Twin falls was the best fall we saw on our visit of TN waterfalls. If you look carefully you will…read moresee that the water is coming out from the rock on the side of the gorge. It's actually leaking through the rocks from the reservoir on the other side. So it's partially a man made fall. The rock here is porous so this is basically a leak... The good news is that it is a steady and dependable fall, even when other falls are just trickles.

Very cool place awesome hike. Dipping in the water on a hot day was amazing. All kinds of beautiful…read morenature and sounds. Brought a publix sub from florida to enjoy out here

There are three falls along the trail by the river. Take that hike unless you are not interested…read morein a few sets of stairs and a lot of roots to step over. The extra falls are worth seeing. There is a shorter and flatter road in to the last fall if you are not up to the other hike. Amazing views! Definitely worth the trip!

Did a quick stop to visit this beautiful park. You have to hike a little to get to the different…read morefalls, but nothing too strenuous. It was a hot day which wasn't that fun, but once we got to the falls it was nice to take in the view and relax. We went midday in the middle of the week so it was not busy... I am guessing during the weekend it would get packed. Note that parking is limited, so either get there early or go when we went. Would I go back? Yes.

This is hands-down my favorite hiking trail in the area. Virgin Falls is 1,157-acre natural area…read morelocated adjacent to the Bridgestone Firestone Centennial Wilderness in White County (Sparta, TN). The hike is to the falls is about 5-9 hours round-trip depending on your pace. There are fire pits for overnight camping, located at the falls. My favorite part: About 3 hours into your hike... there is a place dubbed 'Blue Hole' by the older residents of Sparta, in which the algae creates a blue-green effect in the water. It is perfectly safe to swim in, and deep enough to provide an effective "swimming hole". On hot summer days it's perfect. There is a copse of trees that follows the river/creek that are wavy for no apparent reason, but the overall effect is an Alice-in-wonderland kind of look. I'm uploading a few photos, but I was obsessed with darkening photos back then.

Love this hike! We went on a rainy day, hardly anyone on the trail. It was too chilly to swim, but…read moreevery portion of the trail was gorgeous!!! Can't wait to go back!!

You need a permit to walk all the way down to the falls and it is a very challenging hike. They…read morelimit the amount sold so it does sell out. The gorge does flood so def watch the safetyvide. we wouldn't have made it without out hiking poles. It was my first time using them but theybare game changer for hills and uneven terrain. We had to cross a river ... not creek. Climbing over rocks and boulders. River rocks are sooo slippery. Shoes should have good tread. This was challenging and truthful doubt I'd do it again. Water was cold. But falls are beautiful.

This was a great experience. The hike to get there isn't too hard. My youngest is 11 but I saw kids…read moremuch younger on the trail. We hiked it in water shoes, so happy we did too. You have to walk through water in multiple spots, there's no way to avoid it. I saw a lot of people in tennis shoes, their feet were getting soaked. They were trying to take their shoes off to walk in the water, but the rocks in the water have algae and are slippery, you really need water shoes. There are life jackets near the waterfall if you want to wear one. The hike to the waterfall is downhill and then you go uphill on the way back. I highly recommend

Unable to access park as it had construction fence all around. False advertising as the park is not…read moreopen.

Nice local little park for my grand daughter. Excellent design to stir up the imagination of a…read more3&1/2 year old. She has so much fun that she didn't want to leave. We'll definitely be going back for more play time in a well layed out design for children's safe experience.

Absolutely stunning walk in nature. I highly recommend this easy 3 mile in and out hike. It's…read morewaterfall heaven! I should have counted to see how many waterfalls there were; I am curious to know how many I saw today. The museum is nice as well. There is also camping, playground, picnic area and large ceremonial Indian field.

Great park with beautiful waterfalls! I came here right before the hurricane so the there was not…read moreas much water and but it was still beautiful! The hike is super easy and very kid friendly! We had brought water shoes so we could dip our feet into the lake! It was lots of fun! We will definitely be back! Very scenic and fun!

Tony and I love to go hiking at Fall Creek Falls State Park. They have so many trails and…read moreoverlooks. Just to the Left of the parking lot is a scenic drive loop and on this loop we came across this gorgeous overlook called Lover's Leap.

Big Falls in Sparta Tennessee is a nice smaller park for hiking and viewing the waterfall.read more

The other review is right, those pictures are of Burgess falls- which is amazing and we'll worth…read morethe short drive from Cookeville or sparta- Google Burgess falls and get directions for that, it's great!They have a trail that follows along the rocky river up to an amazing overlook of the falls,, and also a no steps kinda trail for less of a strain on bad knees.There are plenty of great hiking trails near Sparta-virgin falls is a favorite-check it out, it's one of the best outside of the smokies.

