 1790's, before John Cummins purchased the land in 1825. The Cummins family ran a mill here until it was sadly washed away in the great flood of 1928. They were the owners of the property for more than 180 years.
Cummins Falls State Park can be found at 1225 Cummins Mills Road in Cookeville, Tennessee. For more information you can visit www.tennesseestateparks.com or call (931)261-3471 for the park office. The park is for day use only and is open year round from 8:00am until sunset central time. Nice restrooms are located inside the parking are, the park is not wheelchair accessible and pets are permitted as long as they are on a leash. Just a tip for those who like to fish, fishing is not allowed in the waterfall's plunge pool.
The waterfall Overlook Trail is a short, relatively easy trail that takes you along the hardwood slope above the Blackburn Fork River to an overlook of the falls (shown above.) It's a .8 mile trail round trip and takes roughly 30 minutes. As always when around waterfalls, there are often steep drops to the river below. So, be careful around the overlook.
The Downstream Shortcut Trail is .8 to 3.2 miles and takes 1.75 to 3 hours to hike. The hike down to the Blackburn Fork River is strenous, but once you are there it is quite scenic. Once you are at the bottom, you have the option of hiking upstream to the bottom of the falls.
If you will look on the Cummins Falls State Park Facebook page or look up the hashtag #cumminsfallsstatepark on instagram, you will see this is a very popular swimming spot during the summer (even busier than Rock Island.) I have not personally went swimming in their swimming hole yet but plan to this summer! This is one the state parks that you can revisit over and over and it's a new experience each time!
- Tessa