It was a beautiful place to visit. If you are looking for a short day or less adventure this is…read moreyour place to be. Beautiful Inspiring Small challenge Swimming Bring swimmers, water shoes(helps with the rock bottom of the swimming hole) and towel. I personally would like to hike down it in leather hiking boots, I did it in the cheap foam bottom shoes this time.

Awesome, even in winter! First time in Tennessee is fantastic! Slippery down but worth the hike!read more

Awesome area for a day of hiking. There are multiple trails. I followed the Machine Falls trail…read morewhich led to a gorgeous waterfall. The trail appears to be decently maintained, saw very little litter only at waterfall area. Trail signs appears new. It's very very easy to drive past the entrance, I did. It's just a small opening in the trees. When you arrive at the water tower, that's your landmark. Park in the small parking lot and walk across the street to the entrance. I highly recommend hiking boots. There are extremely steep steps/decline towards the waterfall with slippery rocks. Also, you may have to hike across the creek. I changed into water shoes once I arrived at the falls. This was a beautiful, peaceful place surrounded by nature's beauty. So glad I had the opportunity to visit. I went on a weekday, had the falls to myself some of the time. More crowded on weekends and holidays.

The Short Springs Natural Area wasn't exactly what I pictured in my mind, but satisfying…read morenonetheless. First, for some reason I pictures a state park with large parking areas, a visitor center, road signage and restroom facilities. NOPE!!! Google Maps navigated us to the general area, but figuring out where the trailhead and parking were located was up to our own savvy. But as God would have it, we found parking near a water tower off Powell Road and someone just happened to be leaving as we arrived, giving us a great parking space. This was extremely fortuitous because spaces are limited and several people who arrivaled just minutes after us waited a good while for spaces to become available. WARNING: Find restroom facilities BEFORE you make it here! Otherwise you will find yourself searching for privacy in the nearby forest to relieve yourself. The trailhead is directly across Short Springs Road from the parking area. I would highly recommend using ALLTRAILS to navigate your way around the Natural Area. My wife has developed Morton Noroma in recent years which severely limits the types of hikes she can join me on, so our intention here was to only visit MACHINE FALLS and BUSBY FALLS, bypassing more than half of the entire Short Springs loop. Still, this was not as easy a trail as I thought and my wife wound up viewing Machine Falls only from the overlook deck. The descent to the base of the falls is steep, so she opted to stay on the trail above as I climbed down for pictures. MACHINE FALLS is a beautiful multi-tiered waterfall surrounded by high shale rock cliffs adorned with moss. The climb down to the falls is a combination of manmade wooden steps, boulders and tree roots. Once you reach the creek, you will need to hug the right side stones all the way to the falls (if you don't want to get your feet wet). The volume of water was fairly light the day we visited, so on heavy volume days it's probably impossible not to get your feet wet. After Machine Falls we followed the loop to Bobo Creek Trail which leads towards BUSBY FALLS. We then took the split to Laurel Bluff Trail via Collier Horn Bridge. After crossing the bridge you can choose to go left or right around this 1.4 mile loop. We chose to go right, which is the quickest way to Busby Falls. The trail follows Bobo Creek, but one small section of it requires the use of a rope due to a severe elevation change. It's not difficult, but something older hikers and those with really young children should be aware of the challenge. To my surprise there was a secondary waterfall coming off the cliffs near Busby Falls as well as a third 14 foot waterfall along Bobo Creek closer to the bridge. Not sure if these two additional waterfalls have names like the others within the Natural Area, but they were very nice surprises! My wife did not do the rope climb down to Busby and instead just enjoyed the scenic views of the river while I went off exploring the waterfall just a short distance away. We retraced our steps back to the Bobo Creek Trail and took the right leading us back to the parking area. While I didn't think the trail leading directly to Machine Falls was very attractive (it honestly was one of the ugliest trails I've ever seen), the remainder of the hike was nice and the Laurel Bluff Trail near Busby Falls was easily the most scenic portion of any trail we hiked today. I can't speak for the rest of the Machine Falls Loop or the Adams Falls Trail, but I've read reviews saying it's a nice looking trail. FINAL THOUGHTS Overall not what I expected when looking for easy waterfall hikes my wife could enjoy, but it IS manageable and customizable to fit different hiking needs. There are multiple waterfalls throughout the Natural Area. Our hike took 1:37 hours and was approx. 2.4 miles long with an elevation gain of about 335 feet according to my ALLTRAILS log. Machine Falls was the largest, but I personally thought Busby Falls was prettier. Also nearby (within a 5 minute drive) is Rutledge Falls. I highly recommend paying it a visit if you are planning to be in the area. 2023 / 28